Head: Driver Experience and Future of Work

takealot.com, South Africa's leading online retailer, is looking for a highly accomplished Head: Driver Experience and Future of Work to join our Corporate Affairs team in Cape Town.

We are a young, dynamic, hyper growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us. We offer a market related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs, a great work environment and a promise that you won’t be bored as long as you are prepared for a challenge and want to build something great.

As Head: Driver Experience and Future of Work, this role is the Group steward of the experience, working conditions, voice and wellbeing of independent delivery drivers participating across the Takealot Group ecosystem. The role will build the strategic capability and practical proof points required to ensure that flexibility and independence are reinforced by fair economic opportunity, transparency, meaningful voice, safety, development and appropriate social protection. It operates independently of driver recruitment and day-to-day driver operations, translating driver evidence into systemic improvements across the Group and strengthening Takealot Group’s leadership on the future of platform-enabled work.

This position reports to the Group Executive: Public Affairs

Your responsibilities will include:

• Driver Experience and Working Conditions - Develop and own a Group-wide Driver Experience and Future of Work strategy, defining the standards, principles and measures that should shape the driver experience from onboarding and activation through participation, support, development, retention and exit.

• Sustainable Driver Proposition - Shape a clear driver value proposition that balances flexibility and autonomy with fair economic opportunity, dignity and recognition, transparency, development, safety and appropriate protections.

• Driver Voice and Social Dialogue - Build a structured architecture for driver voice, including regional listening, driver forums, working groups,
  surveys and engagement with recognized driver leaders, associations and other representative structures.

• Executive Governance - Own and run the monthly Group Driver Wellbeing Forum, elevating it into a strategic Driver Experience and Future of Work governance mechanism with a common evidence base, clear priorities, accountable owners and tracked outcomes.

• Driver Insights and Economics - Build the Group’s authoritative evidence base on driver experience and real driver economics, including gross and net earnings, participation costs, utilisation, earnings variability, supply-demand dynamics, attrition and reasons for exit.

• Transparency, Fairness and Remedy - Establish Group principles and standards for the driver experience of earnings and incentives, deductions, performance measures, access to opportunities, account restrictions, complaints, appeals, grievance escalation and fair treatment, while leaving operational execution with accountable business owners.

• Wellbeing and Social Protection - Develop the Group strategy for driver wellbeing and appropriate portable protections, including accident and insurance cover, health and psychosocial support, financial wellbeing, savings and resilience, emergency support and other fit-for-purpose protections.

• Safety and Vision Zero - Lead the strategic driver-safety agenda in partnership with Operations, Risk and franchisees, using data and root-cause analysis to reduce road-safety, crime, fatigue and serious-incident risks.

• Development and Economic Mobility - Partner with Driver Programmes and Social Impact on skills, learning, asset access, financial capability, entrepreneurship and other pathways that can improve drivers’ longer-term economic mobility.

• Driver-Centred Culture - Build greater organisational understanding of the lived experience of drivers through direct engagement, immersion and insight, and champion dignity, respect and driver-centred decision-making across the Group and partner ecosystem.

• Future of Work and Public Policy — Translate driver evidence and emerging regulatory developments into practical operating and policy
  recommendations, strengthening the Group’s ability to demonstrate that flexibility, independence and meaningful protection can coexist in practice.

• Cross-functional Influence — Drive systemic improvements through the accountable business functions without assuming ownership of driver recruitment, day-to-day driver operations or franchisee management. Recruitment remains within TFS; driver operations and franchisee management remain within the existing operational structures.

Qualification & Experience:

• A relevant Honours degree in Business, Economics, Public Policy, Behavioural Science, Social Sciences, Industrial Psychology, Development Studies, Labour Relations or a related field.
• A relevant postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
• 10+ years’ relevant professional experience across several of the following areas: worker or customer experience, platform/gig economy, future of work, workforce strategy, social impact, labour-market programmes, human-centred design, social protection, financial inclusion, public policy or large-scale programme leadership.
• At least 5 years’ experience operating at senior management level or leading complex, enterprise-wide programmes.
• Demonstrated experience influencing senior stakeholders and delivering outcomes across functions without relying on direct line authority.
• Experience in e-commerce, logistics, last-mile delivery, mobility, food delivery, ride-hailing or another platform-enabled environment is advantageous.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• Strong understanding of platform-enabled work, independent contracting and emerging Future of Work models.
• Sound understanding of the South African labour-market, regulatory and socio-economic environment.
• Ability to interpret driver economics, operational data and qualitative research and translate them into practical recommendations.
• Knowledge of worker wellbeing, social protection, financial resilience and safety frameworks.
• Strong capability in stakeholder mapping, social dialogue, listening mechanisms and grievance/remedy design.
• Ability to develop executive dashboards, governance mechanisms and outcome-based performance frameworks.
• Strong strategic communication, facilitation, briefing and narrative-building skills.
• Proven ability to operate credibly with social partners and social contexts, operational leaders, executives, government, organised business and worker representatives.
• Ability to balance driver outcomes, commercial sustainability, regulatory risk and the preservation of genuine flexibility.
• Curiosity about how technology, regulation and changing social expectations will reshape the future of work.

The Environment

• We laugh hard, work harder, and take full ownership of our wins (and learning moments!)
• Teamwork makes the dream work – we're solution-seekers who thrive on collaboration
• Got feedback? Bring it on! We're always hungry for fresh ideas and honest input 
• Ego? We checked that at the door. Results? Now we're talking!

If you meet the above you are an Extraordinary Mind so come and join us!

Takealot Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applicants from the previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities, to apply.