Chief Operating Officer

Easy Matatu is a mass transit platform that is reforming public transport in Africa by harnessing informal minibuses to provide reliable, safe and clean transportation to commuters. With support from MTN, Total Energy Ventures and Shell Foundation, Easy Matatu is impacting hundreds of drivers and transporting more than 16K people monthly.

We are looking for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to be the right hand of the CEO. Your experience and talents will be fundamental in leading our team of energetic and motivated professionals to be efficient, productive and effective. The candidate we are looking for has worked on one or more startup founding teams scaling them to growth or maturity, preferably in the African context. We believe this would develop a unique mix of grit, business and management acumen needed to scale Easy Matatu in a hitherto informal sector. The ideal COO has strong leadership and people management skills and strength in establishing practices, policies and procedures. 

Objectives of this Role

• Collaborate with the CEO in setting and driving organizational vision, operational strategy, and hiring needs
• Translate strategy into actionable goals for performance and growth helping to implement organization-wide goal setting and performance management
• Oversee company operations and employee productivity, building a highly inclusive culture ensuring team members thrive and organizational outcomes are met
• Ensure effective recruiting, onboarding, professional development, performance management, and retention
• Adhere to company and local business requirements, enforcing compliance and taking action when necessary

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities

• Define and exceed daily, weekly and monthly performance metrics
• Develop actionable business strategies and plans that ensure alignment with short-term and long-term objectives developed in tandem with the CEO
• Directly oversee operations, HR, and accounting, and partner with the CEO to budget for sufficient investment capital to achieve growth targets over the near term
• Aggressively manage capital investment and expenses to ensure the company achieves investor targets relative to growth and profitability
• Monitor performance with tracking and establishing corrective measures as needed, and prepare detailed reports, both current and forecasting
• Maintain and build trusted relationships with key partners, and stakeholders
• Analyze internal operations and identify areas of process enhancement
• Work closely with CEO to establish a quality startup company culture

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, or related field
• 5+ years experience in executive leadership positions
• Leadership skills, with steadfast resolve and personal integrity
• Understanding of advanced business planning and regulatory issues
• A solid grasp of data analysis and performance metrics
• Be able to diagnose problems quickly and have foresight into potential issues
• Ability to roll up their sleeves and dig into details of a 20 person scale-up

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business or related field
• Fundraising experience
• International business experience

What we offer

• A competitive salary $40,000 - $50,000 in addition to stock compensation
• High level of autonomy on the leadership team with the opportunity to shape the culture of a young vibrant founding team
• Based in Kampala, Uganda - a beautiful, diverse and multicultural African paradise
• Relocation assistance - We'll find you the safest and best place to affordably live and plugin to the local community
• Health insurance - For you and your dependents
• Monthly team socials from after-work BBQs to random fun challenges