Head of Data Science

As the Head of Data Science at M-KOPA you will be, managing a distributed Data Science team in a growing FinTech environment.

Training team members throughout the organization to improve data fluency, and collaborating with the business to allow data-driven decision-making on critical business questions.

This is an opportunity to work in a company where progress, and humility are valued as highly as technical excellence? At M-KOPA we use the latest technologies and tools to build fantastic customer experiences with a socially and environmentally conscious mission that echoes throughout the organisation.

Following a hiatus hiring for this role and some internal moves and restructuring we are now back recruiting for this role. This is a Senior role reporting directly to the CTO. You'll be leading a team of Data Scientists that focus on;

Building mission critical machine learning models for a global-scale financial technology company.

Your experience should definitely include.

• Experience building data science models in a consumer lending company, with experience in some combination of credit scoring, repayment forecasting, and/or risk assessment.

• Experiencing line-managing data scientists

We foster a very low-ego environment at M-KOPA, a place where diversity, innovation and collaboration sit comfortably with commercial growth and social impact.

Our hiring process is as much about us selling to you as the other way round. Our hiring process is a series of meetings as follows;

Other skills and experience;

Building models to predict loan repayment or similar financial flows for an active financial portfolio

Consumer Credit/Lending experience

Experience and a high capacity for managing multiple problems and assignments at the same time and delivering high-quality outputs

Proficiency in data mining and data modelling techniques.

ML Ops experience in an Agile environment

Knowledge of machine learning algorithms and their applications in data analysis.

Experience of ML models in Production supporting finance/credit Preferred skills include R, Python, DAX, and PowerBI or similar data visualisation tools (eg. Tableau) Additional skills

Team Management skills, managing a team of full stack Data Scientists that are integrated into consumer Product teams.

A balance of strategic direction, model design, business impact & insights and reviews.

Debt receivables

Recruiter call 30 mins - an introduction to the process and M-KOPA

Hiring Manager call 45 mins - High level introductions

Technical Assignment

Technical Deep Dive 90 mins - This is where the magic happens

Final Interview - a chance for us all to reflect and make decisions and meet some wider stakeholders in the Business

Recognised twice by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing company (2022 and 2023) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 , we've served over 3 million customers, unlocking $1 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

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.

Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at m-kopa.com.