Senior Manager, Quality & Operational Excellence

This role offers the opportunity to define and execute the strategic direction for operational excellence at M-KOPA Kenya, leading a three-pillar department that ensures world-class operational standards enable sustainable business growth. You'll lead Quality Assurance & Compliance, Training & Capability Development, and Process Excellence teams, driving preventive controls that identify and mitigate operational risks before they escalate. Operating with significant strategic autonomy, you'll standardize quality frameworks across all channels, build organizational capability through structured training, and position quality as a business enabler while working with talented cross-functional teams across Telesales, Customer Care, Retail, Risk & Compliance, and Global QA/Training leadership.

We foster a culture where operational excellence meets strategic thinking. Our team values independence and objectivity, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement that drives both performance accountability and business impact. You'll be empowered to translate company strategy into operational excellence roadmaps, working at the intersection of quality assurance, capability development, and process innovation in one of Africa's fastest growing fintech companies.

At M-KOPA, our Quality & Operational Excellence function isn't just about compliance—it's the strategic backbone that ensures consistent customer experience, operational resilience, and the preventive controls that enable us to serve millions of customers with world-class standards.

Strategic Leadership & Direction

• Defining and executing the strategic direction for Quality & Operational Excellence aligned with M-KOPA Kenya's business objectives

• Translating company strategic priorities into clear operational excellence roadmaps, quality frameworks, and capability development strategies

• Providing strategic recommendations to senior leadership on operational risk landscape, quality maturity, and investment priorities

• Championing operational excellence culture, positioning quality and continuous improvement as business enablers

Team Leadership & Development

• Leading and developing a three-pillar leadership team (Managers of QA & Compliance, Training & Development, Process Excellence)

• Making strategic organizational design decisions including structure optimization, talent acquisition, and resource allocation

• Creating a high-performance culture centered on independence, objectivity, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement

Cross-Functional Influence & Partnerships

• Building strategic partnerships with operational department heads (Telesales, Customer Care, Retail) ensuring Q&OE is positioned as a valued business partner

• Collaborating with Risk & Compliance team, maintaining clear boundaries between operational integrity (Q&OE scope) and strategic enterprise risk (R&C scope)

• Partnering with Global QA/Training leadership to leverage global frameworks while owning local execution and results

• Navigating organizational complexity and managing resistance when quality standards conflict with short-term operational pressures

Governance & Standards

• Maintaining robust governance frameworks including quality councils, calibration sessions, audit protocols, and escalation mechanisms

• Ensuring quality standards, audit methodologies, and compliance frameworks remain current and consistently applied across all channels

• Driving accountability for quality outcomes with operational leaders through transparent scorecards and data-driven performance conversations

• Balancing independence and objectivity with collaborative partnership, maintaining appropriate distance while building trust

Strategic Oversight & Performance Management

• Providing strategic direction and oversight to Quality Assurance & Compliance, Training & Capability Development, and Process Excellence operations

• Monitoring department performance against established KPIs and demonstrating business impact through clear metrics: fraud prevention savings, efficiency improvements, quality score gains, and training effectiveness

• Developing and delivering executive reporting that enables senior leadership to make informed decisions about operational investments and priorities

• Maintaining transparency on operational gaps and quality concerns, ensuring leadership has full visibility

Risk Management & Preventive Controls

• Maintaining comprehensive view of operational risk landscape through analysis of audit findings, quality trends, and process inefficiencies

• Ensuring preventive control mechanisms identify system vulnerabilities, fraud patterns, and compliance risks before they materialize

• Balancing risk mitigation with operational efficiency, ensuring controls are effective without creating unnecessary bureaucracy

Change Management & Continuous Improvement

• Leading organizational change initiatives related to quality standards, process improvements, and operational excellence practices

• Driving cultural transformation toward operational excellence mindset where preventive thinking and continuous improvement are embedded in daily operations

• Sponsoring strategic improvement initiatives requiring cross-functional collaboration and executive support

Resource Management & Strategic Planning

• Developing annual strategic plans for Q&OE function aligned with business priorities

• Managing departmental budget across all three pillars, optimizing resource allocation to maximize business impact and ROI

• Making strategic investment decisions on quality infrastructure with clear business case justification

Additional Responsibilities

• Performing any additional tasks as assigned by Head of Operations

This is a senior management role (Job Band C1) based in Nairobi, Kenya. If successful, you would be reporting to the Head of Operations. Your direct reports would include Manager - Quality Assurance & Compliance, Manager - Training & Capability Development, and Manager - Process Excellence. You will also have dotted line collaboration with Global QA/Training Leadership for methodology alignment and resource sharing.

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field (Advanced degree - MBA, Master's in Quality Management - preferred)

• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in quality assurance, operational excellence, or operations management within contact center, retail, telecommunications, financial services, or BPO environments

• 5+ years of senior people leadership experience managing managers and leading multi-functional teams

• Strategic thinking and business acumen with proven ability to operate independently at a senior level, translating company strategy into operational excellence roadmaps with minimal guidance

• Deep expertise in quality management frameworks, audit methodologies, compliance monitoring, training effectiveness measurement, and process improvement disciplines

• Outstanding cross-functional stakeholder management and strategic influencing skills with demonstrated ability to drive consensus without direct operational authority

• Exceptional executive communication skills with proven ability to present to C-suite, translating complex quality data into compelling business narratives

• Change management capability with track record of driving organizational transformation and building buy-in for operational excellence initiatives

• Strong understanding of operational risk management, internal controls, fraud prevention, and compliance requirements

• Data-driven decision-making expertise with experience building executive dashboards and demonstrating ROI of quality investments

• Budget management and financial acumen with experience managing departmental P&L and making strategic resource allocation decisions

• Experience partnering with global or regional centers of excellence while maintaining local execution ownership and accountability

• Industry benchmarking knowledge with awareness of best practices from leading operations organizations in quality and operational excellence

• Process improvement proficiency with working knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies (Formal certification - Green Belt or higher - is an advantage)

Critical Success Factors:

• Ability to operate strategically at senior level with minimal guidance

• Strategic influencing skills to drive accountability without direct operational authority

• Balance between independence/objectivity and collaborative partnership

• Executive presence to represent Q&OE function credibly in senior forums

• Resilience to uphold standards while maintaining productive working relationships

• Strategic patience and emotional intelligence to influence operational culture over time

• Business acumen to position quality as an enabler of growth rather than a constraint

If the above is of interest to you, please apply.

At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace flexibility.

Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at m-kopa.com.

Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 6 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

Important Notice
M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

M-KOPA explicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice. M-KOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships. 

M-KOPA does not collect/charge any money as a pre-employment or post-employment requirement. This means that we never ask for ‘recruitment fees’, ‘processing fees’, ‘interview fees’, or any other kind of money in exchange for offer letters or interviews at any time during the hiring process.

Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Shortlisting and interviews will take place at any stage during the recruitment process. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected before the advertised closing date.

If your application is successful M-KOPA undertakes pre-employment background checks as part of its recruitment process, these include; criminal records, identification verification, academic qualifications, employment dates and employer references.