Senior Manager, Sustainability & Partnerships

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Sustainability, Environmental Science, Business, Economics or related field (Master’s / MBA in Sustainability or Strategy preferred).
  
• 8–10+ years’ experience in Sustainability, ESG, Corporate Responsibility, or Strategy/Consulting roles.
  
• Proven track record of delivering commercially impactful sustainability or shared value initiatives.
  
• Experience operating in complex, regulated, or multi-market environments (e.g., telecoms, fintech, infrastructure).
  
• Demonstrated experience working with cross-functional teams (Finance, Commercial, Technology, HR).
  
• Strong knowledge of ESG frameworks and standards (e.g., GHG Protocol, IFRS S1/S2, GRI, TCFD).
  
• Experience in carbon strategy, climate transition (Scope 1, 2, 3), and circular economy principles.
  
• Familiarity with ESG data, reporting tools, and performance tracking systems.
  
• Ability to translate ESG into commercial value drivers (revenue growth, cost efficiency, risk mitigation).
  
• Experience building business cases for sustainability investments (e.g., green CAPEX, partnerships, new business models).
  
• Strong understanding of local and global ESG regulatory landscape (e.g., NEMA, EMCA, international disclosure requirements).
  
• Experience engaging with regulators, industry bodies, and external stakeholders on sustainability matters.
  
• Awareness of ICT/Telecom regulatory and operating environment is an added advantage.
  
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders.
  
• Experience in people leadership, team development, and capability building.
  
• Strong strategic thinking and execution capability in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
  
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and relationship-building skills.
  

Health and Safety

• Uphold the company code of conduct, policies and procedures, ensuring integrity and accountability in every aspect of your work.
  
• All employees have a responsibility to adhere to safety, health, and wellbeing policies, guidelines and procedures in all actions and decisions.
  

Strategy & Shared Value Integration

• Develop and drive the Sustainability & Shared Value strategy aligned to Safaricom’s growth priorities.
  
• Embed ESG into business strategy, product design, and commercial decision-making across clusters.
  
• Identify and scale shared value initiatives where social impact drives competitive advantage.
  
• Translate sustainability priorities into clear business cases linked to revenue, cost, and risk outcomes.
  
• Partner with Commercial, Technology, and CFIO teams to integrate ESG into new growth areas (e.g. FinTech, digital ecosystems).
  
• Track and report on strategic impact of sustainability initiatives on business performance and long-term value.
  

Partnerships & Ecosystem Development

• Build and manage strategic partnerships (local, regional, global) to unlock ESG-led growth opportunities.
  
• Identify and develop ecosystem collaborations across public, private, and development sectors.
  
• Leverage partnerships to enable new business models, funding opportunities, and innovation.
  
• Position Safaricom as a partner of choice in sustainability, inclusion, and purpose-led initiatives.
  
• Drive cross-border and multi-stakeholder partnerships supporting expansion and regional play.
  
• Ensure partnerships deliver measurable commercial, social, and reputational value.
  

Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Programs (Net Zero & Circularity)

• Lead delivery of environmental sustainability agenda including carbon reduction and resource efficiency.
  
• Lead the transition toward Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for carbon neutrality (Scope 1, 2, and 3).
  
• Oversee waste, water, and circularity initiatives across operations and value chain.
  
• Integrate environmental considerations into supplier, product, and operational decisions.
  
• Manage sustainability risks and opportunities related to climate and environmental impact.
  
• Support development of innovative sustainability solutions aligned to future business needs.
  

ESG Governance, Reporting & Compliance

• Lead ESG governance frameworks ensuring alignment with regulatory, investor, and Group requirements.
  
• Oversee development of sustainability disclosures (e.g. integrated reports, ESG ratings, regulatory filings).
  
• Ensure ESG KPIs are embedded into business performance frameworks and tracked effectively.
  
• Monitor evolving ESG regulations and ensure readiness and compliance across markets.
  
• Drive data integrity, assurance, and transparency in ESG reporting and disclosures.
  
• Provide insights to leadership on ESG performance, risks, and opportunities.
  

External Positioning, Advocacy & Thought Leadership

• Position Safaricom as a leader in sustainability and purpose-led growth through strategic storytelling.
  
• Represent the organization in key sustainability forums, industry platforms, and stakeholder engagements.
  
• Shape external narratives in collaboration with PR, Public Affairs, and Communications teams.
  
• Build thought leadership on sustainability, inclusion, and shared value across markets.
  
• Drive stakeholder engagement strategies that strengthen trust, credibility, and brand positioning.
  
• Ensure alignment between sustainability messaging and overall corporate narrative.
  

Culture, Capability & Cross-Functional Enablement

• Build internal capability on sustainability and shared value across business units.
  
• Drive a culture of sustainability through awareness, engagement, and leadership alignment.
  
• Provide guidance to teams on embedding ESG into day-to-day decision-making and operations.
  
• Enable cross-functional collaboration to deliver integrated sustainability outcomes.
  
• Lead and develop a high-performing team to deliver on sustainability and partnerships agenda.
  
• Support enterprise initiatives (e.g. Ethiopia, new markets) with sustainability and partnership expertise.
  

Subsidiary Oversight, Governance & Enablement

• Provide strategic oversight and guidance on Sustainability and Partnerships across subsidiaries, ensuring alignment to Group ESG priorities and standards.
  
• Establish governance frameworks, reporting structures, and performance tracking mechanisms across subsidiary markets.
  
• Support subsidiaries in embedding sustainability and shared value into local business strategies and operations.
  
• Enable capability building through knowledge transfer, playbooks, and best practice sharing across markets.
  
• Drive coordination between Group and subsidiary teams to deliver cross-market initiatives and partnerships.
  
• Monitor subsidiary ESG performance, risks, and opportunities, providing insights and interventions where required.
  

Core competencies, knowledge and experience:

Customer Obsession

• Deepen team connection to our customers and communities.
  
• Foster authentic relationships with customers and partners that build trust.
  
• Explicitly take customer-centric decisions and take personal ownership to achieve results.
  
• Simplify processes through digitalisation and promote a digital mindset and digital first customer experience.
  
• Stay focused on the big priorities, know when to make meaningful trade-offs and demonstrate brilliant execution.
  

Purpose

• Create an inspiring vision for your team to drive strategy and performance.
  
• Show ambition and courage, empowering others to go beyond the plan.
  
• Bold and challenge teams to reimagine how things are done.
  
• Prompt new thinking and ideas by asking “what if” questions.
  
• Use knowledge of the external environment (customers, partners, competition, external bodies) to identify and act on opportunities for growth at pace.
  

Innovation

• Create psychological safety so everyone can have an impact.
  
• Fuel innovative ideas from others and test them to enable growth.
  
• Explore successes and failures with curiosity and resilience; fearlessly recognizing lessons learned.
  
• Share your ongoing learning and personal purpose with others.
  
• Learn fast from digital adoption, using learnings to drive simplicity, scale and efficiency.
  

Collaboration

• Articulate your team’s role in making our strategy happen, prioritizing and aligning resources with current and future needs.
  
• Actively collaborate to break silos and hold your team accountable to do the same.
  
• Develop others to make the most of their talents and coach them to take ownership to get things done.
  
• Create an inclusive environment ensuring the safety and wellbeing of others.
  
• Live our Purpose and demonstrate the highest Standard of integrity.