Country Manager, South Africa

About the Role
You will run Uber Mobility's day-to-day operations in South Africa. This is an execution-first, owner-operator role: you are accountable for how well the country delivers against the country strategy.
Your focus is the operational surface area that sits around the supply function: scaling low-cost mobility products city by city, launching and running regional and smaller cities, building the local partnerships that unlock vehicle access and growth, implementing regulatory change operationally, running the country's operating performance cadence.You will lead a small in-country team, who own the driver funnel, supply performance, and driver programmes day-to-day. Your job is to set their priorities, unblock them, connect their work to the wider country plan, and hold the overall country number.
South Africa is a complex, competitive and highly regulated mobility market spanning major metros and a long tail of regional cities. You will spend meaningful time in-market and on the road.
About the Team
You will be part of the SSA Mobility leadership team and work in close partnership with:
Regional Operations, Strategy & Planning, and Marketplace teams
Public Policy, Legal, Communications, Safety, and Risk
Global and regional product, marketing, and support teams
You will also interface directly with external partners including regulators, airports and venue operators, fleet and vehicle partners, and other ecosystem players critical to the success of Uber in South Africa.
What You'll Do
Country operational delivery
Own the consolidated operational performance of South Africa, bringing city, product, and functional performance into a single country view.
Run the country operating cadence: weekly and monthly business reviews, KPI tracking, issue logs, and action follow-through with named owners and deadlines.
Report country operational performance, risks, and escalations to the SSA General Manager and regional leadership on a fixed rhythm.
Identify cross-functional bottlenecks and mobilise the right people, partners, or regional support to clear them.
Own local execution of regionally-defined initiatives end-to-end, and feed structured results back to regional teams.
Team leadership
Manage and develop the in-country operations team
Set priorities, targets, and operating standards for the team; run a regular performance and development cadence.
Review and pressure-test your team's plans; reallocate resource and escalate where delivery is at risk.
Represent your team's constraints and resourcing needs to regional leadership and cross-functional partners.
Low-cost mobility rollout
Execute the rollout and scaling of low-cost and affordable mobility products across South Africa, following the product and market prioritisation set regionally.
Deliver city-by-city launches end-to-end: operational setup, partner readiness, local activation, go-live, and post-launch stabilisation.
Sequence launch plans with the Driver Operations lead so supply readiness lands ahead of demand generation.
Track post-launch operational performance and run targeted local interventions where products underperform.
Escalate to regional Marketplace, Product, and Finance teams where product configuration or unit economics need adjustment.
Regional and small city operations
Execute the growth plan for South Africa's regional and smaller cities, running launches and scale-ups against the criteria and sequencing defined regionally.
Own operational readiness for each city: local partner network, support presence, vendor coverage, compliance prerequisites, and go-live checklists.
Run city-level performance reviews and close operational gaps across priority corridors.
Maintain a practical, on-the-ground view of competitive and operational dynamics city by city, and share it with regional teams to inform planning.
Adapt proven metro playbooks to smaller-city economics and standardise what works into repeatable local processes.
Local business development and partnerships
Build and manage a pipeline of local commercial partnerships that unlock growth and vehicle access — OEMs and dealers, vehicle financing and insurance providers, large fleet and rental groups, local aggregators, corporates, and community and civic organisations.
Source, structure, negotiate, and close local deals within regionally-approved commercial frameworks, and drive them through to implementation.
Hand signed partnerships to the Driver Operations lead for day-to-day operational delivery, and own partner governance: commercial terms, review cadence, renewal, and escalation.
Support regional Business Development and Strategic Partnerships teams on larger enterprise or mobility-as-a-service opportunities, leading in-country execution.
Regulatory and compliance readiness (with Policy and Legal)
Own country-level operational readiness for new and changing regulation: assess operational impact, build the implementation plan, assign owners, and track it to completion.
Ensure compliance requirements are embedded in local processes, vendor contracts, and partner agreements.
Work with the Driver Operations lead, who owns driver- and vehicle-facing compliance execution, and with Policy and Legal on engagement with national, provincial, and municipal authorities.
Cross-functional coordination and representation
Coordinate with Policy, Communications, Marketing, Community Operations, Safety, and Support to deliver against agreed South Africa priorities.
Maintain the South Africa stakeholder map and keep communication rhythms running with each internal and external group.
Represent Uber operations locally with partners, city stakeholders, and industry bodies as directed by the SSA General Manager and Policy.
Build a culture of ownership, speed, and data-driven decision-making across your team and the vendors supporting South Africa.
What You'll Need:
6+ years of experience in operations, general management, consulting, program management, or another execution-heavy, data-driven field.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Mathematics, Finance, Economics, or a related quantitative field.
Demonstrated fluency with data and analytics, including:
Advanced Excel/Sheets capabilities (for example, complex formulas, dashboards, scenario modeling).
Experience working with large datasets to derive insights and convert them into clear, actionable recommendations.
Strong data-driven decision-making and commercial judgment; able to connect analysis to real business and operational outcomes.
Proven problem-solving track record, including breaking down ambiguous problems, structuring hypotheses, prioritising initiatives, and partnering with regional teams to remove growth blockers.
Experience leading complex, cross-functional projects end-to-end, from problem definition and business casing to implementation and scaling.
Experience in financial modeling, forecasting
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including experience working with senior leaders and cross-functional partners.
Preferred Qualifications
Extensive experience in operations or strategy roles within high‑growth, matrixed organizations
Experience working across multiple product verticals
Strong executive communication skills – able to synthesize complex insights into concise, action‑oriented recommendations.
Familiarity with marketplace dynamics
Ready to Ride?
This isn't the kind of place where you follow a playbook — it's where you help write one. If you're driven by impact, energized by challenge, and ready to shape how the world moves — we'd love to hear from you.
You may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and other compensation, as well as a range of benefits. Explore our benefits.
Offices remain key to collaboration and Uber's culture. Unless approved for full remote work, employees must spend at least 50% of their time in-office. Some roles, like those at greenlight hubs, require full-time in-office presence. Ask your Recruiter for details about this role's requirements.
Uber is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualifi

Employment type
Full time

Work arrangement
On-site