Head of Back Office

Role: Director of Back Office - Côte d’Ivoire

GSM (Green SM) - Vingroup-backed EV Mobility Platform

Reports to: General Manager - Côte d’Ivoire (functional line to HQ corporate functions) Team: Builds and leads the back-office team across HR, IT, and Administration Location: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Travel: Mostly within the market; periodic travel to HQ and regional gatherings Start date target: Tied to market launch timing Compensation: TBC (discussed at offer stage with recruitment team)

Stand up the people, systems, and administrative backbone behind Côte d’Ivoire’s first all-electric ride-hailing launch

About GSM

GSM (Green SM) is building the world’s first fully electric ride-hailing platform - reinventing how people move through cities, one clean ride at a time. Our scope is global and our model is unusually broad: we operate at the intersection of electric vehicle solutions, vehicle financing, EV charging and depot infrastructure, technology development, and ride-hailing. In under three years we have become one of the fastest-scaling players in our markets, and we are now bringing our all-electric service to Africa, beginning with Côte d’Ivoire

The role:

You will build and lead the back-office function for GSM in Côte d’Ivoire - the human resources, internal IT, and administrative backbone that lets the whole market run. As we launch, you are the person who makes sure the team gets hired and paid, the office and systems work, and the local organisation operates smoothly and compliantly from day one

This is a builder role. You will set up these functions from scratch rather than maintain existing ones, and you will be the central bridge between the in-market team and our vertical departments at HQ in Vietnam, who support you across the early phase

What you’ll own:

Human resources - Build the local HR foundation: recruitment support, onboarding, employee records, payroll, and benefits administration - Ensure compliance with Ivorian labour law and company policy as the team scales from a small founding group.

IT and systems - Stand up and run local IT infrastructure, equipment, internal tools, and data security - Coordinate with HQ technology teams to roll out and support the systems the local organisation depends on.

Administration and facilities - Set up and manage office facilities, procurement, vendors, and day-to-day administration - Build clean, efficient administrative workflows that hold up as the business grows.

Policy, compliance and process - Develop and implement back-office policies, procedures, and best practices - Ensure compliance with corporate policy, local regulation, and legal requirements - Identify and implement automation and process improvements to keep the organisation efficient

HQ coordination and team - Act as the primary point of coordination between the in-market team and HQ corporate functions in Vietnam - Hire, develop, and lead a high-performing back-office team from a standing start

Who you are

You’re a builder of support functions. You’ve set up or scaled HR, IT, and administrative operations before, and you can go from an empty office to a smoothly running organisation. You’re energised by building, not just maintaining

You’re a broad generalist. You move comfortably across HR, IT, and administration, and you know enough in each to run it well and to challenge it

You’re a strong communicator and connector. You sit between the local team and HQ, translate between them, and keep collaboration smooth across distance, language, and time zones

You’re organised and proactive. You bring order to a lot of moving parts, anticipate what the business will need next, and solve problems before they grow

You know Côte d’Ivoire. You understand the local environment, labour and administrative practice, and you bring a network you can put to work from day one

You’re resilient. Launch is fast and messy. You keep the back office steady so the rest of the business can move

What you bring:

Fluent French and working English Deep knowledge of the Ivorian market, including local labour and administrative practice, with an established local network 8+ years in back-office, shared-services, or corporate-operations roles, including team leadership Breadth across HR, IT, and administration, with strong knowledge of compliance and local requirement A track record in process improvement and operational efficiency Comfortable working with international and HQ teams as the central in-market bridge Based in or ready to relocate to Abidjan, hands-on by nature

Things that would make us excited

Depth in either HR or IT that you can lead from the front Experience at a high-growth technology, marketplace, or mobility company A background in consulting, a startup, or both

What we offer:

Build the operational backbone of a category-defining launch - the country’s first all-electric ride-hailing service Real ownership of HR, IT, and administration from day one EV mobility frontier - work at the intersection of vehicles, charging infrastructure, and platform services Direct visibility to senior leadership - your work is seen and supported at the highest level Competitive compensation with relocation and local allowance support

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