Managing Director at African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC)

Reporting to the Inkomoko’s Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, the Managing Director is the most senior leader Kenya, responsible for driving Inkomoko’s competitive advantage to meet and exceed our strategic goals across the country.  To do so, the MD will need to work effectively with a range of stakeholders both inside and outside the company – the co-founders who serve as CEO/COO, prominent government and strategic partners, donors, and Inkomoko’s talented regional leads for program, finance, People & Culture, MEL, etc. 

Responsibilities

Specific Managing Director responsibilities include:

STRATEGY & MANAGEMENT (30% time)

• Be a leader among leaders in organizational culture, professionalism, and results
• Set and implement Inkomoko’s growth strategy including opening offices across secondary markets and adding in advocacy strategies
• Lead annual goal setting for country growth, ensuring that KPIs across colleagues align with the country-wide strategy
• Consistently advance, analyze, and adjust as necessary the country-wide strategies to reach those goals, based on changing market conditions, new opportunities, and insight from company operations
• Manage all country-wide contracts, including regular review with Inkomoko’s legal team
• Ensure adherence with all relevant local laws and regulations
• Understands corporate risk – legal, financial, the safety of staff, reputational, etc. – across the company and develops strategies to keep the company and its staff and clients safe
• Be a phenomenally proactive and transparent communicator with other colleagues- Directors, C-level colleagues, and regional leaders from Inkomoko - ensuring smooth coordination of company resources for country-wide objectives

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & REVENUE GENERATION (25% time)

• Develop and manage the annual and multi-year company budgets
• Work with CEO’s office to fundraise – relationship building, donor engagement, reporting, presentations
• Actively solicit profitable contracts, and work with fundraising team to produce proposals and budgets to secure these resources
• Review and manage the company’s finances to stay within budget
• Participate in the annual audit process and other financial compliance requirements

PARTNERSHIPS & EXTERNAL RELATIONS (25% time)

• Serve as a spokesperson in relevant local and international media, panels, conferences
• Seek new opportunities to expand the company brand, reputation, and services 
• Serve in a lead role in government relations with ministries, national and local secretariats, and bi-lateral donors (UNHCR and UNWomen, for example)
• Enhance and engage the Advisory Board of leaders from across the country
• Work closely with the Director of Communications to advance the brand and our work

PROGRAM IMPACT & EXPANSION (20% time)

• Coordinate client services with Regional Business Growth Services director to meet impact targets
• Lead in-country geographic expansion, including market-entry strategy, partnerships development, resource allocation, and operations
• Advise colleagues on Innovations needed and strategic programmatic initiatives/products needed to maintain competitive advantage, add increased value 
• As Inkomoko establishes advocacy approaches for inclusion of refugees, take a lead role in facilitating conversations on systemic change
• Work closely with Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) to generate insights, and action those for the benefit of the company and clients.

Minimum Qualifications

The Managing Director role is diverse and ever-changing.  While the description above provides an overview of some key areas of focus, we’re looking for a seasoned leader who can continue to grow the organization, its impact, and has the drive and flexibility to adapt themselves to the goals at hand.  In that vein, the Managing Director will be:

• Passionate about improving lives and communities through entrepreneurship
• Commitment to a harassment free workplace, equity, inclusion, and fairness, and demonstrates those values in all decisions
• Experience leading leadership teams to meet strategic objectives
• Both strategic and operational – needs to develop the big picture and manage operations to get there
• Comfortable with ambiguity – does not ask for clarity, but rather helps create it
• Skilled in business management – including good working knowledge of business finance, negotiation, team building, IT, and communications
• Skilled in fundraising and new business development, with a relevant network
• Excellent in interpersonal relationships, build trust through both words and actions
• Excited to give and receive authentic feedback to/from a diverse range of colleagues
• Proven ability to build partnerships with government and other significant stakeholders
• High levels of discretion, diplomacy, and sophistication when engaging key stakeholders 
• Impeccable integrity, trustworthiness, and professionalism – be true to your word and accountable
• Excellent written and verbal communication in Swahili and English 
• Advanced education qualification (CPA, relevant masters, or MBA strongly preferred)
• Experience working with refugees, banking, or entrepreneurship is beneficial