Retail Team Lead – M-KOPA Western Cape Running a retail operation well is harder than it looks. It’s not just the stock figures and the SLA reports — it’s the staff roster, the shop branding, the training gap you spotted last Tuesday, the depot owner who needs a conversation, and the customer complaint that landed in three different queues. Knowing which of those to handle yourself and which to delegate, and doing both without dropping anything. What M-KOPA Is Building We’ve served more than 7 million customers across Africa, unlocking over $2 billion in credit. Fifty‑five percent of those customers are accessing formal financial services for the very first time, and 86 percent report a meaningful improvement in their quality of life. As we grow toward 10 million, our retail footprint expands, our depot and service‑centre network scales, and the operational leadership that holds it all together matters more than ever. What The Work Actually Looks Like On any given week you could be reviewing service‑centre performance data, conducting a stock audit, coordinating a shop renovation, running a training session for retail staff, resolving a Freshdesk ticket escalation, and preparing a performance report for the Retail Operations Manager. No two weeks are identical, and that’s by design. Customer servicing is a consistent thread — you’ll monitor performance across service centres, stock points, and depots, and work closely with other teams to ensure customer issues are resolved without delay. When the standard slips, you’ll identify it early and act. Stock management sits firmly in your remit. You’ll supervise stock controllers, oversee inventory tracking, implement stock control procedures, conduct regular audits, and coordinate with supply chain and warehouse to ensure replenishment happens on time. Discrepancies get investigated, not ignored. Shop management covers the physical and commercial aspects of M‑KOPA’s retail presence — brand execution, permits, look and feel, branding materials, and maintenance. You’ll work closely with the Retail Senior Manager and Marketing to ensure every location reflects M‑KOPA’s standards and supports the customer experience we’re committed to delivering. Training is a dedicated part of the role rather than an afterthought. You’ll develop and manage the retail knowledge base, own the training schedule and materials, identify knowledge gaps across the team, and close them through structured training and process improvement. Your direct reports, Retail Trainers, multiply the impact of your training quality across the network. You’ll also manage Customer Care Executives, maintain CASAT and SLA reporting, drive policy and process adherence across all locations, and support Depot Shop Owner activities including servicing, commercials, and commissions. People management runs across all of it — building rosters, conducting performance reviews, managing recruitment and onboarding, addressing employee‑relations issues, and creating a team environment where people are motivated to perform. What Makes You Ready For This Proven experience in a team leader or supervisory role within retail operations — a demonstrated track record managing stock control, shop operations, and multi‑site performance across service or depot environments. Strong working knowledge of inventory management systems and retail operations processes, including stock auditing, SLA adherence, and the ability to identify operational gaps and implement practical improvements. The organisational capability and leadership presence to manage a diverse team including Retail Trainers and Customer Care Executives, alongside the willingness to travel country‑wide and the flexibility to handle a broad, fast‑moving remit without losing quality on any part of it. The Reality Check This role covers a lot of ground — intentionally. You’ll be across stock, people, training, reporting, customer experience, and shop standards simultaneously, and the expectation is that nothing falls through the cracks. That requires strong prioritisation, personal discipline, and a proactive attitude that spots a problem before it becomes an incident. If you’re energised by variety and take genuine ownership of outcomes across a wide brief, you’ll find this role rewarding. If you prefer a tightly defined scope, it may not be the right fit. Why M‑KOPA, and Why Now Most retail operations roles are about protecting what’s already working. This one is about building what comes next. M‑KOPA’s retail network in South Africa is growing — new service centres, new depots, new markets — and the Regional Retail Team Lead is the person who makes sure that growth doesn’t outpace our standards. The work you do directly shapes the experience of customers who are, in many cases, accessing formal financial services for the first time. That’s not a small thing. Benefits & Development At M‑KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programmes, coaching partnerships, and on‑the‑job training. We support individual journeys with family‑friendly policies, prioritise well‑being, and embrace flexibility. 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 or 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. If your application is successful, M‑KOPA undertakes pre‑employment background checks as part of its recruitment process, including criminal records, identification verification, academic qualifications, employment dates and employer references. #J-18808-Ljbffr