Unifi is a fast-growing finance and technology company operating in Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Unifi delivers personal lending products through online, mobile phone, and branch channels. The company is well supported by strong shareholders and a board of directors with vast experience in entrepreneurship and lending.

The South African business is recruiting a Deputy Country Manager to support with the continued growth, development and leadership of the business. The role reports directly to the Country Manager and forms part of the Unifi South Africa management committee.

The SA business operates exclusively online and handles high volumes of loan applications and collections operations through a contact centre and supporting services operation in Tyger Valley, Bellville. The team works closely with a centralised group services office providing credit, data, systems and IT, HR, and finance shared services from Stellenbosch to client-facing operations in-country.

The ideal candidate must be adaptable, organised, and able to drive cross-functional and cross-country initiatives forward, while being very comfortable making and taking calls with clients, serving agents, and just getting things done. We are a business that encourages all to get stuck in.

A positive attitude, healthy spirit of adventure and sense of humor would be helpful.

Responsibilities: 

• Design, implement and deliver results with a marketing strategy that measurableably grows the business and builds the Unifi brand in South Africa;
• Manage all day-to-day and long-term aspects of a portfolio of functions, specifically starting with marketing (but may also include parts of: sales and collections operations, HR, finance, facilities and IT, quality assurance, and fraud, skillset dependent);
• Setting and moving intentionally toward a clear set of objectives and outcomes for managed functions which align with those of the SA business and group;
• Continuously refine and manage the measures of team and individual contribution (or productivity) and outcomes within managed functions;
• Roll up your sleeves, talk to clients, do the work of the front-line agent, and use that experience to ask questions, identify problems and seek to improve things;
• Propose, develop, and implement refinements to managed functions to make life easy for more clients;
• Inspire, develop and grow operations and departments to be driven to meet short-term goals, and sustainable and developmental of its people; build to last;
• Understand the detailed working of the website, client journey, and business IT systems and processes and propose and implement changes to make life easy for more clients and make life easy for front-line agents;
• Work closely with group data, credit risk, systems and IT, marketing, HR and finance teams in Stellenbosch to build simple, client-centric, scalable solutions for SA and the group;
• Be a bastion of the business’s values: Dignity, Unity, Simplicity and Trust;
• Help make Unifi a cool place to work. 

Requirements:

• Relevant tertiary qualification;
• At least 10 years of managing diverse teams and 5 years at executive level, managing cross-functional and/or multi-disciplinary teams;
• Experience in marketing for digital businesses with a demonstrable impact on business growth useful, not mandatory;
• Experience with SA banking, credit, payment systems and infrastructure, legislation and regulations useful, not mandatory;
• Client centric, unrelentingly focused on improving the client experience;
• Persistent in pursuit of outcomes, continually testing, iterating;
• Highly analytical, detail oriented;
• Strong communicator, written and verbal;
• Organised;
• Energetic;
• Humble and adventurous!