Strategic Partnership Manager (Ruiru) at BURN

Job description

BURN is hiring for a Strategic Partnership Manager who will act as the face of BURN and the key point of contact to a wide range of strategic partners, including multilateral organizations, aid and development agencies, non-government organizations, government officials, carbon project developers, and BURN’s distribution partners. The Strategic Partnership Manager will work in close cooperation with BURN’s Commercial team in Nairobi, Kenya to maximize BURN’s success in winning long lead-time deals with strategic global partners, resulting in hundreds of thousands of stove sales.

Key Projects (First 6-9 months):

1. Manage and grow existing partnerships with strategic partners such as the World Bank, carbon project developers and distribution partners
2. Win a range of distribution deals and other strategic partnerships with 10-15 clients that are currently in the pipeline

Primary Responsibilities:

• Partnership Development: Spearhead building strategic global partnerships across the clean cooking sector. Provide close relationship management support, including carrying out regular check-ins with, at times, high-level stakeholders across a diverse range of organizations.
• New Business Development: Identify and develop new strategic partnerships that align with BURN’s company strategy. Present and pitch to external parties. When required, represent BURN at conferences and events in Kenya and abroad.
• Pitch Material Design & Development: With BURN’s marketing team, design and develop effective project and partnership proposals, such as company and product overviews, product comparisons and distribution proposals. Own these materials, track, and update accordingly. These materials will effectively help the company secure multi-million-dollar partnerships and projects.
• Strategic Projects/Initiatives: Assist the Commercial team in the planning, implementation and tracking of strategic projects and initiatives across several geographical markets.
• Collaboration: Act as an organizer and go-between with BURN’s senior management, commercial, carbon, and special project/grants teams.

Secondary Responsibilities:

• Information Gathering: Gather critical market information on the clean cooking sector, carbon offsetting market, BURN’s distribution partners, competitor activity, aid and development industries and other key areas of the sector.
• Reporting/Forecasting: Produce regular analytical reports and ad-hoc research papers on key partnerships, business development updates, market landscape, as well as monthly forecasting and reporting for distribution activities

Skills and Experience

Essential

• 5+ years Mid- to Senior-level sales experience
• Proven B2B sales, route-to-market, and supply chain, and new business development experience
• Ability to produce and present professional strategy, reports, accurate forecasts, and channel sales plans
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; French would be an added advantage
• Excellent inter-personal skills, with an ability to engage partners at all levels including senior government officials; high level of comfort making cold calls to prospective partners
• Strong cross-cultural skills and versatility in dealing with different types of partnerships
• At least 3 years professional experience in relationship management/partnership development, preferably across the energy, aid, development, and carbon industries; proven record in growing such partnerships
• Demonstrated success and achievements in new business development; proven record in identifying and onboarding new partnerships that clearly helped a company achieve its strategic goals
• Track record in planning, managing and monitoring complex partnerships and projects across a range of geographical markets
• Ability to carry out excellent strategic research on a diverse range of subjects
• Ability to design professional, comprehensive, and winning partnership/project proposals
• Enthusiastic, entrepreneurial, a desire to ‘sell for good’

Skills and Experience

Desired

• Sales, marketing, and new business development experience with consumer durable goods in last mile, bottom-of-the-pyramid communities
• Knowledge and experience of the realities of clean cooking and other development issues, donor institutions, and carbon offsetting market
• Strong analytic/number-crunching background, specifically sales and marketing data
• Network of business contacts in the aid, development, and carbon industries
• Be able to adapt to a highly variable environment, change scope and focus with ease
• University Degree in Business Management, Development Studies or related fields

Degree qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)