M-Kopa Head of Technical Operations (East Africa) Job in Nairobi Kenya

M-KOPA Solar, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the global leader of "pay-as-you-go" energy for off grid customers.

The company was founded in 2011 by former executives behind M-PESA (the world's leading mobile payment platform) on the belief that mobile technology could revolutionize energy services in emerging markets the same way it has already revolutionized the delivery of communications and financial services.

Role Profile: M-Kopa is seeking an experienced technical operations professional to join the M-KOPA Technology Group to support and improve infrastructure and operations for the East Africa region and group technology services.

Position Title: Head of Technical Operations (East Africa)
 

Location: M-KOPA’s head office in Nairobi, Kenya. The role will require international travel (up to 25%), largely within the East Africa region with some travel to the UK and China as required.
 

Position Start: As soon as possible
 

Contract: Permanent contract with initial 3 month probation
 

Reporting to: M-KOPA’s Chief Technology Officer

Overall Purpose
 

The Head of Technical Operations will be responsible for the ongoing support, management and continual improvement of:

• The technology platforms used by M-KOPA’s offices in East Africa
• M-KOPA’s global PAYG energy platform (M-KOPANet) and related technology platforms

As M-KOPA’s business continues to grow, the provision of reliable technology services to M-KOPA employees, customers and partners is an essential part of the success of M-KOPA’s business. 

The role of Head of Technical Operations is essential in driving quality and reliability for the technology platforms used at M-KOPA, and for delivering new services and innovations that will help M-KOPA maintain its position as the leading supplier of PAYG Solar technologies and services.

Key Accountabilities
 

The Head of Technical Operations will be responsible for driving operational excellence across the technology group, working with senior managers from across M-KOPA’s business, including engineering, software delivery, finance, human resources and sales.

Key Functions

• Overall responsibility for effective delivery of operational incident management, problem management and escalations for all network and platform services at M-KOPA’s offices and for the MKOPANet Platform hosted services.
• Driving innovation and quality improvement across the technologies and services used by MKOPA and its partners and customers. 
• Contributing to the development of M-KOPA’s technical operations and platform strategy, including resourcing, skills and budgeting.
• Planning, prioritising and coordinating the delivery of network and platform projects and services in support of M-KOPA’s business operations, including engagement with and coordination of suppliers and partners.
• Being responsible for the reliable delivery of technology support services across the East Africa region and for the other M-KOPA technology platforms, including adherence to Service Level Agreements within M-KOPA’s business and for partner and customer technology services.
• Management of Network and Platform operations teams in the delivery of projects and business-as-usual technical support.

1. Ensuring staff have appropriate skills, training and career development in alignment with MKOPA’s technology strategy.
2. Planning support schedules, rotas and escalations to support a 24x7x365 operation.
3. Monitoring and assessment of staff performance in support of M-KOPAs technical operations goals.

• Managing compliance, security, assets and software licensing for M-KOPA’s information technology systems.
• Providing IT operations functions to offices for the M-KOPA’s standard hardware, software and voice/data network solutions.
• Creation and maintenance of operational support procedures, manuals, documentation and supporting systems, including service desk, monitoring, asset management and service reporting.
• Reporting on business-as-usual operational performance to senior management, including SLA compliance, incidents, root cause analyses and technical operations projects.

Knowledge / Skills
 

Required

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in an information technology related subject.
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience working in operations management or related technology field, with at least 3 years in a senior supervisory capacity.
• Demonstrable record of delivery of complex outcomes on time and to budget.
• Experience in delivering managed services using formal methods such as ITIL or COBIT.
• Experience in implementing and running service desk or helpdesk operations, including personnel management and ticketing systems.
• Knowledge of networking, security and voice/data technologies and solutions from major vendors, e.g. Cisco, 3CX, Avaya.
• Experience of designing and implementing service monitoring and reporting systems such as System Center, NAGIOS, PRTG or equivalents.
• Demonstrable experience of working in complex, multi-vendor, multi-technology environments for the delivery of technical operations services.
• Experience in running IT management / office technology services including PC/LAN/Server implementation, maintenance, troubleshooting and end-user support.
• Experience of running a gated process for operational system maintenance and change management.
• Knowledge and practical experience of working with the Microsoft technology stack, including current / recent versions Windows Server, SQL Server, Active Directory and related technologies.

Beneficial
 

Practical knowledge / experience in:

• Implementing solutions using cloud-computing services from the major cloud service vendors – Amazon, Microsoft, Google.
• Software development, deployment and change management.
• Database administration and database performance management.
• Running formal performance and capacity management processes for server and network resources.
• Linux or other *NIX operating systems implementation and management.
• Mobile worker solutions and mobile device management in a corporate setting.
• Cloud-based productivity solutions such as Google Apps or Office 365.

Personal Attributes

• Strong sense of ownership and proactive problem resolution
• Strong communicator able to manage teams across time zones and cultures
• Ability to get others to do things on time
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Team building skills
• Analytical and problem solving skills
• Decision making skills
• Effective verbal and listening communications skills
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy

Remuneration: Competitive covering a monthly salary, performance bonus and medical benefits reflective of the candidate’s experience and skills.

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 applications@m-kopa.com with the email title “Head of Technical Operations 1114”