Head of Electric Sales - Kenya at BURN

About the role:

Burn is seeking a mission-driven candidate to serve as the in-country Head of Electric Sales for BURN’s new line of electric cooking products. This role is an exciting opportunity to help shape and launch electric cooking across Africa. The Head of Electric Sales will focus on:

• Developing and executing a commercial strategy to bring BURN’s electric products to the designated country.
• Quickly building a robust team to implement sales, aftersales, and administrative duties.
• The setup, rollout, and management of the day-to-day activities for Burn’s electric stove products in the country by utilizing a commercially oriented mindset for product piloting and commercialization into new regions.
• Working closely with the Electric Leadership Team in Nairobi to implement prior learnings, ensure new learnings are captured, and ensure new approaches answer key strategic questions and support data-driven decision-making that can help scale the business successfully.
• Position sales agents as the primary gate keepers for acquisition of the right customers who are qualified to be onboarded as per the Customer Persona provided.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Route-To-Market: Develop and execute an effective and efficient route-to-market strategy in line with commercial and carbon project requirements.
• Team Management: Build, train, and manage a team of Territory Sales Managers and Team Leaders, and a network of over 1000+ Direct Sales Agents in the designated sales regions. Maintain sufficient ratio of TSM: TL: Sales Agents per HQ guidelines.
• Carbon Monitoring and Evaluation: Ensure all Monitoring and Evaluation of carbon project requirements are adhered to, specifically that electric stoves are sold to households meeting predefined criteria and as per provided Customer Persona.
• Agent Compensation: Advise the Management team on suitable compensation structures and incentive programs for the Direct Sales team. Ensure all data is available in a timely manner that allows for prompt payment of commissions.
• Systems and Procedures: Ensure the Direct Sales team follows all procedures around CRM, inventory management, and cash collections. Coordinate with other departments to ensure all Direct Sales Agents have been trained appropriately on all relevant applications and tools.
• KPI Management: Usage, Repayment and Sales are key performance indicators for all staff within the electric business in the country, and targets for the same as provided by HQ should be achieved.
• Market Intelligence: In collaboration with the Carbon team, assist with the execution of carbon feasibility studies and other market research studies. Also ensure regular and prompt submission of electric competitor activities in the country.
• Reporting: Produce analytical reports for the Management team on the performance of the Direct Sales Team, including analyzing key sales, marketing, carbon registration, and regional team performance metrics. Provide regular forecasts (city and region level) to the Management team.
• Marketing Coordination: Together with the Marketing team, plan and lead the implementation of a range of below-the-line and above-the-line marketing activities as guided by HQ.
• CFT management: Coordinating cross-functional electric team meetings in-country to ensure Electric Business objectives are being met.

Skills and Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in leadership and team-building positions, ideally in Eastern Africa
• 5+ years of experience in project management, program management/coordination in social enterprise
• Experience in building and managing successful B2C sales teams from scratch, preferably with FMCGs, Solar Home Systems, and durable goods.
• Experience in customer finance/PAYG
• Bachelor’s degree in business management or in a related field.
• Strong background in commercial & sales data analysis
• Be able to adapt to a highly variable environment and change the scope and focus with ease. Thrive in a fast-paced creative environment with a culture of experimentation yet value the need to organize and plan.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent narrative writing and presentation skills.
• Excellent communication skills — unafraid to speak up or take issues head-on.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.