Commercial Manager at Stratostaff East Africa

Our client that deals with Green energy revolution in Kenya is seeking to recruit a Commercial Manager.

Reference: CM 2020

Recruiter: Stratostaff East Africa

Employment: Permanent

Role Summary: To unlock Commercial and C&I opportunities, build & operate across East Africa. Support the business in developing the commercial strategy, drive the market research to map the industry and clients, develop go to market strategy, build the company brand, presence and commercial team. Work directly with the Managing Director. Have direct impact on the success the company.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Articulate market trends, demand drivers, customer needs, industry trends, and competitive landscape;
• Design go-to-market strategy, inclusive of channel strategy and partnerships;
• Develop the annual operating plan (Sales and gross or standard margin);
• Manage the P&L for the assigned portfolio;
• Manage the product lifecycle.
• Achieve and maintain sales month on month average revenue growth as per set targets
• Conduct market segmentation exercises to develop market segment-specific strategies;
• Conduct competitive analysis and benchmarking;
• Define segment–specific value propositions that provide a competitive advantage;
• Develop product and technology roadmaps that aligns with business strategy and market needs;
• Work with technical and operation teams in the development of new solutions to meet current and future customer and market requirements;
• Define resource requirements necessary to execute the product roadmaps;
• Work cross functionally to define sales, technology and operations strategies in line with financial goals;
• Establish and execute pricing policy.
• Responsible for project origination across the Business Units through the identification and packaging of different market-specific value propositions.
• Respond to requests for proposals (RFPs), developing and drafting project proposals for solar and solar plus storage solutions.
• Develop marketing campaigns, lobbying and public relations for commercial and industrial projects.
• Responsible for negotiation with clients for EPC contracts and facilitate deal closure.
• Project Development and Management
• Manage sales processes and interfaces with various teams (Project Execution, Finance) across all Business Units.
• Oversee the preparation of quotes for various EPC projects, performing cost analysis and comparison with competitor prices.
• Support acquisition pipeline.
• Recruit, develop and mentor a diverse commercial team

KPIs

• Revenue (growth);
• Profitability: SMI / Operating Income;
• Market share growth
• Portfolio growth
• Productivity (cost-out & platforming);
• New Product Sales;
• S&OP Score (delivery performance, inventory & lead-time, forecast accuracy)..

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business Administration or equivalent. MBA preferred.
• PMP certified project manager
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft Office products
• At least 5 years’ experience in the renewable energy sector.
• Work experience in East Africa or another emerging market (Additional experience in rooftop self-consumption systems would be preferred)
• Proven Global Experience and Mindset;
• Strong business acumen and good at understanding of technical complexities.
• Strong customer facing skills – building relationships, handling negotiations and selling;
• Previous experience (5 years) in Strategy: consulting, strategy development, market analysis;
• Previous experience (5-8 years) in Sales, Marketing, Product or Manufacturing Management;
• Considerable experience working with product, processes or market technologies;
• Experience in building effective teams, demonstrating a collaborative leadership style;
• Action oriented, with a proven ability to deliver results;
• Experience of defining and developing policy, managing resources and meeting targets/objectives;
• Critical thinking and decision-making