Legal & Compliance Manager – West Africa

Job description

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5ac97b31-49cd-4012-8bb0-5caf15e33c69/B25.png] WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LEGAL & COMPLIANCE MANAGER – WEST AFRICA TO JOIN OUR LEGAL GROUP; AS WE SCALE UP AND DRIVE DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION ACROSS OUR MARKETS. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/2c6957b4-39d2-40b3-8eb6-7e380a0c2f9c/B13.png] JOB PURPOSE To serve as the primary legal and compliance resource for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets (Nigeria and Ghana), managing the full spectrum of legal, regulatory, and compliance activities across the region, with accountability for legal risk management, regulatory licensing and compliance, and also support the organization’s compliance activities in the countries we operate in. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5e9f3448-2fed-4b66-b1ee-9474279a7947/B13.png] KEY JOB FUNCTIONS - Ensure M-KOPA’s operations are compliant with local and national laws, contractual and shareholder obligations, and best practices. - Serve as the Data Privacy Officer for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets, responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with applicable data privacy legislation and best practices supported by the global privacy team. - Support on regulatory licensing and engagement across M-KOPA’s West Africa markets, including the Bank of Ghana and the Central Bank of Nigeria, ORC/GIPC/NCA filings in Ghana and CAC/NCC filings in Nigeria, and proactive monitoring of emerging regulatory developments affecting M-KOPA’s product and operational footprint across the region. - Undertake legal and regulatory research and assess and evaluate the impact of changes in applicable legislation and best international practices. - Coordinate a program of training and capacity building activities for employees across M-KOPA, covering all key areas of compliance policy and practice. - Support the development and implementation of relevant policies, processes, and procedures, and maintain an appropriate review cycle. - Partner with M-KOPA departments such as Legal, Internal Audit, EHS and Risk Management, to assess and ensure effectiveness of control systems in driving compliance. - Identify, understand, and escalate compliance risk events/issues in a timely manner and focus on fixing root causes of the issues. Monitor implementation status of agreed action points aimed towards driving compliance. - Manage the compliance tools such as compliance obligations register, compliance training calendar, compliance incident register and compliance risk register. - Support investor compliance, including implementation of ESMS, and participate in investor reporting on ESG aspects. - Support in regulatory compliance, including the timely preparation and submission of regulatory filings such as annual returns or timely response to regulator circulars - Work flexibly and collaboratively across all teams in the organisation to ensure the greatest impact and effectiveness of the Compliance Team’s day-to-day work - Undertake all other reasonable and related tasks associated with this role. - Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements including vendor contracts, service agreements, partnership arrangements, and technology licences; provide practical legal guidance to business teams on contract risk, product and deal structuring as applicable. - Manage corporate governance and secretarial matters for M-KOPA’s West Africa entities (Nigeria and Ghana), including board resolutions, statutory filings, maintenance of corporate records, and ensuring compliance with the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) of Ghana, the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) of Nigeria, and applicable regulatory requirements. - Manage the external counsel panel for M-KOPA’s West Africa markets (Nigeria and Ghana), including matter instruction, scope and fee management, quality review of external legal work product, and maintenance of an up-to-date panel roster aligned to M-KOPA’s external counsel management framework. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/87b7ac18-2560-453b-8458-604083f04eb2/M-KOPA%20Pic.jpg] REPORTING STRUCTURE This role reports to the Head of Department EXPERIENCE/ SKILLS & COMPETENCIES/ LICENCES & CERTIFICATIONS/ EDUCATION REQUIRED - 5+ years post-call-to-bar working experience in a legal/compliance function. Experience in banking and finance is an added advantage. - Undergraduate LLB degree. - Working knowledge of compliance standards and regulations. - Experience in risk management. - Experience in contract negotiation and regulatory engagement; prior exposure to structured finance or capital markets transactions is an added advantage. - Strong attention to detail. - Communicate and collaborate with diverse team members. - Generally structured and organized. WHY M-KOPA? 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 http://m-kopa.com. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/369018b8-cf9c-49c7-95f1-1d414482ba57/B13.png] Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one Africa's fastest growing companies (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026), named on CNBC's World’s Top Fintech Companies 2025 & 2026 and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , we've served over 10 million customers, unlocking $2 billion in cumulative credit for the everyday earners across Africa, in addition to over 10,000 e-bikes financed in Kenya. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/481f6724-8375-4f39-b514-fbe00b8fc3b5/B13.png] Important Notice M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. M-KOPA explicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice. M-KOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships. M-KOPA 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. Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Shortlisting and interviews will take place at any stage during the recruitment process. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected before the advertised closing date. If your application is successful M-KOPA undertakes pre-employment background checks as part of its recruitment process, these include; criminal records, identification verification, academic qualifications, employment dates and employer references.