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

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• 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.

• 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.

• 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!