Openings at African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC)

About the Opportunity

AEC Kenya seeks a highly talented and experienced Sales & Marketing professional to sell & recruit clients (entrepreneurs) who will go through AECs accelerator program. The position holder will ensure personal monthly and quarterly sales targets are achieved and exceeded by utilizing client relationship and sales skills.

The successful candidate will have the following responsibilities:

Responsibilities

CLIENT SALES (80%)

• Find and sign new SME companies to AEC (approximately 4 per month)
• Achieve maximum sales profitability, growth and account penetration within an assigned territory and by effectively selling the company’s products and/or related services and onboarding clients
• Maintain and develop relationships with existing company clients by providing outstanding service, support. 
• Identify new opportunities 
• Identify and investigate growth opportunities for the company with our clients
• Develop a database of potential leads
• Implement the agreed upon sales plan
• Complete sales meetings to understand prospective client needs and explain AEC services to meet those needs
• Serve as a link between company and market 

On-Board New Clients (10%)

• On-board the client with Business Development team providing information gained during the sales process.
• Once a contract has been signed, work with the supervisor to ensure a payment plan has been set up.

Reporting to inform our hierarchy (10%)

• Provide daily, weekly and Monthly report from system CRM 
• Provide result and impact for all actions promotions.

Minimum Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will fulfill the following requirements:
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required
• Minimum 2+ years of work experience in marketing and sales on a commission based arrangement
• Experience selling products or services to individual customers and/or businesses
• Proven experience in customer service 
• Shows perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills
• Ability to communicate via telephone and email
• Presentable and confident in face-to-face meetings
• General higher education or sales-training and qualifications
• Able to build rapport quickly over phone or face to face
• Strong networking skills
• Motivated self-starter
• Excellent computer skills, especially with MS Excel and Word
• Good written and oral communications skills for presentations and training
• Willing to reside in Mombasa
• Must be able to legally work in Kenya.

What You'll Get

• Fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth 
• Competitive benefits package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.

COMPENSATION

Compensation includes salary and potential KPI-based bonus, healthcare, retirement benefits, flexible annual leave, possible travel in East Africa, professional development opportunities, and the chance to connect with colleagues across East Africa in a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition, this role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization.

Deadline: 31st March 2022

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About the Opportunity

The IT Project Manager will be a new position for AEC as we scale across 8 countries.  AEC has developed more technology systems as the company grows, needing a comprehensive digital approach to improving efficiency, operations, client services, and communications.  

The IT Project Manager will be responsible for ensuring that a range of AEC technology projects (app development, Odoo CRM system, IVR, Digital Payment platform,  API integrations, which are all current projects) are planned with the end-user in mind, staffed appropriately, and meet budget and timeline expectations.  The position will also be responsible for identifying new integration and digitalization opportunities and new digital solutions for our entrepreneurs working collaboratively with staff across multiple departments and geographies.

Responsibilities

The IT Project Manager will be technical enough to manage a range of IT projects delivery/testing/deployment, but as a Project Manager you will not have to do the development yourself.  Specifically, the role will include:

Project Inception 

• Direct and manage technology project development from inception to end rollout.
• Define project scope, goals, success criteria, and deliverables with management and stakeholders. 
• Draft and complete detailed project documentation to include Statement of Work (SOW) Requirements 
• Develop full-scale project plans, timelines, and milestones, and manage to meet these expectations
• Develop a budget and identify resources needed, including staff and consultants
• Estimate the resources and participants needed to achieve project goals. Draft and submit budget proposals, and recommend subsequent changes where necessary
• Staff the IT Change Committee and ensure that all needed materials are presented for decision, showing the long-term value to the organization. 
• Delegate tasks and responsibilities to appropriate staff and consultants, and manage their deliverables. 
• Engage deeply with staff and clients to identify problems, create IT solutions that are fit for the user and purpose – now and in the future.

Project Management

• Once a project is approved, track project milestones and deliverables, and develop/deliver progress reports, documentation, and presentations using Asana and other methods
• Analyze results and processes of project management, and troubleshoot problem areas, raising challenges as appropriate.
• Proactively and effectively communicate project expectations to stakeholders and leadership, and engage stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
• Determine staffing plan with the IT Director, including contracting with external vendors if additional expertise or capacity is needed to deliver on time or on quality.
• Proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential challenges, and devise contingency plans. Review proposed modifications on project plans, including meeting with interested parties to approve and implement beneficial changes.
• Establish roll-out plans for the piece of technology, including developing training materials, user guides, and other systems which ensure smooth adoption of the completed IT project. 
• Conduct project post mortems and create a recommendations report to identify successful and unsuccessful project elements.

Team Management

• Work with the AEC Operations Teams to develop, implement and execute technology initiatives
• Coach, mentor, motivate, and supervise project team members (Senior Developer and needed third parties) to execute initiatives
• Work with the developers to ensure that at the end of each project, users are presented with clear and detailed users training guides preferably videos.
• IT Vendor management
• Build, develop, and grow any business relationships vital to the success of the project
• Support and backup other IT colleagues as needed and other duties as assigned
• Participate in quarterly reviews, annual KPI setting, and strategic planning for the company’s IT growth.

Minimum Qualifications

The position requires a broad technical background in project/program management and in building and managing multiple complex projects and customer relationships. Clear and effective communication with customers, partners, and developers is essential

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, information technology, or another related field
• 5 years of experience managing software and hardware projects of various sizes and complexities
• Project Management Experience –  Has run complicated tech projects, on-time and within budget from start to finish, ability to work independently with minimal supervision 
• Project Management Certification preferred
• Understanding of relevant coding languages preferred but not required (our stack: Python, XML, Javascript, Postgresql)
• Experience with Human-Centered Design and UI/UX to ensure solutions are relevant for our context
• Experience managing people to achieve their best
• Experience managing multiple simultaneous projects (5-10 projects at a time) with durations of 2-16 weeks
• Exceptional communication skills (oral and written) in English, plus either Kinyarwanda or Swahili
• Familiarity with CRM/ERP systems is required, and Odoo is highly desirable
• Experience managing vendor service level agreements and securing vendor deliverables.

What You'll Get

• Fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth 
• Competitive benefits package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.

COMPENSATION

Compensation includes salary and potential KPI-based bonus, healthcare, retirement benefits, flexible annual leave, possible travel in East Africa, professional development opportunities, and the chance to connect with colleagues across East Africa in a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition, this role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization.

Deadline: 13th March 2022

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About the Opportunity

Portfolio Manager will be a trusted partner of AEC Kenya clients with the responsibilities below:

Responsibilities

DUE DILIGENCE and FACILITY/INVESTMENT PREPARATION (40% time) 

• Respond to inquiries from prospective borrowers, support them to apply for our investment products, 
• Introduce the investment products to entrepreneurs, explaining the requirements for repayment and the seriousness of taking on debt financing, 
• Conduct due diligence on prospective borrowers, including site visits, document preparation, coordination with the Business Development Associates and Business Associates, etc.
• Communicate all materials to the Senior Portfolio Manager/ Regional Portfolio Director and assist in preparing credit reports for Investment Committee meetings,
• Take photos of entrepreneurs, have them sign photo waivers, and post their stories on the Kiva platform.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (40% time) 

• Offer excellent customer service through daily conversations, correspondence, and site visits as needed to maintain strong positive relationships with borrowers, 
• Work with Business Development Services team to ensure borrower success, and Visit clients for monitoring, 
• Track information about borrowers and communicate effectively with key stakeholders about client status, 
• Actively participate as key staff in the weekly Portfolio Review Meeting, 
• Maintain a tracking system of borrower payments and contact information, 
• Interact with government leaders, the court system, refugee’s and host communities’ stakeholders and others for follow up on lack of payments, 
• Work with the Finance Director/Senior Finance Associate to produce invoices for payments, 
• Ensure that we are adhering to the requirements of our Kiva partnership, including reporting and journaling, 
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor. 

TEAM AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT (20% time) 

• Supervising and training Investment Officers staff in all steps of the investment granting cycle including: 
• Acquisition and screening of potential clients, 
• Active monitoring of investment repayments and overall performance, 
• Investment assessment, appraisal and disbursement.
• Chairing credit/facility committees under the portfolio manager’s approval rights. 

Minimum Qualifications

• University degree in Finance or another related field 
• Must speak fluent English and Kiswahili. Knowledge of other local languages will be an added advantage 
• Experience in Islamic lending and practice is preferred
• Experience in investment management, microfinance, capital leases, and access to finance for Micro businesses and SMEs is STRONGLY preferred 
• Experience in lending, group savings is strongly preferred 
• Experience in lending products development is a MUST 
•  Experience in managing investment staff 
• Experience providing business advice to entrepreneurs and dealing with customers/debt 
• Prior experience in using Investment management system software 
• Decisive individuals with the ability to deliver unpleasant messages to the debtors and assertive enough to get the debtors to pay off the entire debt 
• Experience in managing difficult clients and reaching positive outcomes 
• Very strong attention to details and good follow-through, 
• Comfort with the civil court system, collateral registration and previous experience in litigation is preferred
• Unrelenting perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills. 
• 5+ years of work experience in the relevant or applicable field 
• Must be able to legally work in Kenya 

What You'll Get

• The fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make an impact and contribute to economic growth in Kenya (Garissa & Dadaab)
• Competitive benefit package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more

Deadline: 10th March 2022

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About the Opportunity

As the lead organizer of business advisory and training across Kenya, the Business Growth Services Director (Kenya) will oversee a department of nearly 50 staff spread throughout urban, second-city, and refugee offices in Turkana and Garissa counties. 

Specifically, the Business Growth Services Director (Kenya) will:

Responsibilities

CLIENT DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT (60% TIME)

• Lead, manage, and coach department staff, including direct supervision of at least 5 Program Managers and Business Development Managers, to deliver impactful services to AEC Kenya’s clients
• Manage client sales and recruitment staff to develop and implement strategies for annual client targets
• Stay up-to-date with the entrepreneurship industry across Kenya and East Africa. Connect entrepreneurs to new insights, developments, and other government initiatives
• Manage project deliverables, reporting, and partnership relations with external partners invested in this work
• Develop and deliver on strategic objectives for the department, and cascade annual KPIs
• Work with operational directors in HR, Finance, MEL, and IT for enhancing the backbone support to the Department’s programming and operations
• Work with Communication department to promote AEC Kenya programs, client case studies, and brand to achieve objectives of public recognition, alignment with donor/partner communication requirements, sales and marketing objectives, and brand positioning.
• Work with the Investment department to coordinate pre-and post-investment Business Development services to borrowers
• Collaborate with program staff in the AEC group of companies across East Africa to share lessons learned
• Serve a key role in the AEC Leadership Team to ensure cohesion and collaboration across the highest levels of the organization
• Serve as a thought partner to the Managing Director, Kenya to ensure collaboration, country fundraising, and partnership efforts are achieved
• Maintain standards of the department quality and productivity -- building the skills, leadership, and capacity of team members to grow professionally to meet and exceed expectations.
• Oversee personnel matters for senior staff in your department including staffing plans, role clarification, hiring, professional development, discipline, investigation, etc., including hiring in new locales
• Contribute to AEC Kenya’s efforts for inclusive policy approaches to benefit marginalized entrepreneurs, particularly refugees in Kenya.
• Maintain and grow AEC Kenya’s relationships with various program partners and external stakeholders, in partnership with other company leaders
• Benchmark AEC Kenya against other partners, ensuring a strong market position relevant to client needs, ecosystem offerings.
• Generate programmatic insights with the MEL team to ensure product impact and relevance, and be able to report insights to Executive leadership, Board, and external partners
• Other duties to support organizational culture and leadership

PRODUCT INNOVATION & EXPANSION (20% TIME)

• Innovate/ iterate on existing products to achieve value to clients in alignment with AEC Kenya’s impact strategies and Vision 2030 in close collaboration with the AEC Director of Innovation and the Regional Director
• Develop and implement strategies to expand in new geographies, testing and iterating to meet the need
• Open new offices in Kenya as needed
• Modify or develop new BD products to meet client needs or market opportunities 
• Work closely with the Innovation Lab on change management to roll out new products and train staff to implement with fidelity and skill 

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & REVENUE GENERATION (20% TIME)

• Partner with fundraising colleagues, to identify, develop, and negotiate proposals/budgets with institutional clients and donors in alignment with AEC Kenya’s priorities.
• Co-manage department expenses with the Regional Director, setting annual and multi-year budgets, strategically allocating resources to achieve quality department outputs.
• Work with the Finance Department for timely billing and financial reporting to partners. 

Minimum Qualifications

Successful candidates will be passionate about the power of entrepreneurship to improve lives and communities.  They will embody AEC’s values of being aligned to our purposes, solutions-oriented, and willing to put in the time and effort to reach exceptional outcomes. We require individuals who have previously taken on leadership and management responsibilities. 

Qualifications include: 

• Experience with the development of micro and small enterprises required
• Experience with refugee entrepreneurs and financing strongly preferred
• Proven track record of leadership, including significant experience in team development and growth
• Experience with product development – through the lens of human-centered design – and a willingness to test, fail, iterate, and test again, incorporating data, not your own biases
• Ability to care about your colleagues and challenge them simultaneously (i.e. “Radical Candor”)
• Strong experience in project management and budgeting and managing outcomes
• Unrelenting perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills
• Love of working in Kenya
• A nuanced understanding of justice and fairness in the workplace
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple deadlines – must be both strategic and operational
• Ability to work with high-profile individuals with discretion, professionalism, and responsiveness
• Fluent in English and Swahili, additional proficiency in Somali, Arabic strongly preferred
• 8+ years of work experience in relevant or applicable field
• MBA or equivalent preferred

What You'll Get

• Fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth 
• Competitive benefits package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.

COMPENSATION

Compensation includes salary and potential KPI-based bonus, healthcare, retirement benefits, flexible annual leave, possible travel in East Africa, professional development opportunities, and the chance to connect with colleagues across East Africa in a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition, this role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization.

Deadline: 22nd March 2022

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Responsibilities

• Serve as part of the development team to design and drive AEC’s fundraising plans and strategies.
• Identify, research, and fully analyze funding opportunities from government, institutions, corporate, and foundation sources that match AEC’s strategic priorities.
• Lead writer on data-informed, well-tailored and timely concept notes, letters of interest, and grant proposals, including budgets and all supporting documents in response to solicitations consistent with AEC’s policies and procedures as well as the requirements and guidelines of the potential funding entity.
• Remain up-to-date on current issues relative to grant proposals and liaise with the supervisor accordingly.
• Coordinate and follow-up on the progress of submitted proposals.
• Lead on kick-off meetings to disseminate details for awarded grants, engaging all relevant stakeholders.
• Lead on grant reports, coordinating budgets, program details and  impact data.
• Develop and maintain a grants calendar as well as a master file on pending grants and contracts.
• Participate in grant information meetings and build relationships with prospective funders. 

Minimum Qualifications

AEC has found that the happiest and most effective colleagues are proactive, resourceful, self-motivated go-getters with a can-do attitude, who support their teammates with sincerity. They are strategic, but also willing to roll up their sleeves. They give and receive feedback freely. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:

• Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Marketing, Journalism, English Literature, Business, or other comparable degree.
• 3+ years of experience as a successful Grant Writer, with a development/livelihood focus, for a diverse range of donors (foundations, governments, UN, development institutions, corporates, etc.).
• A proven record of securing larger and multi-year/country grants with certifiable references is preferred.
• Highly collaborative style, extensive knowledge of fundraising strategies and principles.
• Knowledge of grant application process, scoring criteria and funding cycles.
• Highly organized with the ability to implement systems and follow-up processes.
• Skillful interpersonal and communication abilities are essential, both written and verbal, for diverse audiences, including writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
• Top notch work ethic, with confidence, initiative, and ability to rapidly adapt to changing situations and creative approach to problem-solving and industry trends.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work collaboratively and independently with purpose and accuracy in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, Access, PowerPoint and Excel), and donor database management skills.
• Sincere commitment to work collaboratively with all groups, including staff, board members, volunteers, donors, program participants, and other stakeholders; with high level of integrity and confidentiality.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or similar software such MailChimp, Canva, Square, and other tech-enabled communications would be an added advantage.

What You'll Get

• Fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth 
• Competitive benefits package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.

COMPENSATION

Compensation includes salary and potential KPI-based bonus, healthcare, retirement benefits, flexible annual leave, possible travel in East Africa, professional development opportunities, and the chance to connect with colleagues across East Africa in a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition, this role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization.

Closing on: Mar 20, 2022

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About the Opportunity

African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC) in 2030 is a different organization than what it is today. In 2030, the communities in which AEC works are thriving centers of private sector activity. People living there have access to services, decent work, economies conducive to growing businesses, and the ability to live independent and productive lives.

Powered by the belief in entrepreneurship to drive private sector development in secondary cities and refugee communities, we need a team of talented, experienced, connected, and courageous professionals who are inspired to grow AEC into a world-class business support organization.

AEC’s Fundraising Associate position, under the guidance of the Development Manager, will be a key role to ensure AEC’s fundraising efforts are effective, efficient and World Class, to achieve our ambitious financial growth targets, securing more than $400M USD to build thriving communities across 8 countries in Africa by 2030.

Responsibilities

The Fundraising Associate is a very dynamic role for an energetic, self-starter who is not afraid to take on big challenges leading to revenue growth and donor satisfaction. Below is a non-exhaustive list of specific responsibilities:

Fundraising Strategy Support

• Support tactical achievement of fundraising strategy, and revise strategy to meet changing scenarios informed by research/data.
• Support the implementation of AEC’s donor engagement strategy.
• Develop individual donor research profiles to inform approaches to take with each donor and mechanisms to track the relationship.
• Support the grant proposal development and due diligence process as needed.
• Draft relevant fundraising policies as needed.

Research

• Support in researching new funding prospects through online research and networking to map connections to fundraising leads.
• Identify strategic events to position AEC and coordinate engagement processes accordingly.

Donor Management Support

• Manage real-time proposals and reporting calendars and internal communications about donor reporting requirements.
• Draft donor reports and coordinate all relevant supporting documents, in collaboration with the Grant Writer.
• Research new individual donors and draft their communications as well as implement appropriate follow-up.
• Draft donor thank you letters and other compliance documents as well as process all gift matching requests.
• Support coordination and scheduling of fundraising activities, including meetings, events and donor site visits.
• Support the annual audit and other financial tracking and reporting of philanthropic funds.
• Maintain annual representation in third-party fundraising sites (Benevity, Global Giving, etc.).
• Prepare and manage employee engagement activities.

Fundraising Data Tracking & Management

• Support the creation, implementation, and maintenance of a fully operating donor database to meet fundraising needs.
• Ensure that data is accurately entered and managed within AEC’s data management system (Knowledge of Odoo/Pipedrive/Salesforce is a plus).
• Forecast targets and ensure they are met by the team.
• Monitor, evaluate and report on the effectiveness of fundraising initiatives and campaigns.

Minimum Qualifications

AEC has found that the happiest and most effective colleagues are proactive, resourceful, self-motivated go-getters with a can-do attitude, who support their teammates with sincerity. They are strategic, but also willing to roll up their sleeves. They give and receive feedback freely. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:

• Bachelor's degree in Administration, Communication, Business, Marketing or a related field.
• Strong  administration and excellent multiple projects coordination skills, with a minimum of two years of experience, preferably in a development/fundraising environment.
• Basic experience in fundraising strategies and processes is a plus.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite, database management experience – knowledge of Odoo, Pipledrive is a plus.
• Skillful interpersonal and communication abilities are essential, both written and verbal, for diverse audiences, with high-level of integrity and confidentiality.
• Top notch work ethic, with confidence, initiative, and ability to rapidly adapt to changing situations and creative approach to problem-solving and industry trends.
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision.
• Motivated self-starter, data and deadline driven, and ability to multi-task with solid organizational and time-management skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or similar software such MailChimp, Canva, Square, and other tech-enabled communications would be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of tax planning principles and techniques that favor charitable giving is a plus.

What You'll Get

• Fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth 
• Competitive benefits package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.

COMPENSATION

Compensation includes salary and potential KPI-based bonus, healthcare, retirement benefits, flexible annual leave, possible travel in East Africa, professional development opportunities, and the chance to connect with colleagues across East Africa in a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition, this role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization.