Mobile money app for Africa

PR & Communications Lead

Location
Remote / Remote
Job Type
Full-time
Experience
6+ years
Apply to Wave Mobile Money and hundreds of other fast-growing YC startups with a single profile.
Apply to role ›

About the role

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 November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. In 2019, we expanded to Cote d'Ivoire. Now, we have millions of users 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 looking for a PR & Communications lead that is a seasoned media relations specialist who thrives in storytelling, strategic media placement, and nurturing relationships with key press and corporate communications with some consumer or general market knowledge is preferred. 

This is a newly created role also focused on building and managing a team across Anglophone and Francophone Africa. This role will report directly to a member of the Executive team. 

In managing our communications and public relations strategy, you'll:

  • Help develop and drive robust communication and storytelling media strategy for Wave.
  • Collaborate with our 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, and relevant regulators and influencers.
  • Educate key business press on Wave's products, market opportunity, competitive differentiation, and the dependencies that fintechs have on incumbent telecom operators.
  • Build out the local Communications teams (which currently is just a team of one in Senegal) across all our 5 existing and multiple new markets. 
  • Collaborate with our Talent team to attract top talent across Africa and internationally to our remote teams by telling stories about our mission and traction. 
  • Work with internal spokespeople to develop their messaging via media training, penning op-eds, interview opportunities, and speaking engagements.
  • Monitor media and track all media placements and public outreach.
  • Broaden awareness of Wave's PR strategy, programs, and priorities within Wave and with key stakeholders.
  • Oversees and develop relevant business content such as blogs 
  • Responsible for working with outside agencies and freelancers to provide extra support when needed. 

Key details

  • Location: Remote. 
  • Employees in remote positions at Wave can work remotely from anywhere (between UTC -8 and +4) with reliable internet access in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Uganda, Kenya, or Ghana.
  • Subsidized health insurance for you and your dependents and retirement contributions (both vary from country to country).
  • 6 months fully paid parental leave and subsidized fertility assistance.
  • Unlimited vacation with a 20-day_ minimum_ requirement.
  • $10,000 annual charitable donation matching.

Requirements

  • 6+ years of experience in communications at a high growth technology, financial service company, or large multinational company in Africa ( Global experience highly desirable).
  • 2+ years of experience managing a team of greater than 3 people.
  • Fluent in English and French.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both French and English.
  • Relationships with key media and technology reporters in Africa and internationally, and the ability to build new ones quickly.
  • Ability to collaborate with executives, brand spokespeople, and members of the media.
  • Openness and curiosity. We maximise 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, technology companies or 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.
  • 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, Benin 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 own projects at every stage, from understanding the problem to monitoring your solution in production.
  • We’re backed by world-class investors including Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator and Partech Africa.

How to apply

Click the link below to access the application page. Upload a resume plus a cover letter (if required), both written in English, describing your interest in Wave and the role. We review applications on a rolling basis.

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

Why you should join Wave Mobile Money

Build the future of money, Africa-first.

Join our global team bringing modern, affordable banking services to those who need them the most.

Our mission

We're making Africa the first cashless continent.

In 2017, nearly 60% of adults 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 November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. In 2019, we expanded to Cote d'Ivoire. Now, we're enabling over 700k payments every day, and growing fast. Our goal is to make Africa the first cashless continent. And that's where you come in :)

Wave Mobile Money
Founded:2015
Team Size:800
Location:Dakar, Senegal
Founders
Drew Durbin
Drew Durbin
CEO
Lincoln Quirk
Lincoln Quirk
CPO