Retail Operations Lead - Cape Town

Retail Operations Lead - Cape Town [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5ac97b31-49cd-4012-8bb0-5caf15e33c69/B25.png] RETAIL OPERATIONS LEAD | M-KOPA | CAPE TOWN [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/2463250c-db73-4c56-b4fc-5ba99c9b934b/image.png] You've spent time in retail or field operations, and by now you know the difference between a team that executes and a team that just shows up. You've probably also learned that the gap between those two things comes down to one thing: the quality of leadership in the middle. The people who set the standard daily, who hold the line on accountability without burning relationships, who can read a store visit and know within minutes what's working and what isn't. If that's the operational leader you've become, M-KOPA has a role in South Africa that's worth your attention. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/c8464884-d0b3-4902-a92c-ce046b7b8e9e/image.png] The organisation behind the role M-KOPA is a pan-African fintech with a mission that's easy to describe and genuinely hard to replicate: we extend financial access to people who've historically been locked out of it. Seven million customers across the continent have now accessed credit, smartphones, solar energy, and electric mobility through our model — 55% of them for the very first time. We've unlocked more than $2 billion in credit. Eighty-six percent of our customers report a measurable improvement in their quality of life. We employ more than 2,300 people and work with 35,000 agents. The retail channel is a core part of how that access gets delivered — and how we continue expanding it. Why this moment M-KOPA is on a deliberate growth path from 7 million toward 10 million customers, and the retail footprint that supports that ambition is expanding with it. If you've noticed us hiring across multiple functions, that's intentional — we're building the infrastructure to support the next phase of scale, and the Retail Operations Lead role sits at the operational centre of that effort in South Africa. This isn't a role that gets created because things are going wrong. It's a role that exists because we're growing fast enough to need sharp, accountable operational leadership closer to the ground. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/84860e0e-9bfb-4cb8-b05a-711a5376c402/image.png] What this role actually owns The Retail Operations Lead is responsible for execution — making sure the retail channel performs, day in and day out, across every store within the team's portfolio. That ownership has real scope. You'll directly manage Retail Team Leads: setting expectations, running structured performance conversations, conducting formal reviews, and implementing performance improvement plans where needed. You'll own the full people management cycle for your direct reports — including participating actively in recruitment, supporting onboarding, and building team capability through ongoing coaching. The expectation is that you develop leaders, not just manage them. On the operational side, you'll drive accountability for sales performance across assigned stores — tracking results, identifying underperforming sites, and working with Team Leads to build and execute improvement plans. You'll conduct regular store visits to verify standards, confirm store readiness, and document outcomes. You'll monitor stock movement, ensure daily and weekly stock disciplines are being followed, and flag anomalies to the Retail Operations Manager without delay. Loss prevention in this context is a leadership behaviour, not a reporting function. You'll also serve as the operational liaison between your team and internal support functions — Customer Care, Warehouse, IT, Sales Operations — and review supplier invoices for stores within your portfolio for manag ... (truncated, view full listing at source)