UX Product Manager – PAYGo Phones

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Product Manager – PAYGo Phones

Company: Sun King

Location: Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Management / User Experience

Date Posted: 2026-06-22

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Owns the end-to-end product experience for Sun King’s pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) financed smartphone customers and the sales agents, retailers, and field staff who enable the Smart Phone business.

• Drives low-friction customer journeys, robust agent and field-team tools, scalable technical integrations, and efficient commercial processes for lead generation, conversion, and retention.

• Bridges the gap between hardware, financing, and sales operations to optimize the digital funnel and field tools.

• Manages the Mobile Device Management (MDM) product roadmap, including notification design, restriction frameworks, and market-specific configuration policies.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job title is UX Product Manager, the responsibilities heavily lean into Operations and Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy, particularly in emerging markets. The role requires a deep understanding of sales operations, distribution, and customer lifecycle management within a PAYGo financing model. The focus on agent and field staff tools, along with customer activation and repayment, places this role squarely within the operational backbone of Sun King's commercial strategy.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Customer Experience & Lifecycle Management: Design and systematically reduce friction across the entire customer journey, from discovery and application to credit assessment, activation, repayment, customer assistance, and upgrades, ensuring an accessible experience for users with varying digital literacy.

• Agent Tool Optimization: Research and improve the mobile apps and dashboards used by sales agents for prospecting, customer onboarding, sales processing, and performance tracking, ensuring speed and reliability in low-bandwidth environments.

• Field Staff Enablement: Design and enhance internal tools for field staff to monitor agent activity, identify underperformers, and provide support, including building visibility dashboards for key operational signals.

• MDM Product Ownership: Define and manage the user experience of Mobile Device Management (MDM), including customer notifications, restriction frameworks, edge-case handling, and market-specific configuration policies, ensuring fairness, transparency, and compliance.

• Performance Measurement & Reporting: Define and track key experience metrics (customer activation rates, repayment behavior, agent productivity, field staff productivity) using funnel data, drop-off reviews, and qualitative research, communicating insights to inform broader business decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core responsibilities highlight a strong operational focus: optimizing sales agent workflows, managing field staff productivity, and ensuring the smooth operation of a complex financing and device management system. This is not purely a UI/UX design role but a strategic product role deeply intertwined with sales operations and GTM execution in challenging markets.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• A degree in design, business, technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Experience:

• 8–10 years in UX product management, digital product ownership, or a closely related role, with clear examples of owning user experience end-to-end.

• Experience designing for multiple, distinct user groups simultaneously, ideally including both consumers and operational/field users.

• Track record of conducting or commissioning user research and translating findings into product improvements.

• Experience working in mobile-first, low-bandwidth, or emerging market environments is a strong advantage.

• Background in consumer finance, telecoms, device financing, or distribution-heavy businesses is an advantage, but not essential.

• Experience working across multiple countries or markets with different regulatory and cultural contexts. Required Skills:

• Product Strategy & Roadmap: Ability to define and own a product roadmap, prioritizing features based on user needs, business impact, and operational efficiency.

• User Research & Analysis: Proficiency in conducting user research (qualitative and quantitative), analyzing findings, and translating them into actionable product requirements and UX improvements.

• Customer Journey Mapping: Expertise in mapping complex customer lifecycles and identifying friction points for both end-users and internal operational teams.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with engineering, commercial, operations, legal, and country teams to drive product initiatives.

• Emerging Markets Acumen: Understanding of challenges and opportunities in mobile-first, low-bandwidth, or emerging market environments.

Preferred Skills:

• Mobile App Design & Development: Familiarity with the design and development lifecycle of mobile applications, especially for field/agent use.

• Data Analysis & Experimentation: Experience using data to drive product decisions, track key performance indicators (KPIs), and run structured experiments (A/B testing).

• Consumer Finance/Fintech: Domain knowledge in consumer finance, device financing, or PAYGo business models.

• Sales Operations & Distribution: Understanding of sales agent networks, distribution channels, and field operations management.

• MDM (Mobile Device Management): Specific experience or understanding of MDM principles and their application in a commercial context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Required Skills" have been inferred based on the primary responsibilities and the overall nature of the role, emphasizing product ownership, user understanding, and operational execution. The "Preferred Skills" are drawn from the "You might be a strong candidate if you have" section and common requirements for product roles in similar industries.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Product Ownership Case Studies: Showcase at least 2-3 detailed case studies demonstrating ownership of a product or feature from concept to launch and iteration, highlighting strategic thinking, user research, and problem-solving.

• User-Centric Design Showcase: Present examples of how user research (interviews, surveys, usability testing) directly informed product design decisions and led to measurable improvements in user experience or operational efficiency.

• Cross-Functional Project Examples: Include projects where collaboration with engineering, operations, sales, and marketing teams was critical to success, detailing your role in stakeholder management and communication.

• Metrics-Driven Impact: Demonstrate how you defined and tracked key performance indicators (KPIs) for your products, showcasing quantifiable results such as increased activation rates, reduced friction, improved agent productivity, or enhanced customer retention.

Process Documentation:

• User Journey Mapping & Optimization: Provide examples of comprehensive user journey maps you've created and how they were used to identify and address friction points, leading to process improvements.

• Agent/Field Tool Workflow Design: Illustrate your approach to designing or improving tools for operational teams (e.g., sales agents, field staff), emphasizing efficiency, usability in low-bandwidth environments, and data collection.

• MDM Policy Frameworks: If applicable, include examples or outlines of how you've approached defining policies and user experiences for systems like MDM, considering compliance and user behavior.

• Experimentation & Iteration Processes: Document your process for designing, running, and analyzing experiments (e.g., A/B tests) to validate product hypotheses and drive iterative improvements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given this is a Product Manager role with heavy operational and GTM components, a portfolio showcasing process and system impact is crucial. The requirements are tailored to demonstrate not just design thinking but also the ability to manage complex operational ecosystems and drive tangible business outcomes through product.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry benchmarks for experienced UX Product Managers in Nairobi, Kenya, with a specialization in emerging markets and operational product management, the estimated salary range is KES 4,500,000 - KES 7,000,000 per annum.

• This estimate considers the 8-10 years of experience required, the strategic nature of the role, and the cost of living/market rates in Nairobi. Benefits:

• Professional Growth: Opportunities for career advancement within a dynamic, high-social-impact industry.

• Collaborative Culture: Work within an open-minded and collaborative environment with enthusiastic colleagues focused on innovation and impact.

• Multicultural Experience: Engage with and learn from a diverse team of colleagues from various geographies, nationalities, and backgrounds.

• Structured Learning & Development: Access to tailored learning and development programs through the Sun King Center for Leadership to enhance leadership, management, and professional skills.

• Inclusive Work Environment: Commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace where all team members feel they belong.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are expected, typically around 40 hours per week. Flexibility may be offered, but the role requires significant on-site presence for collaboration and field engagement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimation based on market data for senior product management roles in Nairobi, Kenya, factoring in the specified experience level and the specialized nature of the role within the PAYGo/emerging markets sector. Benefits are directly extracted from the provided text.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Renewable Energy (Solar) & Consumer Technology (Smartphones on PAYGo)

Company Size: 201-500 employees (estimated based on LinkedIn data and typical scale for such operations)

Founded: 2010 (Sun King, formerly M-KOPA Solar)

Company Description: Sun King is a leading provider of solar energy and financing solutions in Africa, focused on improving lives through accessible clean energy and technology. They are expanding into financing for smartphones and other essential products, leveraging their established PAYGo model.

Company Specialties: Solar Home Systems, Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) Financing, Customer Financing, Renewable Energy, Smart Home Technology, Emerging Markets Distribution.

Team Structure:

• This role reports into the Commercial HQ department, likely within a broader Product or Commercial Operations team.

• The UX Product Manager will work closely with engineering teams for development, commercial teams for go-to-market strategies, and country-level operations teams for on-the-ground implementation.

• Expect a matrixed reporting structure where the Product Manager influences product direction across various functional and geographical teams. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasis on using data analysis, funnel metrics, and experimentation to inform product prioritization and strategy.

• User-Centric Design: A strong focus on understanding and improving the experience for all user groups, from end-customers to field agents.

• Agile Product Development: Likely follows agile methodologies for iterative development, allowing for rapid adaptation to market feedback and operational insights.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: A core aspect of the company's approach, requiring seamless integration between product, engineering, commercial, and operations.

Company Website: https://sunking.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context has been enriched by combining the provided company specialties and founding date with general knowledge about Sun King (formerly M-KOPA Solar) to provide a more robust understanding of their operational landscape and market position, crucial for a product role focused on GTM and operations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Manager, focusing on a critical GTM and operational product line (PAYGo Phones). It demands significant autonomy and strategic input, bridging user experience design with the practicalities of sales operations, distribution, and customer lifecycle management in emerging markets.

Reporting Structure: The role is within Commercial HQ, implying a central strategic function. The UX Product Manager will likely report to a Head of Product, Director of Commercial Operations, or a similar senior leader responsible for GTM strategy and execution. They will collaborate extensively with country-level operations managers, sales leaders, and engineering teams.

Operations Impact: The UX Product Manager for PAYGo Phones has a direct and profound impact on Sun King’s revenue generation and customer acquisition/retention strategies. By optimizing the digital funnel, agent tools, and customer experience, this role directly influences lead generation, conversion rates, repayment success, and ultimately, the scalability and profitability of the smartphone business across multiple markets.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Product Strategy: Potential to lead product initiatives for new market entries or expand the PAYGo product portfolio into other device categories.

• Specialization in Emerging Markets Tech: Deepen expertise in designing and scaling technology solutions for low-bandwidth, mobile-first environments, a highly sought-after skill.

• Transition to Operations Leadership: The operational depth of this role could provide a pathway into broader commercial operations, sales leadership, or country management roles within Sun King.

• Mentorship & Team Development: Opportunities to mentor junior product managers or UX designers as the team grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career analysis emphasizes the strategic importance of this role within Sun King's operational framework and outlines plausible growth trajectories that leverage the unique blend of product management, UX, and operations expertise required.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This role is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and is designated as "On-site." This indicates a need for regular presence in a physical office environment, likely a hub for Commercial HQ functions, sales leadership, and potentially product development teams.

Office Location(s): Nairobi, Kenya. This central location facilitates collaboration with regional teams and provides access to a significant talent pool.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is expected to foster close collaboration with cross-functional teams, including product, engineering, marketing, sales operations, and country managers.

• Technology-Rich Environment: Access to necessary tools and technology for product management, UX design, data analysis, and communication will be provided.

• Field Engagement: While based in an office, the role's nature implies occasional travel to field locations or markets to understand agent and customer realities firsthand.

Work Schedule:

• Full-time, on-site role, likely adhering to standard business hours (e.g., 40 hours/week). However, given the nature of international operations and customer-facing products, some flexibility may be required to accommodate different time zones or critical project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The description of the work environment is tailored to an on-site role in a major African city, emphasizing collaboration and the practical needs of a product manager involved in field operations and GTM.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion about your experience, approach to product management, user experience design, and understanding of emerging markets/PAYGo models.

3. Product/UX Case Study Presentation: You will likely be asked to present a detailed case study from your portfolio showcasing your approach to a complex product challenge, user research, solution design, and impact measurement.

4. Cross-functional Panel Interview: Interviews with key stakeholders from engineering, commercial, operations, and potentially country teams to evaluate collaboration skills, strategic thinking, and operational understanding.

5. Final Interview: Potentially with a senior executive (e.g., Head of Product, Chief Commercial Officer) for a final assessment of strategic alignment and leadership potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the solution, the process followed, and most importantly, the measurable business impact (e.g., increased conversion, reduced churn, improved efficiency).

• Showcase User Diversity: Highlight projects where you successfully designed for multiple, distinct user groups (customers, agents, field staff) and how you addressed their unique needs.

• Demonstrate Operational Awareness: For this role, explicitly link your product decisions to operational outcomes, sales efficiency, and GTM strategies.

• Highlight Emerging Market Experience: If you have experience in low-bandwidth or emerging markets, make this a prominent part of your presentation.

• Be Ready for MDM/PAYGo Questions: Prepare to discuss your understanding or experience with MDM systems and PAYGo financing models.

Challenge Preparation:

• You may be given a take-home assignment or a live product design challenge. Be prepared to:
  • Analyze a Problem: Break down a complex user or operational problem.
  • Propose Solutions: Brainstorm and present potential product solutions.
  • Justify Decisions: Clearly articulate the rationale behind your proposed solutions, referencing user research principles and business objectives.
  • Consider Constraints: Address potential technical, operational, and market-specific constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides actionable advice tailored to a UX Product Manager role with significant operational and GTM responsibilities, focusing on how to best present relevant experience and prepare for interview stages common in such positions.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Product Management Platforms: Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar for backlog management, sprint planning, and task tracking.

• UX/Design Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision for wireframing, prototyping, and user flow design.

• User Research Tools: SurveyMonkey, Typeform, UserTesting.com, or internal tools for conducting surveys and usability tests.

• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams for internal communication and team coordination.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web/App Analytics: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude for tracking user behavior, conversion funnels, and feature adoption.

• Data Visualization Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Looker (or similar) for creating dashboards and reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs).

• CRM Systems: Salesforce, HubSpot, or a custom CRM for managing customer and agent data.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: Likely a robust CRM system (e.g., Salesforce) to manage customer and agent data, sales pipelines, and interactions.

• Marketing Automation: Tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, or similar for customer communications and lifecycle marketing.

• Integration Platforms: Experience with or understanding of how systems integrate (e.g., Zapier, custom APIs) to ensure data flow between CRM, payment systems, and device management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is inferred based on standard tools used by UX Product Managers and companies operating in the digital/fintech/emerging markets space, with an emphasis on tools relevant to user experience, data analysis, and operational system integration.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong emphasis on making a tangible, positive impact on the lives of customers and the business's growth, particularly in developing economies.

• Customer-Centricity: Deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of diverse customer segments, including those with limited digital literacy or access.

• Innovation & Adaptability: A culture that encourages creative problem-solving and the rapid adaptation of solutions to meet evolving market conditions and user feedback.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: A belief in collective success, requiring seamless integration and open communication across departments and geographies.

• Efficiency & Scalability: A focus on building robust, scalable processes and systems that can support rapid growth across multiple markets.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect a highly collaborative environment where product managers, engineers, commercial teams, and operations staff work closely together.

• Open Feedback Loops: A culture that values constructive feedback, encouraging open dialogue to refine products and processes.

• Data-Informed Discussions: Collaboration is often driven by data, with teams using insights to inform decisions and align on strategic priorities.

• Global Mindset: Working with colleagues from diverse backgrounds requires an adaptable and culturally sensitive approach to collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture and values are extrapolated from the company's mission, industry, and the description of the work environment, emphasizing the unique operational and social impact aspects of Sun King's business.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Diverse User Needs: Balancing the needs of tech-savvy agents with customers who have low digital literacy and varying access to connectivity.

• Low-Bandwidth Environments: Ensuring product performance and usability across markets with unreliable or slow internet access.

• Navigating Emerging Market Complexities: Adapting product strategies to diverse regulatory landscapes, payment infrastructures, and cultural nuances across multiple countries.

• Integrating Hardware, Software, and Financing: Orchestrating the seamless interplay between device hardware, PAYGo financing mechanisms, and user-facing software.

• Scaling Operations: Ensuring product solutions are scalable and maintainable as the company expands its customer base and market reach.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of PAYGo financing models, consumer tech in emerging markets, and the operational intricacies of scaling such businesses.

• Cross-Cultural Product Leadership: Develop advanced skills in managing product development and GTM strategies across diverse international teams.

• Impactful Product Development: Contribute to products that have a direct, positive social and economic impact on millions of lives.

• Exposure to Advanced Tech: Work with technologies and operational challenges that are at the forefront of innovation in emerging markets.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges and growth opportunities are identified based on the specific context of the role (PAYGo phones, emerging markets, broad user base) and the typical career progression in such specialized product management positions.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a product experience for users with significantly different levels of digital literacy. How did you ensure inclusivity and effectiveness for all?" (Focus on user research, segmentation, and iterative design).

• "Walk us through your process for developing a product roadmap for a feature impacting both end-customers and internal operational teams. How did you prioritize?" (Highlight prioritization frameworks, stakeholder input, and alignment with business goals).

• "Imagine a key metric like customer activation rate drops by 15% across three markets. How would you investigate and what product solutions might you consider?" (Demonstrate analytical thinking, problem-solving methodology, and understanding of potential friction points). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Sun King's mission and the PAYGo smartphone business specifically?" (Research Sun King's social impact, market position, and growth strategy).

• "How would you approach building trust and gathering feedback from sales agents who operate in remote or challenging environments?" (Showcase understanding of field operations and user engagement strategies).

• "Describe your experience working in multicultural teams or across different markets. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?" (Prepare examples of cross-cultural collaboration and adaptability). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin with the business problem and your role, then detail your user-centric process, followed by the solution and its measurable impact. Use clear visuals.

• Quantify Results: Always back up your claims with data. If direct metrics aren't available, explain proxies or qualitative impact.

• Focus on Operational Relevance: For this role, emphasize how your product decisions improved operational efficiency, sales effectiveness, or customer retention within a GTM context.

• Tell a Story: Make your case studies engaging narratives that highlight your problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and ability to drive results.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation advice is crafted to align with the specific demands of this UX Product Manager role, emphasizing operational impact, user diversity, and experience in emerging markets.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations-adjacent product management position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on Sun King's careers portal.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight your experience in UX product management, digital product ownership, user research, and designing for multiple user groups, especially those in operational or emerging market contexts. Emphasize any experience with PAYGo models, consumer finance, or low-bandwidth environments.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most relevant case studies that demonstrate end-to-end product ownership, user-centric design informed by research, cross-functional collaboration, and quantifiable impact. Ensure at least one case study speaks to operational efficiency or GTM success.

• Prepare for Case Study Presentation: Practice presenting your chosen portfolio case studies, focusing on clearly articulating the problem, your process, the solution, and the measurable business/user impact. Be ready to answer in-depth questions about your decisions.

• Research Sun King: Understand their mission, products (solar and phones), target markets, and growth strategy. Be prepared to articulate why you are a good fit for their specific culture and operational challenges.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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