Pilot-to-Market Lead, Africa-First Language Models

Department: Sub-Saharan Africa
Team: Industry Services
Location: Nairobi, Kenya or London, UK (hybrid working)
Position type: Contractor until 24th December; Full-Time 

What the hiring manager says

The Africa AI Language Models Initiative is one of GSMA Africa’s most strategically important programmes, bringing together mobile operators, researchers, startups, academia and ecosystem partners to build and deploy Africa-first, open and locally representative AI models.

As we move from model development into real-world deployment, we are looking for a commercially minded Pilot-to-Market Lead who can help turn technical progress into practical use cases, credible pilot pathways and scalable market opportunities. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of AI, mobile, innovation and inclusive digital transformation, helping shape how African language models move from promise to impact.

Director, Industry Services (Africa)

About the team

The Africa AI Language Models Initiative is a multidisciplinary programme working across AI research, data governance, mobile operator engagement, policy, ecosystem development and market activation. The team brings together GSMA colleagues and external partners across Africa and globally to support the development of language models that are more representative of African languages, contexts and communities.

You will be part of a small, agile and high-impact team working closely with operators, technical partners, researchers and sector stakeholders. This role sits at the centre of innovation and market development, helping ensure that the initiative is not only technically credible, but also connected to real deployment opportunities and long-term value for users, partners and markets.

About the role

You will help shape how Africa-first language models move from build stage into real-world deployment. Working across mobile operators, startups, researchers, public-sector partners and digital service providers, you will identify priority use cases, define pilot pathways, structure partner propositions and support the commercial logic for early deployments.

Success in this role will mean that priority language model projects have clear use cases, credible pilot designs, defined partner roles, practical routes to users and measurable success criteria. You will translate model capabilities into product, service and market propositions that partners can understand, support and ultimately deploy.

You will also help strengthen the initiative’s use-case library across priority languages, sectors and markets, ensuring that pilots are grounded in real needs across areas such as digital health, agriculture, education, financial services, public information and digital public infrastructure. You will work closely with technical, policy and ecosystem colleagues to ensure that deployment pathways are feasible, responsible and aligned with the wider objectives of the initiative.

In your first year, you will be expected to support the development of practical pilot concepts for priority language models, define pilot structures and KPIs, shape partner-facing propositions, and help build credible pathways from early pilots toward scalable African digital services.

About you

• You will bring demonstrable experience in go-to-market strategy, commercialisation, innovation delivery, product strategy or pilot-to-scale execution. You will be comfortable taking early-stage digital, AI-enabled or technology-led products from concept into pilot, and you will know how to turn ideas into practical deployment plans.

• You will need to communicate clearly and persuasively, especially when translating technical work into market-facing opportunities for operators, partners, funders or public-sector stakeholders. You will be able to structure complex, multi-stakeholder opportunities into clear propositions, partner roles, timelines, risks, KPIs and decision points.

• You will have strong stakeholder management skills and be confident working across corporate, startup, research and ecosystem environments. Experience with mobile operators, digital platforms, public-sector innovation, African markets or sectors such as health, agriculture, education, financial services or digital public infrastructure would be valuable.

• You will be delivery-focused, practical and self-directed, with the ability to work in a fast-moving environment where the path is still being shaped. You will have the opportunity to deepen your experience at the intersection of AI, mobile technology, inclusive innovation and market development across Africa. 

About your skills

• Communication: you will translate technical model development into clear market-facing propositions, pilot concepts and partner materials.

• Delivery: you will help move ideas from concept to structured pilots, with clear actions, timelines, owners, KPIs and success measures.

• Stakeholder Management: you will work across operators, startups, researchers, public-sector partners and ecosystem organisations to align priorities and move pilots forward.

• Commercial Awareness: you will shape value propositions, deployment logic, sustainability considerations and routes to scale.

• Innovation: you will help identify practical, high-impact ways to apply African language models to real market and social needs.

Contract type

Short term Contractor

Worker type

Contingent Worker

What We Offer

Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.

In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.

To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.

Being You at the GSMA

We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We're keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.

GSMA Values

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Passionately driven

We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.

Insightful leaders

We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.

Stronger together

We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.

Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.