Regional Corporate Communications Lead

Regional Corporate Communications Lead.

Our mission

We’re making Africa the first cashless continent.

In 2017, over half the population in Sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That’s for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.

We’re solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don’t always work, you can still send money with Wave. In 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. Now, we have millions of users across six countries and are growing fast.

Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent and that’s where you come in…..

How you’ll help us achieve it

We’re hiring a seasoned Corporate Communications Lead who is an expert at corporate communications and public relations, especially in Francophone Africa.

If you are exceptional at storytelling, thrive in working with the media and influencing strategies in highly competitive and/or scrutinized sectors, then this is the role for you.

This role manages a small dynamic team in Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, who are taking on regionalized roles at Wave.

You’ll report directly to Wave’s Regional Director.

In this role, you’ll:

• Build and manage our communications and public relations strategy for the Francophone region.
• Develop and drive a robust communication and storytelling media and event strategy. This includes partnering with marketing to prioritize relevant events and ensuring an effective implementation of our PR strategy.
• Collaborate with our Public Affairs and Policy team to advocate Wave’s point of view on industry and regulatory topics, growing our profile as a thought leader among relevant stakeholders (such as banks, telecoms, relevant regulators, and other global influencers).
• Manage our crisis communication, including aligning cross-functionally to ensure an effective and coordinated approach.
• Oversee our digital corporate communication across all channels; including working closely across departments to ensure it achieves company objectives.
• Educate global press and media on Wave’s products, market opportunity, competitive differentiation, and the dependencies that fintech has on telecom operators.
• Train internal spokespeople for external events, including preparing messaging for panels, conferences and other engagements.
• Monitor media and track all global media placements and international public outreach.
• Broaden awareness of Wave’s PR & Comms strategy, CSR programs, and priorities within Wave and with key stakeholders.
• Oversee and develop relevant business content, such as blogs and media content for international audiences.
• Work with external agencies and freelancers to provide extra support as needed.

Key details

• Location: Based anywhere in Francophone Africa or open to frequent travels.
• Our salaries are competitive and calculated using a transparent formula.
• We run performance reviews twice a year and award bonuses to strong performers who have been with the company for more than 6 months.
• We pay 100% of your health care insurance premium cost for yourself and your dependents.
• We support working parents – we offer generous parental leave policies (26 weeks for mothers and 4 weeks for fathers) and subsidized child care when you return to work.
• We help you live your fullest life now! We subsidize gym memberships, fitness classes, and workout equipment.
• Airtime reimbursement.
• Free food and beautiful office space.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in communications at high growth and highly competitive technology, financial service company, or large multinational company in Africa.
• 2+ years of experience managing a team of more than 3 people.
• Fluent in English and French
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Relationships with key media and technology reporters across Africa and the ability to build new ones quickly.
• Able to collaborate with executives, brand spokespeople, and members of the media.
• Openness and curiosity. We maximize our rate of learning at Wave, and since the media landscape is constantly changing, we’re looking for someone who can be flexible in the face of ambiguity with a growth mindset.

You might be a good fit if you

• Enjoy working at fast-growing startups and technology companies or are passionate about financial inclusion.
• Are data-oriented and able to measure and report successes/failures.
• Possess a bias toward action and testing and are analytical and intellectually curious.
• Are creative in the way you go about tackling problems and embrace failure as a means to spark innovation and growth.
• Are an expert at crisis communication management
• You can handle multiple projects and thrive in a very dynamic environment.
• A self-starter who is dedicated and demonstrates creative and critical thinking abilities.

Our team

• We have a rapidly growing in-country team in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, and Uganda, plus remote team members spread across the world.
• We’re deeply passionate about our mission of bringing radically affordable financial services to the people who need them most.
• We foster autonomy for our employees. You’ll own your projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.
• We raised the largest Series A in Africa in 2021. Our world-class investors, include Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.
• In 2023, we were on Y Combinator’s top 50 companies by revenue.

How to apply

Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English and a cover letter describing your interest in Wave and the role.

We review applications frequently and recommend that you apply to the role that most closely aligns with your skills, experience and career goals.

Wave is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.