M-KOPA
is seeking:
Position
Title: Delivery Manager – Device Software
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Position
Start: As
soon As Possible
Reporting
to:
Matrix
reporting
Reports to HOD Engineering on Technology
Reports to CTO on Delivery Management
Reports to HOD Engineering on Technology
Reports to CTO on Delivery Management
Since
its commercial launch in October 2012, M-KOPA has connected more than 350,000
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 50, 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 2016 M-KOPA employs over 700 full time staff across East Africa and sells through a network of over 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.
M-KOPA has also successfully tested a range of new products that leverage its relationship with customers, and M-KOPA’s unique competencies in mobile telecommunications and ICT.
To
ensure that the research and development of new products add value to (and do
not distract from) its core business, M-KOPA is establishing the M-KOPA
Labs.
The
Labs will be a dedicated business unit within M-KOPA that will define and test
extensions of the M-KOPA asset-based credit model for off-grid-power to new
products and services.
Role
Profile
Overall
Purpose: This
is a senior role in M-KOPA’s engineering team, central to delivery of a
fast-moving product roadmap.
More
widely, given M-KOPA’s leadership role in this emerging sector, this role will
be influential in shaping the delivery of our “connected machines”
ecosystem.
The
Device Software Delivery Manager is responsible for the successful and timely
delivery of all of M-KOPA’s firmware and device-related software products
incorporating requirements capture, development, quality assurance and
operational integration of the custom firmware and related software assets for
M-KOPA’s solar home system hardware and associated peripherals.
This
includes alignment with company policies and initiatives on requirements
capture tools and methods, software delivery processes, testing tools and
methods and operational release processes.
The
Device Software Delivery Manager is also responsible for management of team
resources, allocation of tasks / deliverables and ensuring timely delivery of
quality software.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
- Line
management of the firmware (software) delivery team to ensure high
quality, timely production of firmware releases.
- Liaison
with M-KOPA’s software team and third party software providers for the
specification and delivery of device control and manufacturing/production
related software assets.
- Managing
and contributing to requirements analysis, documentation, delivery and
test of firmware releases across all of M-KOPA’s firmware code-bases.
- Participating
in the prioritization and planning of firmware releases and supporting
software assets across all products to align with the product release
roadmaps.
- Working
with project managers to align firmware releases and device software with
overall hardware device delivery plans or operational improvement
initiatives.
- Liaise
with the HoD Engineering to capture feature requirements coming from
product roadmaps and from the Device Operations team and manufacturing
teams.
- Ensure
that standard testing processes are applied to the release of firmware,
including delivery of high quality test cases, teat suites and test plans.
- Participate
in troubleshooting of firmware and hardware related issues to drive
positive change in product firmware.
- Assess
and promote continuous improvement in the processes and quality assurance
for firmware delivery.
- Any
other tasks as directed by HoD Engineering.
Skills,
Knowledge, Qualifications Required
Role
Specific, Mandatory:
- Bachelor’s
Degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Software or related subject –
relevant professional experience will be accepted.
- At
least 5 years working in a software / firmware delivery capacity with at
least 2 years in a supervisory / leadership role.
- Knowledge
/ experience in agile software delivery processes
- Practical
experience in writing software using C, C++, Java or .NET
- Knowledge
of software release processes and quality gating
Role
Specific, Ideal:
- Experience
in building micro-controller or embedded software solutions
- Knowledge/experience
in electronic engineering or hardware production
- Knowledge/experience
of formal project management methodology (e.g. Prince 2)
- Experience
of working in a consumer electronics related role
General:
- Achieving
Results – Be aware of key business and team objectives and ensure that
these are applied appropriately to all business activities
- Building
Relationships – Able to develop effective relationships with Operational
Teams, Developers, IT and other business users
- Customer
Focus (internal) – Able to anticipate and understand customer
expectations, and ensure that customer requirements are met and expectations
appropriately managed. Able to build solid relationships with team members
and internal customers.
- Communication
– Effective written and verbal communication skills suited for technical
audiences, peers, IT management, data users and consumers.
- Planning
and Organizing – Effective at planning and managing own workload and
ability to split time between reactive tasks and planned project work.
- Teamwork
– Effective at contributing towards the objectives of a team, and being
able to share knowledge, experience, ideas and information. Aware of the
needs, objectives and constraints of those in other disciplines and
functions.
- Problem
Solving and Decision Making – Effective at solving problems in a measured
and creative way. Proactive in relation to identifying and undertaking
activities that are of benefit to the business. Effective at balancing
long and short term objectives. Responsible for own decisions and actions.
- Influencing
and Impact – Act in a professional manner, and exhibit the required
behavior that should provide an example to other employees. Needs to be
able to identify tasks outside of own remit and work with peers to ensure
an end to end solution is effectively delivered. Must be prepared to meet
business goals and respond well to change.
Remuneration: Competitive covering a monthly salary, performance bonus and
medical benefits reflective of the candidate’s experience and skills.
Position
Title:Delivery Manager – Hardware / Electronics Engineering
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Position
Start: As
soon As Possible
Reporting
to:
Matrix
reporting
Reports to HOD Engineering on Technology
Reports to COO on Delivery Management
Reports to HOD Engineering on Technology
Reports to COO on Delivery Management
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 350,000 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 50, 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 2016 M-KOPA employs over 700 full time staff across East Africa and sells through a network of over 1,000 direct sales agents. It has also commenced licensing its technology to partners in other markets.
M-KOPA has been recognized 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.
M-KOPA has also successfully tested a range of new products that leverage its relationship with customers, and M-KOPA’s unique competencies in mobile telecommunications and ICT.
To
ensure that the research and development of new products add value to (and do
not distract from) its core business, M-KOPA is establishing the M-KOPA
Labs.
The
Labs will be a dedicated business unit within M-KOPA that will define and test
extensions of the M-KOPA asset-based credit model for off-grid-power to new
products and services.
Role
Profile
Overall
Purpose: This
is a senior role in M-KOPA’s engineering team, central to delivery of a
fast-moving product roadmap. More widely, given M-KOPA’s leadership role in
this emerging sector, this role will be influential in shaping the delivery of
our “connected machines” ecosystem.
The
Hardware / Electronics Delivery Manager is responsible for the successful and
timely delivery of all of M-KOPA’s Hardware / Electronics products
incorporating requirements capture, development, quality assurance and
operational integration of the custom hardware and electronics for M-KOPA’s
solar home system hardware and associated peripherals.
This
includes alignment with company policies and initiatives on requirements
capture tools and methods, hardware delivery processes, testing tools and
methods and operational release processes.
The
Hardware/Electronics Delivery Manager is also responsible for management of
team resources, allocation of tasks/deliverables to ensuring timely delivery of
product, along with efforts of sustaining engineering.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
- Line
management of the hardware/electronics delivery team to ensure high
quality, timely development, testing and release of products/devices
- Team
with the Device Software Delivery Manager, along with other M-KOPA
stakeholder teams, including external 3rd parties such as developers,
manufacturers/suppliers for specification and delivery to ensure execution
of a fully integrated product that meets system requirements.
- Managing
and contributing to requirements analysis, documentation, delivery and
test of hardware / electronic products, including in-house designed as
well as 3rd party products
- Participating
in the prioritization and planning of product releases and supporting
hardware assets across all products to align with the product release
roadmaps.
- Working
with project managers to align hardware releases with overall device
delivery plans or operational improvement initiatives of functionality,
quality and cost.
- Liaise
with the HoD Engineering to capture feature requirements coming from
product roadmaps and from the Device Operations team and manufacturing
teams.
- Ensure
that device security features continue to be enhanced and implemented to
continuously drive down fraudulent use of the product
- Ensure
that standard development, testing and quality reliability processes are
applied throughout the development of a product and subsequent revisions.
- Participate
in troubleshooting of firmware and hardware related issues to drive
positive change in product hardware/electronics.
- Lead
sustaining engineering efforts around Quality, cost, reliability and
security.
- Assess
and promote continuous improvement in the processes and quality for
hardware delivery.
- Any
other tasks as directed by HoD Engineering.
Skills,
Knowledge, Qualifications Required
Role
Specific, Mandatory:
- Bachelor’s
Degree or equivalent in Electronic or Mechanical Engineering or related
subject – relevant professional experience will be accepted.
- At
least 5 years working in a development engineering role with at least 2
years in a supervisory/leadership role.
- Working
knowledge of reliability standards and testing
- Project
management skills / experience
- Knowledge
of hardware and firmware interaction
- Master’s
Degree desirable
Role
Specific, Ideal:
- Experience
in development of complex electronics or embedded hardware solutions
- Knowledge/experience
in electronic engineering or hardware production
- Knowledge/experience
of formal project management methodology (e.g. Prince 2)
- Experience
of working in a consumer electronics related role
General:
- Achieving
Results – Be aware of key business and team objectives and ensure that
these are applied appropriately to all business activities
- Building
Relationships – Able to develop effective relationships with Operational
Teams, Developers, IT and other business users
- Customer
Focus (internal) – Able to anticipate and understand customer
expectations, and ensure that customer requirements are met and
expectations appropriately managed. Able to build solid relationships with
team members and internal customers.
- Communication
– Effective written and verbal communication skills suited for technical
audiences, peers, IT management, data users and consumers.
- Planning
and Organizing – Effective at planning and managing own workload and
ability to split time between reactive tasks and planned project work.
- Teamwork
– Effective at contributing towards the objectives of a team, and being
able to share knowledge, experience, ideas and information. Aware of the
needs, objectives and constraints of those in other disciplines and
functions.
- Problem
Solving and Decision Making – Effective at solving problems in a measured
and creative way. Proactive in relation to identifying and undertaking
activities that are of benefit to the business. Effective at balancing
long and short term objectives. Responsible for own decisions and actions.
- Influencing
and Impact – Act in a professional manner, and exhibit the required
behavior that should provide an example to other employees. Needs to be
able to identify tasks outside of own remit and work with peers to ensure
an end to end solution is effectively delivered. Must be prepared to meet
business goals and respond well to change.
Remuneration: Competitive covering a
monthly salary, performance bonus and medical benefits reflective of the
candidate’s experience and skills.
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 EV-DMHE-2080
Deadline for application is 5pm on Friday 8th July, 2016.
Please Note
M-KOPA, as a policy, does not collect/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.
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.
