M-KOPA is seeking:
Position Title: Technical Repair Supervisor
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Position Start: Immediate
Reporting to: Head of Device Operations
Overall Purpose: The successful applicant for this challenging yet rewarding role will be an experienced individual with a proven ability to improve business systems & procedures as well as lead & develop a team of repair technicians.
The person will be accountable for repair process optimization, quality control and management of device failure data critical to Quality Management at M-KOPA.
About M-KOPA Solar: M-KOPA Solar, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the global leader of “pay-as-you-go” energy for off-grid customers.
Since its commercial launch in October 2012, M-KOPA has connected more than 240,000 homes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to solar power, and is now adding over 500 new homes each day.
The success of M-KOPA (M= mobile, KOPA= to borrow) stems from making solar products affordable to low-income households on a pay-per-use installment plan.
Customers acquire solar systems for a small deposit and then purchase daily usage “credits” for Kshs 40, or less than the price of traditional kerosene lighting.
After one year of payments customers own their solar systems outright and can upgrade to more power.
All revenues are collected in real-time via mobile money systems (such as M-PESA in Kenya) and embedded GSM sensors in each solar system allow M-KOPA to monitor real time performance and regulate usage based upon payments.
This connected design means that M-KOPA is processing vast amounts of data (i.e. over 10,000 mobile payments per day) via the company’s proprietary cloud platform, M-KOPAnet.
As of January 2015 M-KOPA employs over 500 full time staff across East Africa and sells through a network of 1,000 direct sales agents. It has also commenced licensing its technology to partners in other markets.
M-KOPA has been recognised for its pioneering business mode and scale, notably winning the 2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize, being selected as the top New Energy Pioneer at the 2014 Bloomberg New Energy Finance awards and earning the 2013 FT/IFC Excellence in Sustainable Finance Award.
Role Profile
Key Accountabilities
Lead all aspects of testing and refurbishment of field returns and warranty swaps:
- Planning: oversee the formulation of plans to deliver operational excellence within the device diagnosis & repairs
- People: Hands-on leadership with oversight of a team of repair engineers responsible for testing, repairs, fault analysis
- Quality Control: embedding procedures to ensure quality control of diagnosis & repairs
- Process Improvements: Coordination with Engineering to design better repair processes that will increase repair rates as well as optimization of processes to improve repair throughput
- Reporting: tacking of faults and providing detailed reporting of root cause issues as part of a new Quality Management System
- KPIs: oversee the formulation of key metrics that will allow you to monitor the performance of your team and use data to identify improvement opportunities
Incumbent Requirements
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree /relevant credentials in business, technology, science, engineering, or electronics.
- Skill / experience is weighted higher than academic qualification
Experience:
Below are guideline expectations around experience:
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in an operational management role in a comparable industry
- Proven ability to build, manage and lead a professional team
- Experience in deploying process improvements and quality assurance procedures that have led to improved business performance
- Experience in troubleshooting/fault analysis. Ability to get into technical detail when required
- Knowledge of performance monitoring and management reporting
Knowledge / Skills:
- Good team management skills (work load prioritization, supervision, mentoring)
- Strong written and verbal communicator and excellent social skills to drive change
- Proactive, results oriented, energetic and able to work under pressure with a positive attitude
- Solid problem solving, analytical and statistics skills
- Good report writing and presentation skills
Remuneration: Competitive covering a monthly salary, performance bonus and medical benefits reflective of the candidate’s experience and skills.
How to Apply
To apply, send an updated detailed copy of your CV and a cover letter expressing why you feel you would be an excellent candidate for the role to careers@m-kopa.com with the subject ENG-TRS-2053
Deadline for applications 5pm on Monday 14th December, 2015.
Please Note: Due to the large number of applications received by us, we regret that you will not be contacted unless you are short listed for the post and invited for an interview.
Therefore, if you have not heard from M-KOPA within 4 weeks of the date of the deadline your application, you should assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.
This measure has been taken in the interests of efficiency and cost effectiveness and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.