Background

We are looking for a Retail Manager to join our Retail group as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

Owning the retail engine behind M-KOPA

M-KOPA has reached 10 million customers across Africa, unlocking more than $2 billion in credit — with 86% of customers reporting a real improvement in their quality of life, and 55% accessing a formal financial product for the first time. That scale runs on physical retail infrastructure that has to work every day, in every location.

The Retail Manager leads M-KOPA Uganda's day-to-day retail operations — service centres, stocking points, depots, partner and telco outlets, zones, and repair centres — across multiple locations and sales channels. This is an ownership role: setting the standards the network runs on, not just monitoring them.

Responsibilities

The Retail Manager leads the day-to-day operations of M-KOPA Uganda's retail function — service centres, stocking points, depots, partner and telco outlets, zones, and repair centres — across multiple locations and multiple sales channels. It is a role built around ownership rather than oversight: the person in this seat sets the standards for how the network runs, and is accountable when it doesn't.

That ownership spans several distinct areas. Multi-channel stock operations need to be governed end to end, from device aging and rebalancing to preventing losses across dozens of physical sites. Retail network strategy has to translate into governance — decisions about openings, relocations, and closures need to be compliant and well executed, not just made. Retail systems and tools (M-KOPAnet warehouse setup, AMT outlet management, Freshdesk logging, trackers and dashboards) need to be correctly configured and consistently used, because a retail network this size cannot be run on memory and spreadsheets alone.

Third-party and partner performance sits inside this role too — setting operating standards, managing depot and landlord relationships, and using operational data to trace root causes rather than just symptoms when something goes wrong. Device swaps, repairs, and servicing coordination require close alignment with Care Center, Repair, QA, and Training teams, since a customer's experience of a repair often shapes their view of M-KOPA more than the original sale did.

This is also, unavoidably, an escalation role. When a stock discrepancy, an outlet conduct issue, or a process blocker can't be resolved at the front line, it lands here. The Retail Manager is expected to resolve it — working across Sales, BI, Audit, Warehouse, Finance, HR, Marketing, Admin, Procurement, Legal, and Fraud as needed — while also owning the budgets, cost reporting, and EHS/security compliance that keep the network safe and financially accountable.

People leadership runs through all of it. This role coaches, mentors, and manages the performance of retail teams, and acts as the HRBP point of contact for the function — which means the quality of the retail network is, in practice, inseparable from the quality of people leadership in this seat.

What the role actually demands

This is a field-facing, high-accountability role. It requires managing both desk-based resources and operational teams spread across multiple physical locations, often reacting to issues — a stock shortfall, an outlet security incident, a partner dispute — that don't wait for a convenient time. Anyone taking this on should expect genuine pressure at points: multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and direct accountability for loss prevention and compliance across a retail footprint that keeps growing as M-KOPA scales. It suits someone who finds that kind of operational complexity engaging rather than draining.

Reporting Structure

Reports To: Head of Operations

Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations/Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrable experience.

Extensive, demonstrable experience leading operational management functions, including proven leadership of teams and multi-site operations at scale.

A strong track record in retail, inventory, and returns management, ideally including third-party or partner contract management across distributed physical locations.

Established comfort working with data and dashboards — this role requires interpreting trends, monitoring KPIs, and making cost-effective decisions from operational data rather than gut feel, across a network with dozens of moving parts.

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.

• Lead the day-to-day operations of M-KOPA Uganda's retail function, including service centres, stocking points, depots, partner and telco outlets, zones, and repair centres.
• Govern multi-channel stock operations end to end, including device aging, rebalancing, and loss prevention.
• Translate retail network strategy into governance, managing decisions about openings, relocations, and closures.
• Ensure retail systems and tools are correctly configured and consistently used.
• Manage third-party and partner performance, setting operating standards and depot/landlord relationships.
• Coordinate device swaps, repairs, and servicing with relevant teams.
• Resolve escalated issues related to stock discrepancies, outlet conduct, or process blockers.
• Own budgets, cost reporting, and EHS/security compliance for the retail network.
• Coach, mentor, and manage the performance of retail teams.
• Act as the HRBP point of contact for the retail function.

• Operational management
• Team leadership
• Multi-site operations management
• Retail operations
• Inventory management
• Returns management
• Third-party/partner contract management
• Data analysis
• KPI monitoring
• Cost-effective decision making
• Problem-solving
• People management
• Budget management
• EHS/security compliance

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations/Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Extensive, demonstrable experience leading operational management functions.
• Proven leadership of teams and multi-site operations at scale.
• Strong track record in retail, inventory, and returns management.
• Experience with third-party or partner contract management across distributed physical locations is ideal.
• Comfort working with data and dashboards to interpret trends, monitor KPIs, and make cost-effective decisions.