Who we are

Yoco was founded in 2015, and we’ve been breaking down barriers, unlocking economic opportunities and opening commerce for people to thrive ever since.

We’re the payments provider for over 200,000 self-employed, and process over US$3 billion annually.

We have ±350 team members globally, all with a bias for boldness and a passion for simple, progressive solutions. We believe in uniting different people to solve hard problems, together.

Our mission of making society more equal requires a variety of people, with different backgrounds and points of view, to keep building solutions that make life easier for emerging businesses.

We’re growing fast. With growth comes compelling challenges. If you’re an ambitious problem-solver, with big ideas, a passion for doing good, bright, grounded and courageous; you’re likely to thrive at Yoco.

We don’t stop pushing. We break things to rebuild. We challenge ourselves and each other. We’re constantly evolving - and we’re doing it fast.

Grow With Us.

About the team

You'll lead a cross-functional analytics team embedded across Yoco's business units, with primary focus on supporting our Go-to-Market and Internal Enablement teams (including Systems, Finance, Strategy, and Risk).

The Data Science & Analytics team at Yoco powers intelligent decision-making across the business, translating complex data into actionable insights that drive growth, operational efficiency, and strategic decisions. Our work spans from daily operational dashboards to sophisticated predictive models that shape how we serve merchants and scale our business.

This role sits at the intersection of technical excellence and business partnership - you'll build a high-performing team while being deeply embedded in the business problems they solve.

About the role

We're looking for an experienced Data Science & Analytics Manager to lead, grow, and develop a team of analysts and data scientists who partner directly with our business stakeholders. This is a people-first leadership role where you'll balance team development with strategic business partnership.

You'll ensure the right work gets done by the right people at the right time, translating business priorities into team capacity, developing talent across both analytics and data science disciplines, and ensuring our work drives measurable business outcomes. Critically, you'll work closely with business leaders to mature their data literacy, analytics capabilities, and self-service frameworks—coaching them on how to engage with data productively and building sustainable analytics practices.

The ideal candidate brings substantial experience managing high-performing analytics teams in fast-paced environments, has a track record of strong business partnerships, and understands how to build analytics maturity in organisations at different stages of data sophistication. You're comfortable navigating ambiguity, translating between technical and business languages, and building trust with stakeholders at all levels.

What you will be doing

Strategic Business Partnership:

• Embed deeply with Go-to-Market and Internal Enablement teams (Systems, Finance, Strategy, Risk) to understand their business challenges and priorities

• Translate business strategy into analytics team roadmap and priorities

• Partner with business leaders to identify high-impact opportunities where analytics and data science can drive value

• Build trusted advisor relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership

• Navigate organisational dynamics and competing priorities to secure resources and alignment

• Represent the analytics function in leadership forums and strategic planning discussions

Analytics Maturity & Capability Building:

• Assess and mature data frameworks, analytics processes, and self-service capabilities across business groups

• Coach business partners on how to engage with data effectively - from asking the right questions to interpreting insights

• Build data literacy across the organization through training, documentation, and hands-on support

• Work with teams at different levels of analytics maturity, meeting them where they are and helping them progress

• Establish standards for analytical work, documentation, and knowledge sharing

• Invest in tools, infrastructure, and processes that enable the team to scale their impact

Delivery & Operational Excellence:

• Prioritise across competing demands - balancing strategic projects with operational needs

• Allocate resources effectively across analytics and data science initiatives

• Build delivery systems and processes that drive clarity, accountability, and quality at speed

• Remove blockers, manage risk, and ensure teams have what they need to succeed

• Communicate progress, setbacks, and team impact clearly to stakeholders

• Balance short-term delivery with long-term capability building

Strategic Planning & Execution:

• Translate business objectives into analytics roadmap with clear priorities and success metrics

• Make data-driven decisions about team investments, tools, and resource allocation

• Anticipate future analytics needs and build capabilities proactively

• Balance strategic, high-impact work with operational support and ad-hoc requests

• Ensure analytics work is aligned to business outcomes and demonstrates clear ROI

People Leadership & Team Development:

• Recruit, develop, and retain top analytics and data science talent with diverse skill sets

• Provide clear coaching, feedback, and performance management across both analytics and data science tracks

• Create growth pathways and development opportunities tailored to individual strengths and career aspirations

• Foster a high-performing team where people challenge each other and grow together

• Handle difficult conversations and performance issues with care and directness

About you

Essential experience:

• 5+ years managing analytics, data science, or business intelligence teams, with demonstrated success developing talent and delivering business impact

• Proven track record as a hands-on business partner - deeply embedded with business stakeholders, influencing decisions, and translating between technical and business contexts

• Experience building analytics maturity in organisations, including developing data literacy, self-service frameworks, and analytics best practices

• Strong understanding of both analytics and data science disciplines - you can speak credibly about SQL, statistical methods, experimentation, and ML approaches

• Track record working with business functions at different levels of data sophistication, meeting them where they are and coaching them forward

• Experience managing cross-functional partnerships with go-to-market, finance, operations, or risk teams

• Comfortable navigating ambiguity, managing competing priorities, and making tough decisions with incomplete information

How you work:

• People first: You genuinely care about developing people and building high-performing teams. You create psychological safety while maintaining high standards

• Business embedded: You don't manage from a distance - you're in the weeds understanding business problems, building relationships, and earning trust through results

• Clarity and communication: You provide crystal-clear direction, adapt your message to your audience, and communicate team impact compellingly

• Pragmatic and decisive: You balance trade-offs, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and know when to act vs. when to gather more data

• Maturity builder: You have a nose for where analytics capabilities are immature and a toolkit for how to develop them - whether that's better tooling, training, processes, or coaching

• Results oriented: You focus relentlessly on business outcomes, not just outputs. You connect analytics work to measurable impact and demonstrate ROI

• Organisationally savvy: You navigate politics effectively, influence without authority, build coalitions, and get things done in complex environments

• Growth mindset: You learn from mistakes, seek feedback actively, and continuously improve how you lead and how your team operates

Nice to have:

• Background as a senior analyst or data scientist yourself - you've done the work and understand what your team experiences

• Experience in fintech, payments, or high-growth technology companies

• Familiarity with modern analytics tools and data stack (SQL, Python/R, BI platforms, workflow orchestration)

• Understanding of experiment design, causal inference, or machine learning applications

The people we’re looking for

We’re looking for people who want to grow and have a thirst for learning. And as Yoco grows, we hope they stay with us for the long-term.

Building solutions for a more equal society is a daunting task - and it’s not for everyone. We never stop pushing, we break things to rebuild, and we challenge ourselves and our teammates. We start over, we constantly evolve - and we do it fast. We know that it’s just the right kind of meaningful madness for our kind of visionary human.

So, who are you? You’re someone who resonates with our mission and our values, and you’re relentlessly effective in your execution.

You’re a curious problem-solver with a passion for doing good. You’re bright, grounded, experimental and bold. You play open cards and get stuck in. You’re not afraid of change. You close the loop.

At Yoco, we laugh, embrace each other’s quirks, and support one another’s growth, all while staying authentic.

If this sounds like your kind of challenge, apply below and come grow with us.

We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply and ask that you please send your application in English and help us reduce unconscious bias by leaving out your picture, age, address, and other unnecessary information in your CV.

Department

Risk & Data

Role

Data Science & Analytics

Locations

Cape Town (South Africa)

Employment type

Full-time

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