Special Projects Lead

• PositionSpecial Projects Lead
• CompanyUnifi Uganda
• LocationKampala, Uganda
• Job TypeFull-Time (Permanent)
• CategoryManagement Jobs in Uganda
• IndustryFinancial Services
• DepartmentOffice of the Country Manager (Business Development)
• DeadlineFriday, 23 October 2026

Unifi is a pan-African consumer lender offering simple, fast personal loans through online, mobile and branch channels. It operates in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa, and sums up its culture as “Boldly different. Fiercely human. Proudly African.”

The business runs on a “touch and tech” model: warm, face-to-face client relationships through its branches, combined with in-house lending software and data analytics that make credit decisions fast. Uganda is one of Unifi’s newer markets, with personal lending products delivered through a branch-based network.

Unifi describes itself as one of the fastest-growing lenders in Africa. Scaling a young country operation quickly is exactly the kind of challenge a Special Projects Lead is hired to solve, working right alongside the Country Manager.

The Special Projects Lead reports to the Country Manager and acts as a strategic yet hands-on operational partner. The role exists to drive business scalability, tackle complex operational problems, streamline processes and lead cross-functional initiatives, with a strong focus on the key projects the Country Manager owns.

In practice, no two months will look the same. One project might be optimising collections, the next a marketing activation, a retention drive, a technology or product rollout, an HR people initiative or a response to a regulatory risk. You will plan each project, set milestones, coordinate teams across functions, track risks and report progress to everyone involved. Unifi wants someone practical who is comfortable in a fast-paced environment where not everything is perfectly structured.

• Lead the planning, execution and monitoring of special projects, ensuring they are delivered on time and to the required standard.
• Collaborate with management to align projects with company and country objectives, and identify deliverables and milestones.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure seamless delivery and alignment.
• Proactively identify risks and mitigation strategies, monitor and report on progress, address challenges and adjust plans as needed.
• Lead and support the rollout of strategy-related projects across all functional areas, including marketing, activations, retention, technology and product.
• Lead and support projects to optimise collections.
• Partner with HR on key people-related initiatives and support their implementation and delivery.
• Manage and support management on regulatory risks affecting the business.
• Monitor and report on project progress to all role players.

Required Education

• Honours degree in Engineering or Finance.

Work Experience

• Executive-level experience. The advert does not state a set number of years.
• A proven ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders at all levels.
• A track record of getting buy-in for change and delivering measurable impact.

Additional Requirements

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where not everything is perfectly structured.
• Practical and willing to get your hands dirty.

Technical Skills

• Structured problem solving: Turning an unclear business problem into a structured analytical approach.
• Project management: Planning, milestones, risk tracking and progress reporting across several projects at once.
• Process improvement: Streamlining operations with a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Change management: Getting buy-in and delivering measurable impact.
• Attention to detail: Meticulous accuracy in plans, data and reports.

Soft Skills

• Humble ambition: Confident enough to make tough decisions quickly and challenge the status quo when it adds value.
• Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills with people at every level.
• Curiosity: Willing to experiment, learn and change direction when the data says so.
• Organisation: Strong organisational skills under pressure.
• Hands-on attitude: Practical, with no task too small to deliver a result.

Unifi has not published the salary or benefits for this role. It is a permanent, executive-level position working directly with the Country Manager, with broad exposure to every function of a fast-growing lending business.

• Report directly to the Country Manager and work on the projects that matter most.
• Touch every part of the business: marketing, retention, technology, product, collections, HR and regulation.
• Help scale a young country operation in one of Africa’s fastest-growing lenders.
• Engineering graduates get a rare route into senior financial services strategy work.
• See your work’s impact quickly in a fast-paced, hands-on culture.
• Build a strong path toward Chief of Staff, COO or country leadership roles.
• A permanent contract, based in Kampala.

Apply through Unifi’s official recruitment portal: Special Projects Lead, Kampala application. Complete your profile and upload your CV before the closing date of Friday, 23 October 2026. See more jobs in Kampala.

• Put your Honours degree in Engineering or Finance at the top. It is the only fixed requirement.
• Lead with two or three projects you delivered end to end, each with a measurable result.
• Show a time you took a messy, unclear problem and built a structured plan to solve it.
• Mention any collections, credit or lending process work. Collections optimisation is named in the advert.
• Give an example of getting buy-in for a change other people resisted.
• Show you are hands-on: describe work you did yourself, not just what you oversaw.
• Keep your CV tight and data-driven. Unifi asks for meticulous attention to detail.