Overview

Application

We are looking for a Lead Protection Officer to join our Impact team; as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

Role Overview

Protection roles in Nigeria are almost exclusively found inside NGOs and humanitarian programmes; protecting beneficiaries in crisis settings, reporting into protection clusters. This is not that. You'll be building and owning M-KOPA's internal safeguarding function inside a fast-scaling private sector company, covering a genuinely diverse workforce across commercial operations. You'll have the mandate to design prevention measures, lead cultural change, manage internal communications on safeguarding, and own the full incident lifecycle from first response through to resolution and closure. The seniority is real. So is the complexity.

About Us

M-KOPA is one of Africa's fastest-growing fintechs — 7 million customers served, $2 billion in credit extended, and 86% of customers reporting a meaningfully improved quality of life. Behind those numbers are 2,300+ employees and 35,000 field agents working across Nigeria and four other markets. We believe every single one of them; at HQ, in the field, in our retail shops, in our warehouses, on the phones has the right to a safe, respectful, and dignified work environment. We're building the function to make that real. This is that role.

This is an on-site role, you would be working from our offices in Nigeria, partnering with a diverse group of employees from our different markets and locations across the UK, Europe and Africa.

What You'll Do

• Build awareness across all operations so that every employee from HQ staff to field sales agents across Nigeria understands our safeguarding policies, knows their rights, their obligations, and exactly how to report and ask for help; attend and monitor reporting channels to ensure no incident goes unheard or unacted upon.
• Design and implement preventive measures, deliver training that genuinely shifts behaviours, champion a safeguarding culture internally, create and manage internal communications on safeguarding, and serve as the primary point of contact for survivors from first response through follow-up support, third-party referrals, and full case closure.
• Conduct and support administrative investigations, liaise with law enforcement and specialist external service providers, document and manage incidents through the grievance platform, identify and mitigate risks proactively, resolve and close incidents in line with M-KOPA's global standard operating procedures, and advocate for duty of care across all people managers.

What You'll Need

• At least 4 years of hands-on safeguarding experience with a demonstrable track record of managing sensitive cases across diverse operational environments — experience in a private sector, HR, or field-based setting is a genuine advantage.
• Deep knowledge of Nigeria's legal framework and cultural context around workplace harm, with established relationships or the ability to quickly build them with relevant third parties, law enforcement, hospitals, counsellors, and specialist service providers.
• Strong communication and training skills to sensitize diverse teams and drive real behaviour change, combined with the personal resilience to carry distressing, confidential situations with professionalism and care; candidates with direct experience handling GBVH and sexual violence cases will be at a significant advantage in this role given Nigeria's operational context.

The honest part

You will be the person employees call when something has gone wrong. You'll carry confidential, sometimes deeply distressing information, and you'll need to act on it quickly, calmly, and correctly often without a playbook, in a country where GBV is significantly underreported and where building trust with a workforce takes real time and real consistency. This role demands emotional resilience, personal discipline, and a genuine commitment to protecting people not as a concept, but as a daily practice. If that's where you find your purpose, this is the role for you.

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.

• Build awareness across all operations so that every employee from HQ staff to field sales agents across Nigeria understands our safeguarding policies, knows their rights, their obligations, and exactly how to report and ask for help; attend and monitor reporting channels to ensure no incident goes unheard or unacted upon.
• Design and implement preventive measures, deliver training that genuinely shifts behaviours, champion a safeguarding culture internally, create and manage internal communications on safeguarding, and serve as the primary point of contact for survivors from first response through follow-up support, third-party referrals, and full case closure.
• Conduct and support administrative investigations, liaise with law enforcement and specialist external service providers, document and manage incidents through the grievance platform, identify and mitigate risks proactively, resolve and close incidents in line with M-KOPA's global standard operating procedures, and advocate for duty of care across all people managers.

• Strong communication and training skills
• Ability to drive real behaviour change
• Personal resilience to handle distressing, confidential situations with professionalism and care
• Emotional resilience
• Personal discipline
• Genuine commitment to protecting people

• At least 4 years of hands-on safeguarding experience with a demonstrable track record of managing sensitive cases across diverse operational environments
• Experience in a private sector, HR, or field-based setting is a genuine advantage.
• Deep knowledge of Nigeria's legal framework and cultural context around workplace harm
• Established relationships or the ability to quickly build them with relevant third parties, law enforcement, hospitals, counsellors, and specialist service providers.
• Direct experience handling GBVH and sexual violence cases will be at a significant advantage.