Managing Director, Executive Education & Workplace Learning at African Management Initiative (AMI)

AMI enables ambitious businesses across Africa to thrive through practical tools and training. We help companies train their teams, equip entrepreneurs with tools to build their businesses, and run work readiness programmes for young people. Our programmes combine digital tools with live interactive workshops and on-the-job practice and support.

We are expanding rapidly. We have raised investment, opened offices in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kigali, and Dakar, and trained over 35,000 people in 36+ African countries.

We are now looking for a senior ambitious and entrepreneurial Managing Director, Executive Education & Workplace Learning, to lead the rapid growth of our B2B training business across the continent.

This is a senior entrepreneurial role with business line/P&L responsibility and the candidate will report to the CEO. The successful candidate will join a dynamic, international team focused obsessively on results. This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious African leader to make their mark in digital learning and leadership development at a defining moment for the sector.

The Managing Director, Executive Education & Workplace Learning will be responsible for transforming AMI’s small but established B2B training unit into the leading provider of business and leadership learning for African organisations. AMI has a market-leading digital platform and content assets, on-the-ground footprint in six markets, and a network of high-profile corporate and entrepreneurial clients across the continent, including Uber, Radisson, Weetabix, Rwandair, M-Kopa, M-Gas, and many others. The Managing Director, Executive Education & Workplace Learning will work with other senior leaders to update our product offering and brand positioning, and rapidly and aggressively build our B2B business across the continent (in English and French) to establish market leadership.

There are five core components of the role:

• Strategy & Leadership: Define a growth strategy for AMI’s Corporate Training business and lead execution as head of the business line.
• Product offering: Work closely with AMI’s market-leading product and learning team to update and adapt our offering for the B2B market, including product adaptation, positioning, and pricing.
• Growth: Drive business growth for the unit in line with ambitious sales targets. We’re looking for a commercial business developer – you should be as comfortable selling to your own contacts as you are representing AMI at industry conferences, planning digital brand campaigns, or building a pan-African lead generation and sales force for scale.
• Finance & Operations: As the business lead, you will have P&L and budget responsibility based on targets agreed with the CEO. With support from other senior leaders, will be responsible for end-to-end delivery to clients and learners.
• Team: You will lead a cross-functional and cross-market team of sales, marketing, learning, and programme delivery professionals, and will need to work closely with group functional leads as well as country managers, in a highly collaborative and fluid team-based environment.

Skills and Competencies:

• Entrepreneurial energy – you should have started or contributed to the start-up of an organisation, or launched a new market, product, or project within an existing organisation
• Ability to cultivate strong relationships with external clients, and to connect at all levels, from senior executives to junior HR staff
• High levels of personal energy and drive, excellent judgement, and ability to work independently to build a market
• Creative thinker with a “get things done” mindset, who can quickly adapt to new ideas and pivot based on the situation on the ground
• Target-focused commercial player, who is comfortable selling, and coaching a sales team
• Fluent English is required for all roles. French is a bonus
• Enthusiasim for AMI’s mission to drive prosperity and growth in Africa by enabling ambitious businesses to thrive, through practical tools and training
• Preference will be given to African candidates

Experience

• 10+ years of experience with at least 5 years in business development, more recently at a senior level and ideally in an entrepreneurial environment (essential)
• Direct experience in launching something new – a business, project, product, or market
• Private sector, commercial experience, ideally building/running a B2B sales function
• Experience managing budgets and leading teams
• Masters degree or equivalent experience with strong academic background
• Experience working in various countries or markets and/or in an international organisation (preferred, not essential)