Manager – Online Channels

Location: Mauritius
Employment Type: Long-Term Contract, approximately 2–3 years
Remuneration: Market-related / Negotiable according to experience
Relocation: Required
Work Permit: Company assistance provided
International Search: Open internationally
Language: English required; French advantageous
Priority: Urgent / Active Search
Industry: Lottery / Online Gaming / Sports Betting / Digital Gaming

About the Role

An exciting international opportunity is available for an experienced Manager – Online Channels to lead the establishment, launch and growth of a new online gaming channel in Mauritius.

This is a senior commercial and digital leadership role with responsibility for building and scaling the online business across Lottery, Sports Betting, Fast Play / E-Instant and future digital gaming products.

The organisation is currently building the online ecosystem with its technology partners, but the permanent operational structure and team have not yet been established.

The successful candidate will therefore play a pivotal role in taking the business from implementation and launch through to scale-up and sustainable commercial growth.

This is not a traditional digital marketing role.

The successful candidate will effectively act as the business owner of the online channel, with responsibility for digital strategy, product management, customer experience, commercial performance, team structure, technology partners, analytics, customer acquisition and retention, regulatory compliance and knowledge transfer into the local organisation.

International Appointment & Relocation

This position is based in Mauritius and requires relocation.

The company is open to candidates from South Africa, Europe and other international markets, provided they have the required specialist expertise and are genuinely able to relocate.

The company will assist the successful candidate with the necessary work-permit process.

The successful candidate will initially be considered for a 2–3 year long-term contract.

Where timing requires it, the company may consider the successful candidate commencing on a consulting basis first, while the work-permit and formal employment process is completed.

Relocation and expatriate benefits will be structured according to the selected candidate's circumstances and may differ depending on whether the candidate relocates alone or with family.

Job Purpose

To establish, launch, manage and scale the organisation's online gaming business across:

• Lottery
• Sports Betting
• Fast Play / E-Instant
• Future digital gaming products

The Manager – Online Channels will lead the digital strategy, product management, customer experience and commercial performance of the online business.

The role will also be responsible for helping to define the future operating structure, identifying the resources and capabilities required, building the team and developing a local successor / number two through structured knowledge transfer and coaching.

The successful candidate must therefore bring both technical/commercial expertise and leadership capability.

Key Responsibilities

Digital Strategy & Commercial Ownership

• Develop and execute the online-channel strategy in line with overall business objectives.
• Take ownership of the commercial performance of the online channel.
• Drive revenue growth, customer participation, retention and profitability.
• Develop annual business plans, budgets, forecasts and growth initiatives.
• Identify new digital business opportunities and revenue streams.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity and emerging technologies.
• Develop business cases for digital initiatives and product investments.
• Continuously evaluate business performance and identify optimisation opportunities.

End-to-End Implementation, Launch & Scale-Up

This is a critical requirement for the role.

The successful candidate must have previously worked in an environment where they have been accountable for the journey from implementation through launch and into scale-up.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead business readiness for launch.
• Define the operating model for the online channel.
• Coordinate internal business requirements.
• Work with technology suppliers and implementation partners.
• Support platform implementation and product deployment.
• Coordinate go-live readiness.
• Drive successful market launch.
• Lead post-launch optimisation.
• Scale the channel commercially and operationally.
• Ensure the operating model evolves as the business grows.

Online Gaming Product Management

• Own the business roadmap for online gaming products and services.
• Define and prioritise product requirements.
• Drive continuous product enhancement.
• Work closely with technology suppliers throughout the product lifecycle.
• Ensure products remain commercially competitive and customer-focused.
• Identify opportunities for product innovation.
• Ensure alignment between business requirements and technology delivery.
• Maintain close oversight of Lottery, Sports Betting, Fast Play and future digital products.

Customer Acquisition & Growth

• Develop strategies to grow the online player base.
• Drive customer acquisition across digital channels.
• Improve player conversion.
• Support marketing initiatives aimed at growing participation.
• Work closely with Marketing on digital campaigns.
• Analyse acquisition performance and optimise investment.
• Identify opportunities to increase player value and engagement.

CRM, Retention & Player Engagement

• Lead CRM and player-engagement initiatives.
• Develop customer segmentation strategies.
• Support personalised engagement and promotional activity.
• Drive customer retention and reactivation.
• Improve customer lifetime value.
• Monitor customer behaviour and identify opportunities to increase engagement.

Customer Experience & Omnichannel Integration

• Optimise the full customer journey.
• Improve registration, payment, gameplay, prize-claim and customer-support journeys.
• Drive UX/UI improvements.
• Ensure consistency between retail and digital experiences.
• Support the transition from a predominantly retail model to a fully integrated omnichannel environment.
• Monitor customer feedback and translate insights into improvements.

Digital Analytics & Performance Management

• Define and monitor KPIs for the online business.
• Analyse player behaviour and channel performance.
• Monitor commercial and operational performance.
• Develop management dashboards and reporting.
• Use data to improve acquisition, conversion, retention and churn.
• Translate analytics into practical commercial decisions.

Technology & Vendor Management

• Act as the primary business owner for relationships with online platform providers and digital service partners.
• Work closely with Technology to translate business requirements into solutions.
• Manage third-party technology suppliers.
• Participate in governance and performance meetings.
• Monitor supplier performance against SLAs.
• Escalate and resolve material service or delivery issues.
• Ensure technology capability supports commercial objectives.

Team Design & Organisational Build

A particularly important part of the role will be helping to build the future operational structure.

The current permanent team is not yet fully established.

The successful candidate will:

• Recommend the appropriate team structure.
• Identify required roles and capabilities.
• Assess which capabilities can be developed internally.
• Identify where external recruitment is required.
• Assist with building the team.
• Develop operating processes and ways of working.
• Coach and mentor team members.
• Support the development of a local number two / successor.
• Transfer specialist knowledge into the local organisation.

Knowledge Transfer & Capability Building

The company is specifically looking for an international specialist who can bring established expertise into Mauritius and help build internal capability.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Share practical industry knowledge.
• Coach local employees.
• Mentor the local number two.
• Develop internal digital capability.
• Help ensure the organisation becomes less dependent on external expertise over time.
• Embed appropriate processes, standards and best practice.

Cross-Functional Leadership

The role will work closely with:

• Technology
• Marketing
• Customer Experience
• Retail Operations
• Finance
• Risk & Compliance
• Data & Analytics
• External technology suppliers
• Payment providers
• Other digital partners

The successful candidate must be comfortable operating across multiple disciplines and aligning teams around common commercial objectives.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure online operations comply with applicable gaming regulations.
• Ensure compliance with Responsible Gaming requirements.
• Support KYC and AML requirements.
• Ensure appropriate player-protection measures are in place.
• Support data privacy and governance requirements.
• Identify and mitigate digital-business risks.
• Ensure commercial growth does not compromise regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree in one of the following or a related discipline is preferred:

• Business
• Marketing
• Digital Commerce
• Information Systems

A postgraduate qualification in Digital Business, Marketing, Business Administration or a related field would be advantageous.

Experience Required

Candidates should ideally have 7+ years' relevant experience in:

• Lottery
• Online gaming
• Sports betting
• Digital commerce
• Comparable regulated digital environments

However, the most important factor is not title or years alone.

The client is specifically looking for someone who has:

• Direct lottery/gaming industry exposure.
• Personally taken an online line of business from implementation through launch and into scale-up.
• Held meaningful commercial accountability.
• Worked with technology/platform providers.
• Managed or built teams.
• Operated in a leadership capacity.
• Demonstrated strong knowledge-transfer and mentoring capability.
• Worked within regulated gaming environments.
• Managed digital products and customer channels.
• Led cross-functional stakeholders.

Critical Screening Requirement

A candidate who has simply managed an already-established digital channel is weaker than a candidate who has actually built, launched and scaled one.

The strongest profiles will show clear evidence of:

Implementation Launch Scale-Up Commercial Ownership Team Building Knowledge Transfer

Preferred Industry Background

Priority should be given to candidates from:

• Lottery operators
• Online gaming businesses
• Sports betting operators
• Digital gaming platforms
• Regulated gaming environments
• Closely related specialist gaming technology businesses

Strong fintech or banking candidates may have some transferable skills, but direct lottery/gaming expertise is preferred because the client is deliberately seeking external industry knowledge that does not currently exist in-house.

Language

English: Required / sufficient for the role
French: Advantageous, but not mandatory

The client has confirmed that French ability is helpful but should not outweigh the candidate's industry expertise and overall fit.

International Candidate Profile

The company is open to candidates from:

• South Africa
• Europe
• Other international markets

They specifically indicated they are open to considering profiles from markets such as Spain, Italy and Switzerland, as well as elsewhere.

The priority is finding the right expertise rather than restricting the search geographically.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Relevant current or previous titles may include:

• Head of Online
• Head of Digital
• Online Channels Manager
• Digital Channels Manager
• Head of Online Gaming
• Head of Digital Gaming
• Digital Business Manager
• Senior Digital Product Manager
• Head of Digital Products

The strongest candidate will be someone who has genuinely owned a digital gaming business/channel, rather than someone whose background is predominantly marketing, communications or campaign management.

Key Competencies

• Online gaming strategy
• Lottery / gaming expertise
• Digital product management
• Commercial ownership
• Online channel launch
• Scale-up experience
• Digital transformation
• Customer acquisition
• CRM and retention
• Player lifecycle management
• Omnichannel strategy
• UX/UI understanding
• Digital analytics
• Technology/vendor management
• Business-case development
• Team building
• Organisational design
• Knowledge transfer
• Coaching and mentoring
• Gaming compliance
• Responsible Gaming
• KYC / AML awareness
• Cross-functional leadership

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate should be:

• Commercially driven
• Entrepreneurial
• Customer-centric
• Analytical
• Data-driven
• Strategic but hands-on
• Comfortable building something from the ground up
• Strong in leadership and stakeholder management
• Comfortable working with technology suppliers
• Capable of mentoring and developing others
• Adaptable to an international environment
• Willing to relocate
• Comfortable operating in a developing business environment
• Strong in execution and follow-through

Remuneration

Market-related and negotiable.

The company has an internal budget in mind but does not wish to publish a salary range at this stage.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide:

• Current remuneration
• Expected remuneration

The final package will be assessed according to the individual's experience, specialist expertise and relocation circumstances.

Expatriate Benefits

The expatriate package will be considered according to the successful candidate's personal circumstances.

Benefits may differ depending on whether the person relocates:

• Alone
• With a partner
• With family

Family-related benefits may be considered where appropriate, but there is no fixed published expatriate package at this stage.

Timing

This is an urgent appointment.

The company would ideally have had the successful candidate in place already and is now targeting appointment as soon as practically possible.

A consulting arrangement may be considered initially while the work-permit and formal employment process is being completed.

Important – Mauritius Relocation

This is not a remote role.

The successful candidate must be prepared to relocate to Mauritius.

The company will assist with the work-permit process and will negotiate appropriate expatriate arrangements with the successful candidate.