General Manager – M and A and Business Development.Mergers Acquisitions and Business Development
MTN Group’s Mergers and Acquisition function is evolving to meet the Ambition 2030 strategic focus on leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, a key contributor to business strategy, providing insights and guidance on strategic investment matters, and the complexities of operating across multiple jurisdictions.
To serve the company’s growth through optimal cash management that enables strategic business decisions for the Group and MTN’s operating markets within the context of:
Achieving top quartile operating efficiency and effectiveness through scale and common policies and processes
Driving growth through business intelligence and standardization to maximize business impact
Requirement for precise and accurate financial forecasting, planning and analytics through a business partnering model
Initiating sustainable technology change across the infrastructure portfolio to further aid MTN in the achievement of parallel climate sustainability
Management of customer and supplier expectations
Constant dynamics and local challenges in the economic, regulatory and legal environments
Ability to create a technological strategy in line with the company’s business requirements
Enhancing MTN’s position as a leading connectivity, fintech and infrastructure player
Growing dependence on vendor-led and shared passive infrastructure models
MTN’s strategy to build the largest and most valuable platform business across our regions
Assisting the MTN Board and EXCO in protecting the assets, reputation and sustainability of the organisation for MTN to accomplish its objectives
Organisational Mission: MTN’s vision is to lead digital transformation in Africa, ensuring widespread access to reliable, high-quality broadband services that drive social and economic development.
Organization Values: At MTN we believe that understanding our people’s needs and aspirations is key to creating experiences that delight you at work, every day. We are committed to fostering an environment where every member of our Y’ello Family is heard, understood, and empowered to live an inspired life. Our values keep us grounded and moving in the right direction. Most importantly, they keep us honest. It is not something we claim to be. It is in our DNA.
As an organisation, we consider it our mission to create an exciting and rewarding place to work, where our people can be themselves, thrive in positivity and ignite their full potential. A workplace that boosts creativity and innovation, improves productivity, and ultimately drives meaningful results. A workplace that is built on relationships and achieving a purpose that is bigger than us. This is what we want you to experience with us!
Our commitments go beyond an organisational promise. It is in our leadership and managerial ethos to meaningfully partner with our employees, customers, and stakeholders with a vision to realise our shared goals.
Our values dubbed, LIVE Y’ello, are the cornerstone of our culture.
Lead with Care
Can-do with Integrity
Collaborate with Agility
Serve with Respect
Act with Inclusion
The General Manager: M&A Business Development will be accountable to achieve the following objectives:
Transaction Management and Cross-Functional Coordination
Lead and ensure the successful end-to-end execution of M&A and business development transactions, with clear accountability for delivering deals on time, within scope, and aligned to defined value creation objectives.
Develop, maintain, and actively manage integrated transaction execution plans, ensuring all milestones, interdependencies, risks, and deliverables are clearly defined, tracked, and achieved.
Orchestrate and align cross-functional teams across Finance, Legal, Tax, Risk, Strategy, and Opcos to ensure seamless execution and timely delivery of all transaction workstreams.
Ensure that all due diligence, valuation inputs, financial modelling, and negotiation preparations are completed to a high standard, within agreed timelines, and support informed decision-making.
Provide advice on the capital structure in collaboration with corporate finance and ensure that financial modelling, development and presentation of financial solutions is carried out.
Actively identify, escalate, and resolve execution risks and bottlenecks to minimise delays and maintain transaction momentum through to closure.
Structural Separation and Asset Optimisation
Lead and coordinate the execution of structural separation initiatives, ensuring delivery of carve-outs and restructuring programmes in line with strategic, financial, and regulatory objectives.
Ensure the development and execution of comprehensive separation plans, including financial carve-outs, legal structuring, operational uncoupling, and stakeholder alignment.
Oversee the design and implementation of Transitional Service Agreements (TSAs) and ensure effective Day 1 readiness and standalone operating capability for separated entities.
Drive cross-functional alignment across Finance, Legal, HR, Technology, and Operations to ensure seamless execution with minimal operational disruption and clear value realisation outcomes.
Monitor and track execution against defined value levers to ensure realisation of intended benefits and investor value creation from separation initiatives.
Table reports and recommendations to the executive leadership team, conveying complex financial and strategic information in a clear and concise manner.
New Market Expansion
Drive the execution of new market entry and expansion initiatives, ensuring that approved strategies are translated into actionable implementation plans with clear timelines and accountability.
Coordinate the assessment and validation of commercial viability, regulatory feasibility, and financial sustainability of market entry opportunities.
Lead the implementation readiness process, ensuring regulatory approvals, partner onboarding, governance alignment, and operating model setup are completed effectively.
Ensure that market entry initiatives are executed in a manner that balances speed to market with risk management, governance compliance, and long-term sustainability.
Monitor progress and performance of expansion initiatives to ensure delivery against business case assumptions and strategic growth objectives.
Governance and Stakeholder Readiness
Lead the preparation and quality assurance of investment cases, Board papers, and Exco submissions, ensuring they are accurate, insightful, and aligned with MTN governance standards.
Ensure all transactions and initiatives adhere to DMF, governance frameworks, and risk management requirements, enabling informed and compliant decision-making.
Drive structured governance processes, including stage-gate approvals, deal review forums, and escalation pathways, to ensure timely and robust decision flow.
Ensure that all submissions present clear articulation of strategic rationale, financial impact, risks, mitigations, and value creation drivers at a Board-ready standard.
Support leadership in engaging the Board and Exco by ensuring clarity, consistency, and credibility of all transaction-related information and reporting.
Execution Management
Establish, implement, and continuously improve transaction execution frameworks, governance standards, and delivery playbooks to enhance consistency and quality of execution across initiatives.
Manage a portfolio of concurrent transactions and business development initiatives, ensuring effective prioritisation, resource allocation, and delivery against timelines and objectives.
Implement and maintain robust reporting mechanisms and dashboards that provide transparent visibility of progress, risks, and performance to leadership.
Drive a culture of execution excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement within the function to strengthen delivery capability and operational maturity.
Ensure that lessons learned from completed transactions are captured and applied to improve future execution outcomes and efficiency.
Stakeholder Management
Serve as the central point of coordination for all internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment, clarity of roles, and effective collaboration throughout transaction lifecycles.
Build and maintain strong relationships with internal executives, Opcos, and external advisors to ensure efficient decision-making and alignment on transaction priorities.
Facilitate cross-functional and cross-market alignment to ensure strategic objectives are translated into executable plans and delivered outcomes.
Influence and align diverse stakeholders with competing priorities to ensure timely resolution of issues and sustained progress across initiatives.
Represent the function in key forums and engagements, ensuring professional, credible, and solution-oriented stakeholder interactions.
Staff and Leadership Management
Develop a culture of strong collaboration and effective team working.
Set KPIs and provide regular performance feedback through a well-defined and implemented performance review program.
Encourage knowledge transfer through the implementation of a knowledge transfer plan and drive continuous improvement philosophy.
Promote an ‘MTN centric’ and ‘partnership approach’ to develop strong relationships with other working groups and ensure adherence to Group governance.
Key Deliverables
Business proposals
Due diligence reports
Deal structuring plans
Integrated portfolio delivery plans
Role Dependencies
Active support from Executive: Business Development
Deep understanding of the MTN business strategy
Understanding of the industry and market trends
Alignment of to One MTN Strategic Objectives
Education:
Minimum of 4-year tertiary degree Finance or Business or related qualification
MBA or equivalent Master’s qualification advantageous
Relevant certification / accreditation / membership with professional body as required for role is advantageous
Fluent in English
Experience:
5 years or more experience as a seasoned senior manager with Corporate Finance/Investment Banking/M&A Dealmaker/Transactor specialisation and the relevant sector.
Experience working in a global/multinational enterprise with a good understanding of emerging markets is advantageous.
Worked across diverse cultures and geographies.
Proven track record of successful origination and execution of M&A and BD activities.
Experience in Corporate Finance and Strategic Planning.
Strong understanding of market dynamics, industry trends, and customer behaviour.
Effective communication and presentation skills to articulate complex concepts to diverse audiences.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams.
Capabilities:
Strategy Formulator, Decisive Problem Solver, Innovative Value Creator
Culture and Change Champion, Inspiring People Leader, Relationship Builder
Results Achiever, Operationally Astute
Competencies:
Business Strategy Development
Business and Financial Acumen
Business Performance Management
Project Management
Capital Risk Management
Deal Structuring and Negotiation
Market and Customer Insights
Managing and navigating complexity and ambiguity