We are looking for a Senior Lead - Shared Services & Employee Relations to join our Human Resources group; as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

Building HR infrastructure that holds a company together at scale

The best HR leaders don't just keep operations running—they build the systems that allow a growing organization to stay coherent, compliant, and human as it scales. That's the mandate for this role.

At M-KOPA, HR isn't a support function sitting behind the business. It's the operational spine that enables 2,300 employees and 35,000 agents to deliver financial access to people who've never had it. M-KOPA has grown from 5 million customers to 7 million and is building toward 10 million. That kind of growth doesn't sustain itself without serious HR foundations—which is precisely why this hire is being made now, deliberately and not reactively.

Why this timing matters

Having crossed $2 billion in credit unlocked, assembled 2 million smartphones in Kenya, and financed over 4,000 e-motorbikes across our markets, we're at an inflection point. The 5M-to-7M journey required building fast. The 7M-to-10M journey requires building right.

That means rearchitecting how HR works—not simply maintaining what exists. Whoever joins at this moment has the opportunity to shape the operating model during the transition, not inherit it after the decisions have already been made.

Reporting Structure

Reports to the Head of HR Shared Services

What the role involves in practice

Leading complex employee relations matters end-to-end: investigations into harassment, discrimination, and misconduct; strategic advice to senior leadership on disciplinary actions and legal risk; and developing the ER policy frameworks that ensure consistent, compliant practice across all operating markets.

Running HR Shared Services operations with precision: overseeing contracts, records governance, payroll input readiness, offboarding, and SLA performance across a multi-country employee base, while building the dashboards and reporting infrastructure that make the function visible and continuously improvable.

Serving as the organization's subject matter expert on labour relations: policy development aligned to local legislation, CBA negotiation support where applicable, and maintaining the compliance posture that protects M-KOPA as it expands into new markets.

What we're looking for

An HR professional with demonstrable experience heavily focused on employee relations and employment law, combined with operational HR or Shared Services leadership—with exposure spanning Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe (UK experience strongly preferred).

Established expertise in conducting complex workplace investigations, advising senior management on legal and compliance risk, and developing multi-jurisdictional ER policy and labour relations frameworks.

A relevant degree in Human Resources, Law, Business Administration, or Psychology (Master's or HR certification preferred), with strong analytical capability and experience using HR data to drive operational improvement.

A note on what this role demands

This position carries two significant mandates simultaneously—operational excellence and strategic ER leadership—at a company growing faster than most. The complexity is real, the visibility is high, and the expectation is that both functions will be elevated, not simply maintained.

For the right person, that's precisely the appeal: a role where operational rigour and legal expertise are used together, in service of something genuinely consequential—enabling financial access for millions of people across Africa who have never had it.

Why M-KOPA?

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, 2025 and 2026) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 7 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.