Head Of Business Development at Orkidstudio

Orkidstudio pioneers turnkey climate-positive, human-centred design and construction in East Africa to create dignified and healthy built environments. We believe that a well designed built environment and a more equitable construction industry is critical to public health, economic growth and environmental resilience.

Our Culture

We are purpose-driven; focused on diversity, sustainability and social impact.

We are caring; cultivating trust, personal growth and a sense of belonging.

We are innovative; relentlessly open, inventive and curious.

Our Services

We offer award-winning architecture, engineering and construction services as a turnkey (or ‘end-to-end’) package tailored to the education, healthcare and affordable housing sectors.

Role Overview

Orkidstudio is looking for an exceptional individual based in Nairobi, Kenya, to set up our Business Development department. The Head of Business Development role will oversee sales, marketing, public relations and client satisfaction. The head of Business Development role aligns with the launch of a major new strategic initiative at Orkidstudio, including a re-brand of the company’s name and visual identity. You will be a key figure in this campaign, coordinating overall vision and strategy, and managing a team to deliver across PR, marketing and sales, with the aim of significantly increasing pipeline and secured contracts. A strategic role based on developing commercial and sales strategies, plus marketing & PR strategies. Building B2B relationships and partnerships in line with longer term company vision will also form a major part of the role. We are seeking someone with excellent external communication skills, a proven ability to negotiate and persuade successfully, and with strong business acumen. The candidate should be a highly organized team player, ready to work with our design, construction, finance, and compliance teams to manage new and existing business.

Currently business development at Orkidstudio is run by the CEO and the company has recently hired a Marketing Associate. As such, the Head of Business Development will be responsible for strategizing and building up this new department and a growing team over time. This will require a candidate who is self-motivated, confident in making decisions and excited by the opportunity to drive forward a new business function to deliver overall company success.

Key Highlights

Reporting to: CEO

Salary: Negotiated

Benefits: Extensive Healthcare Insurance (incl. family cover), Mentorship & Career Growth Opportunities

Experience: 10+ years

Employment Type: Full time Employment (part-time and flexi-time arrangements on negotiation)

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Role description

• Develop a fully conversant understanding of the competitive marketplace in which we operate including a sound commercial understanding of the range of services we offer and our value proposition.
• Prepare reports by collecting, analysing, and summarising market information and trends, plus marketing performance and present to the CEO for Board-level review.
• Manage our MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning) strategy, implementation and connecting operations to marketing.
• Introduction, development and implementation of all necessary sales and bid procedures, governance, and processes.
• Partner and work cross-functionally with key marketing, operations, legal and policy stakeholders to identify, negotiate and manage partnership opportunities that help Orkidstudio achieve strategic priorities.
• Lead and support B2B deal processes from strategy development and sourcing to negotiation, implementation, closing new contracts.
• Prepare proposals for prospective clients.
• Drive individual deal performance accountability by creating clear and measurable goals aligned with the business strategy.
• Evaluate performance of the client portfolio against business priorities and identify opportunities for further optimization.
• Lead, drive and execute PR & communications strategies that support our business goals to key audiences through media relations.
• Work closely with the leadership team to define the growth strategy of the brand and business.
• Collaborate with multiple teams across functions to deliver effective content creation and storytelling to drive traffic, engagement and leads that deliver sales growth and customer retention.
• Develop and craft press releases, pitches, media alerts, Q&A's, feature stories, corporate statements and other media information and editorial content.
• Represent the organisation at public and private events, leveraging networking, exhibition and pitch opportunities for increased sales and partnership growth.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in Business Development/Sales & Marketing/Brand Management – with a proven track record in high value, multi-year B2B client creation and management.
• Proven record of creating, negotiating, closing and managing high value commercial partnerships/business.
• High aptitude and successful track record with synthesizing value propositions and first-of-kind deal making.
• Relevant academic qualifications are of interest, but not essential.

Personal Attributes and Competencies

• Strategic, creative thinker with strong business acumen and an ability to successfully manage priorities in a highly dynamic, fast-paced organization.
• Charismatic, with strong communication, negotiation and persuasion abilities.
• Strong leadership experience and interpersonal skills with an ability to influence and collaborate with people at all levels and functions.
• Strong sense of social and environmental purpose and a clear understanding of why Orkidstudio is the right fit for you.
• High personal integrity.

More About Orkidstudio

Orkidstudio is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity, equity and inclusion. We do not discriminate, and we recognise and embrace that people work in different ways.

Join us and you’ll find yourself in an environment where innovation, inspiration and creativity are second nature. You’ll be surrounded by industry leaders and curious, ambitious colleagues – working together to develop the business in line with ever changing end user needs. You’ll have the opportunity to grow - with access to loads of learning opportunities, events and conferences to build your industry knowledge - and to apply your skills towards our social and environmental impact. We also have team breakfasts, team lunches, creative Fridays and more