Community Manager Lead

takealot.com, South Africa's leading online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Community Manager Lead to join our Personal Shopper Program in Cape Town.

The Community Manager Lead manages a team of Community Managers to directly support Personal Shoppers, ensuring operational efficiency and the achievement of core business targets. The role is directly accountable for growing the monthly active shopper base, maximizing GMV, and improving month-on-month retention by ensuring the team effectively manages the Community Manager Dashboard, drives adoption of the Personal Shopper App, and utilizes internal AI personalization tools.

This position reports to the Head of Personal Shopper Program

Your responsibilities will include:

• Team Leadership: Manage and coach the Community Manager team, setting clear performance expectations and running bi-weekly KPI check-ins.
• Active Base & App Adoption: Drive engagement and widespread adoption of the Personal Shopper App to grow and maintain the monthly active shopper base.
• GMV & Dashboard Management: Own the Community Manager Dashboard, ensuring the team feeds it effectively to update the app while leveraging internal AI tools to scale personalized engagement and maximize shopper GMV.
• Retention & High-Performer Development: Monitor month-on-month retention, resolve community escalations, and empower high-performing shoppers to scale their businesses.
• Feedback & Product Evolution: Gather insights and app usage data to recommend continuous improvements for program processes, training materials, and internal digital tools.

Output:

Core Commercial & Performance Metrics:

• Active Base Growth: Monthly active Personal Shopper tracking and app adoption/engagement rates.
• GMV & Commercial Performance: Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) dashboards tracking sales performance and the impact of internal AI-driven personalization tools.
• Retention & High-Performer Development: Month-on-month retention analytics, cohort tracking, and growth plans specifically designed to scale and retain high-performing Personal Shoppers.

Team Management & Tool Operations:

• Team Performance & Coaching: Quarterly performance reviews, mentorship roadmaps, and skills tracking for direct reports.
• Dashboard & Content Quality Logs: Audit tracking to ensure the Community Manager Dashboard is consistently being fed with accurate, high-quality content to power the Personal Shopper App.
• Feedback Loops & Process Optimizations: Aggregated community insights and operational updates for program leadership to continuously improve app features, internal AI tools, and training materials.

Qualification & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, marketing, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 3+ years’ experience in community management, customer engagement, sales team leadership, or a related field
• Proven track record managing and developing teams in a fast-paced environment
• Experience working in e-commerce, digital platforms, or supporting small business entrepreneurship is highly desirable
• Demonstrated success with training and performance management
• Strong understanding of underserved markets and building trust with diverse communities
• Familiarity with analyzing KPIs and using data to inform decision-making
• Experience implementing feedback loops, reporting, and process improvement

Attributes Required:

• Commercial & Metric Performance: Proven ability to manage a team against hard commercial targets, specifically Monthly Active Users, GMV growth, and Retention metrics.
• Digital Tool & Platform Ownership: Deep comfort with e-commerce environments; directly capable of mastering backend dashboards, adopting internal AI tools for personalization, and driving user engagement on Personal Shopper App.
• Team Management & Coaching: Experienced in leading, mentoring, and developing direct reports in a fast-paced, target-driven environment.
• Community Engagement & Escalation: Strong communication and relationship-building skills to guide diverse shopper communities and resolve complex field issues smoothly.

The Environment: 

• takealot.com employees are entrepreneurial and dynamic, smart, customer- centric, fun and have the shared ambition of takealot.com being the leading e- commerce company in Africa. 
• We have fun, work hard, take ownership, work in teams to create solutions, and are always open to direct feedback/new ideas on where we can improve. 
• We are short on ego and high on output. 
• We are doers and not only thinkers, its all in the execution after all. 
• We love what we do and what we are creating.
• We seek to employ an Extra Ordinary Mind who is Smart, has Integrity, and is Hardworking. 

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.

View all current vacancies at takealot.com →

1. Read the full job description and requirements on this page carefully before applying — tailor your application to what the employer actually asks for.
2. Update your CV and save it as a PDF. Make sure your contact details, most recent experience and qualifications are easy to find.
3. Click the apply button on this page to complete your application on takealot.com's own careers site. The employer manages the shortlisting process directly.
4. Have certified copies of your ID and qualifications ready. Many South African employers request them once you are shortlisted.
5. Applications close on 5 September 2026. Submit well before the deadline — late applications are normally not considered.
6. Keep a record of what you submitted and when. If you have not heard back within a few weeks of the closing date, it is acceptable to follow up politely.

If takealot.com shortlists you for the Community Manager Lead position, preparation makes the difference. Work through these steps:

• Research takealot.com before the interview — look for their official website, social profiles and any recent news. Interviewers expect you to know why you want to work there specifically.
• Go through the job description above and prepare a specific example from your own experience for each of the main duties. Most interview questions will be drawn from what the advert emphasises.
• Structure your answers with the STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result. Concrete stories with measurable outcomes are far stronger than general claims about your abilities.
• Prepare two or three thoughtful questions to ask the panel — about the team, how success is measured in the role, or growth opportunities. It signals genuine interest.
• Plan your logistics early. Confirm whether the interview is in person in Cape Town or online, and arrive or log in at least ten minutes early.