M-Pesa Africa is the continent’s largest fintech platform, serving more than 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across eight countries. Every day, we power over $1.2 billion in transactions, helping people and organizations send and receive money, make payments, access affordable credit and savings solutions, and grow their wealth.
We are proud to be behind Africa’s leading super app – the M-Pesa Super App – a transformative digital ecosystem that enables financial inclusion and prosperity for millions. True to our purpose, Transforming Lives, we are committed to building innovative solutions that empower communities, businesses, and individuals. Our success is only possible when our customers and communities thrive.
As we continue to expand our footprint and enhance our digital financial ecosystem, we are looking for an experienced and highly skilled professional to join us as Manager – Change, Release & Transition. This role is critical in ensuring that new systems and services are introduced into production in a controlled, compliant, and seamless way that guarantees operational stability while delivering maximum value.
About the Role
The Manager – Change, Release & Transition will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating change, release, and transition processes across M-Pesa Africa. This leadership role requires a strong balance of technical knowledge, stakeholder engagement, governance, and people management skills.
You will play a key role in driving operational readiness, ensuring risk mitigation, and supporting collaboration between technical and business stakeholders. Ultimately, your leadership will ensure that every change and release cycle is executed in a manner that is controlled, efficient, and value-driven.
Key Responsibilities
1. Change Management
- Lead and manage the full change lifecycle in line with ITIL best practices.
- Chair Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings and carry out risk assessments.
- Oversee deployment readiness checks and quality reviews.
- Monitor change KPIs (success rates, failure rates, emergency changes) and introduce continuous improvements.
- Manage emergency change processes while ensuring clear communication with senior stakeholders.
2. Release Management
- Plan, schedule, and coordinate software and infrastructure releases, including patches.
- Align release windows with business calendars to avoid disruption.
- Ensure version control, thorough test validations, rollback procedures, and compliance are in place.
3. Transition Management
- Manage smooth transitions from project delivery into steady-state operations.
- Define and enforce operational acceptance criteria and go-live checklists.
- Coordinate operational acceptance testing (OAT) plans and service handovers.
- Track progress, risks, and readiness milestones across all M-Pesa markets.
- Lead post-release reviews and root cause analysis for failed deployments.
4. Risk, Compliance & Governance
- Enforce change and release controls to minimize disruptions.
- Maintain detailed documentation and change logs for audit purposes.
- Ensure compliance with internal policies, security frameworks, and regulatory standards.
- Support audits and respond effectively to compliance-related inquiries.
5. Stakeholder Engagement & Reporting
- Act as the primary contact for change, release, and transition issues.
- Provide leadership teams with clear reporting on upcoming releases, risk areas, and performance KPIs.
- Collaborate with market IT teams to ensure readiness at a localized level.
- Promote process optimization through engagement with delivery, support, and DevOps teams.
6. Leadership & People Management
- Lead a team of 5–8 analysts, coordinators, and leads.
- Set clear objectives, conduct performance reviews, and mentor team members.
- Ensure effective resource allocation across projects and releases.
- Drive a culture of accountability, proactive planning, and continuous improvement.
Knowledge and Experience
- 5–7 years of IT Service Management experience.
- At least 2 years in leadership or supervisory roles.
- Proven expertise in ITIL Change Enablement, Release Management, and Transition Planning.
- Demonstrated success in leading CABs, handling emergency changes, and managing high-volume release cycles.
- Experience in go-live readiness, OAT planning, and service handovers.
- Strong knowledge of hybrid/cloud infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps, and enterprise systems.
- Experience with automation of change/release workflows is an added advantage.
- Familiarity with data protection, compliance standards, and regulatory requirements.
- Previous experience in financial services or mobile payment solutions is highly desirable.
- Exposure to working in multi-market and multicultural environments.
Professional Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related STEM field.
- ITIL v3 or ITIL 4 Certification.
- Project Management certifications such as PRINCE2, PMP, or AgilePM will be an added advantage.
- Strong communication, stakeholder engagement, and planning skills.
About M-Pesa Africa
M-Pesa Africa is part of Safaricom, East Africa’s leading telecommunications company. Safaricom connects more than 42 million customers, supports over one million jobs directly and indirectly, and contributes significantly to the region’s economy, with an estimated economic value of KES 362 billion ($3.2 billion) as of 2021.
We are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) with revenues of KES 298 billion ($2.5 billion) as of March 2022. Since its founding in 1997, Safaricom has grown to become an innovation powerhouse, with M-Pesa – launched in 2007 – emerging as one of Africa’s greatest fintech success stories.
Today, M-Pesa Africa continues to redefine digital financial services, pioneering solutions that promote inclusion, empower businesses, and transform lives.
Why Join Us?
- Be part of Africa’s most impactful fintech platform with global recognition.
- Work in a dynamic, innovative, and multicultural environment.
- Lead transformative change in financial services across multiple African markets.
- Opportunity for personal and professional growth in a high-performance team.
- Contribute to a mission-driven organization that is actively Transforming Lives.
How to Apply
If you are passionate about financial technology, thrive in fast-paced environments, and have the leadership and expertise to drive change, release, and transition management at scale, we want to hear from you.
The application deadline is 30th September 2025, 03:00 EAT.
