Head of Workplace IT

About this role

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5ac97b31-49cd-4012-8bb0-5caf15e33c69/B25.png]

We're actively recruiting a Head of Workplace IT as we continue to scale our internal operations at M-KOPA. You'll own the technology, services, and vendors that keep over 2,500 employees productive across 5 offices, 4 warehouses, 100+ retail sites, and 10 call centres in six countries.

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/98cde4bc-fa0a-4874-a12e-0db70c8c4abf/image.png]

The Impact

Your leadership will directly enable the people and infrastructure behind a business that's unlocked over $2 billion in credit for more than 10 million customers across Africa. Every reliable network, every well-run service desk ticket, and every secure endpoint you manage supports the 2,500+ employees and 35,000+ agents working to bring financial inclusion to Every Day Earners. It's your chance to be the backbone of something that's genuinely transforming lives across a continent 🌍

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/98cde4bc-fa0a-4874-a12e-0db70c8c4abf/image.png]

The Opportunity

🎯 Mission-driven infrastructure: Your day-to-day work — from network uptime to identity management — directly enables a distributed workforce delivering financial inclusion at scale
🏆 Global recognition: Join a company recognised by CNBC's World Top 300 Fintechs and named among the Financial Times' Africa's Fastest Growing Companies for 5 consecutive years (2022–2026)
🚀 Scale challenges: Run wired and wireless networks, telephony, and end-user compute across 5 offices, 4 warehouses, 100+ retail sites, and 10 call centres — much of it in variable-connectivity markets
🌱 Purpose-built growth: Stand up Workplace IT capabilities for new sites and market launches as M-KOPA continues to expand across Africa

What You'll Do

At M-KOPA, you'll own the Workplace IT roadmap end-to-end — from networks and telephony to end-user compute, identity, productivity tooling, and service management. You'll lead and grow a multi-country Workplace IT team, own the opex and capex budget, and drive cost discipline across hardware, connectivity, telephony, and software. Join us in combining strong technical infrastructure with a genuinely user-focused mindset that keeps a fast-growing, multi-country fintech productive and secure.

Your Environment 💼

- Networks & telephony: Wired and wireless networks across all offices, warehouses, and retail sites; contact-centre telephony across ~10 call-centre sites

- On-site infrastructure: On-prem hardware and physical environments — server rooms, power, cooling, physical security, CCTV

- End-user compute & mobility: Full lifecycle management of laptops, desktops, and phones for 2,500+ employees, plus endpoint and mobile device management (MDM)

- Identity & access: Identity platform (directory, SSO, MFA), joiner/mover/leaver processes, and recertification for internal and external applications

- Productivity & collaboration: Core software suite selection and management (collaboration, back-office, AI tools), vendor/contract management, licensing/SaaS spend, meeting-room and AV systems

- Security & resilience: IT-side security hygiene (patching, vulnerability remediation, endpoint protection, hardening), business continuity and disaster recovery

Our Workplace IT Approach 🚀

- We balance cost, performance, security, and resilience — especially in variable-connectivity markets

- We partner closely with the Security function on IT-side security hygiene, with clear ownership boundaries between the two functions

- We keep access controls operationally excellent, low-friction for users, and audit-ready

- We set and drive the norms and adoption practices that make tools actually succeed, not just get deployed

- We measure ourselves against SLAs and service performance metrics that show IT is delivering

What You Need

We care more about your skills than where you got them from — relevant degrees or certifications (e.g. ITIL, CISSP, cloud/network certs) are desirable but not required.

Required Experience:

- Proven leadership of a multi-site IT function at scale, ideally across multiple countries

- Strong commercial and vendor-management skills — negotiating and managing ISPs, telco, hardware suppliers, and SaaS/MSP contracts

- Strong security mindset and understanding of identity, endpoint, and network security

- Solid network monitoring and performance fundamentals, and enough infrastructure depth (including physical/server-room engineering) to hold their own with specialists

- Comfort operating in high-growth, emerging-market environments

- User-focused mindset and experience collecting and responding to internal feedback on team performance

- Experience leading a workplace IT team, or strong IC/manager experience in a related domain with demonstrable readiness to take the next step

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/86f7fe83-cdac-44e5-95f4-5cfc1d36c035/image.png]

Location & Benefits

- Based in one of M-KOPA's operating markets — Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, or Uganda — or in the UK, with regular travel across M-KOPA's operating markets (current and future)

- Significant travel expected — potentially up to 25% at times, especially in the early phases of the role

- Work with diverse teams across UK, Europe, and Africa

- Professional development programs and coaching partnerships

- Family-friendly policies and flexible working arrangements

- Well-being support and career growth opportunities

Our Mission 🌍

We create financial inclusion for the traditionally excluded through a fair, flexible, customer-centric financing model. We strive to drive greater inclusion of women, youth, and low-income communities.

Our Impact 💚

Our technology has created measurable…