As the Market Engagement Manager, you will collaborate with mobile operators and their partners across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific to drive initiatives aimed improving the affordability and ownership of internet-enabled handsets for women, empowering them to meet their needs and support their livelihoods.

You will engage with operators and others in the mobile eco-system to shape their strategies and approaches to handset affordability, helping to build scalable and impactful solutions for underserved populations, particularly women. Your work will build on the existing efforts of the Digital Inclusion team and ensure that operators are supported in addressing the device affordability barrier.

Key roles and responsibilities include the following:

• Drive handset affordability initiatives with the telecom industry: Engage with mobile operators and key stakeholders to develop and advance strategies that improve device affordability for underserved populations (including device financing), with a particular focus on women. Provide direct support through strategic workshops and technical assistance, ensuring timely, high-quality execution and tracking impact to refine and scale initiatives in alignment with digital inclusion goals. Facilitate partnerships for enhanced impact where relevant.
• Secure operator commitment for technical assistance and research projects: Engage mobile operators to secure their commitment to participate in technical assistance projects, such as qualitative research, design sprints, and program evaluations. Support operators in optimizing their handset affordability interventions through tailored insights and guidance.
• Monitor trends and impact measurement: Stay informed about trends in digital inclusion and handset affordability, particularly in LMICs and for women. Help to measure and evaluate the impact of affordability initiatives and use data-driven insights to guide further efforts and improve outcomes.
• Collaborate with the insights team: Work closely with the insights team to shape thought leadership on handset affordability and deliver data-driven strategic advisory for operators and other stakeholders. Help translate insights from operator engagements into actionable recommendations, contributing to industry best practices and publications.
• Share insights across the ecosystem: Collaborate with the insights team to document and share findings from operator engagements, disseminating key learnings and actionable insights to the wider mobile and development ecosystem.

About You

The right candidate will bring experience and understanding of how to drive digital inclusion or underserved populations in low-and middle-income countries at scale. This includes having both strong commercial experience and an understanding of approaches to increasing handset affordability with a gender lens. You will be excited to join a diverse team that shares a passion for the ways mobile technology can empower underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries, especially women. 

You must have the right to work in the UK.