Manager: Commercial Performance and Business Intelligence at Lesaka Technologies

ROLE PURPOSE

• The Manager: Commercial Performance and Business Intelligence is responsible for building and maintaining the analytical infrastructure that supports commercial decision-making across the consolidated commercial and procurement functions.
• This role translates large volumes of transactional, financial, and operational data into actionable intelligence, enabling the Head of Commercial Intelligence and the broader team to make evidence-based decisions on content procurement, pricing, stock management, and customer/supplier/ product performance.
• The Manager also supports the development of dashboards, reporting frameworks, and data governance standards. This role also acts as the primary assessment gate between content acquisition and supplier/ customer approval, ensuring that no content, customer or supplier is onboarded or maintained that does not meet defined strategic and financial performance thresholds.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, build, and maintain BI dashboards and reporting tools that provide real-time visibility into content performance, stock levels, GP contribution, and treasury positions.
• Analyse transactional data across all content categories — airtime, data, bill payments, electricity, and vouchers — to identify trends, anomalies, and commercial opportunities.
• Provide data-driven input into the commercial assessment gate process, supporting the Procurement Manager and BIPM Executive with financial modelling and scenario analysis.
• Evaluate the financial viability of all current and proposed commercial initiatives and products — including airtime, data, bill payments, prepaid electricity, and vouchers — against GP% targets, WACC thresholds, and margin contribution benchmarks.
• Develop standardised reporting packs for weekly, monthly, and quarterly business reviews.
• Develop standardised profit and loss reports per customer, supplier, content category, etc. to drive commercial decision-making.
• Partner with the Senior Manager: Content Procurement to provide supplier performance analytics and stock utilisation and pricing insights on a regular basis.
• Maintain data integrity across all BI systems and ensure alignment with finance and operational reporting.
• Lead and develop a team of two Data / Financial Analysts.
• Champion data governance standards and work with technology teams to improve data pipelines and system integrations.
• Produce ad hoc analysis as required by the Head of Commercial Intelligence, the Pricing Manager, or senior leadership.
• Stay abreast of market trends across MNOs, aggregators, electricity distributors, and voucher providers.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Information Systems, Statistics, Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in a business intelligence, data analytics, or financial reporting role.
• Proficiency in BI tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar platforms.
• Strong SQL skills and experience working with large transactional datasets.
• Strong experience with financial modelling, margin analysis, and cost-of-capital concepts.
• Experience in fintech, payments, telecoms, or prepaid content environments is advantageous.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft tools.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex financial data into clear commercial recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to present complex data insights clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Data visualisation and BI platform management
• Statistical and financial analysis, including financial modelling
• Data governance and quality management
• Storytelling through data for executive audiences
• Team leadership and analyst coaching
• Cross-functional collaboration with procurement, pricing, and finance teams
• Commercial gatekeeping and decision-making under ambiguity
• Attention to detail and analytical rigour
• Stakeholder influence and communication at senior level
• Market intelligence and competitive benchmarking