Strategy Associate

Job Details

• Dept: Strategy
• Report to: Chief Strategy Officer
• Contract Type: Full Time, Permanent
• Location: Melrose

Job Purpose

We are seeking a sharp, commercially minded Strategy Associate to work directly alongside the Chief Strategy Officer. This individual will support the CSO in driving and executing strategy across the business, with a focus on unlocking access to finance for South African SMMEs through alternative financing solutions including purchase order funding and invoice discounting.

The right candidate brings structured thinking, genuine curiosity about fintech and financial inclusion, and the ability to work effectively across internal teams, external partners, and funders. Comfort with AI-enabled workflows, a bias to action, and a deep commitment to integrity are essential.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Strategic execution: Support in the implementation and driving of executing strategy across all business units; translate direction into prioritised initiatives and measurable roadmaps; ensure alignment between commercial objectives and the SMME impact mandate.
• Partnerships & stakeholder management: Manage and develop relationships with external partners including banks, funders, and programme partners; represent Sourcefin credibly in strategic engagements; align internal workstreams to partnership commitments and delivery milestones.
• Executive reporting & communications: Own end-to-end production of board-ready presentations and briefing materials for the CSO; distil complex findings into clear, compelling narratives; prepare strategic dashboards, progress reports, and stakeholder updates.
• Strategic execution & partnerships: 3–5 years in strategy, fintech, financial services, or a related environment; proven ability to deliver complex projects end-to-end; experience working with external partners, banks, or funders is a strong advantage.
• Domain knowledge: Exposure to or genuine curiosity about financial services, credit, or alternative finance (PO funding, invoice discounting); familiarity with the SA SMME landscape and the role of fintech in unlocking access to capital.
• AI & analytical fluency: Comfortable working with AI tools (e.g. Claude, Claude Code) and automation workflows to boost output quality and speed; strong Excel and data modelling skills; hypothesis-driven approach to problem solving.
• Operational & AI-enabled productivity: Leverage AI tools and automation to drive output quality and efficiency across workstreams; identify and diagnose operational inefficiencies; develop business cases and implementation plans grounded in data.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Proven ability to build and deliver executive-level presentations; strong PowerPoint and data storytelling skills; exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Confident engaging C-suite stakeholders; high integrity, bias to action, and comfort navigating ambiguity; genuine interest in SMMEs and financial inclusion in the South African market.