Operations Director - Tanzania SunnyMoney

This is a unique opportunity to join an innovative, ambitious organisation which plans to sell solar lights at scale across Tanzania, bringing electricity to rural households and reducing reliance on fuels such as kerosene. You will be a leader capable of running a fast growing business with excellent project management and people skills and experience of running commercial operations in Africa.

Job Title: Operations Director, Tanzania
Location: Dar es Salaam, with frequent travel to rural Tanzania
Reporting to: Head of Programmes

About SunnyMoney

SunnyMoney is the subsidiary company of SolarAid, an innovative, fast-growing, organisation working in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia which focuses on business based solutions to poverty. Our aim is to enable the world’s poorest people to have access to clean, renewable power. We do this by selling solar lights to rural households and facilitating the installation of solar systems on community buildings such as medical clinics and schools. Our overarching goal in Tanzania is to eradicate the use of kerosene for lighting and help create a genuine solar lighting market. To find out more, go to www.solar-aid.org

Mission for this post

We are looking for a dynamic, business minded individual to lead our operations in Tanzania. Responsible for and growing our existing team of 15 people, you will drive forward the implementation of our nationwide student lights campaign, which is selling solar study lights to school children in order to create momentum within and catalyse the solar market in off grid communities. We plan to sell over 250,000 lights over the next 3 years. You will also be responsible for our programme which offers solar systems to rural schools and clinics. Over the past 3 years, we have brought over 100 subsidized systems to rural schools and clinics. We are now developing plans that will enable us to sell solar systems to thousands of schools.

Objectives for this post for first 12 months
1. Lead the implementation and scale up of our
ambitious SunnyMoney school campaign
2. Oversee implementation of our community installation
programme, installing solar systems on schools and
clinics and oversee transition into more financially
sustainable operation
3. As necessary, recruit and lead a team of A-player
staff who will successfully implement the programme
4. Ensure that all financial and narrative reports are
submitted internally and externally on time, in the
correct format and to a high standard

Duties and Responsibilities
Project Management
1. Build and lead a SunnyMoney team which consistently
hits and exceeds sales targets.
2. Oversee and manage the implementation of our
existing community installation programme
commitments
3. Where necessary, develop strong relationships with
partners, local and national governments to enable
us to meet and exceed targets
4. Ensure the organisation is complying with all legal
requirements
5. Ensure that end of year targets are met and within
budget
6. Responsible for ensuring that all reporting
deadlines are met.

Team Management
1. As necessary, recruit A-player staff and interns.
2. Supervise the performance of team staff through
agreeing staff development plans and setting
performance targets, regularly reviewing both with
staff.
3. Implement strong Human Resources management system
as set out in our staff handbook, dealing quickly,
firmly and fairly with all HR issues.


Person Specification

Skills/ knowledge
• Strong business planning and commercial skills
• Substantial staff management skills (recruiting,
developing, performance managing large teams,
motivating staff)
• Strong financial ability (prepare budgets and to
monitor expenditure against budgets)
• Strong communication skills, including representing
the Tanzania team at meetings and conferences and
writing regular, comprehensive reports
• Able to make decisions, take the initiative,
originate action and be responsible for the
decisions made
• Excellent oral and written English
• Ability to speak and willingness to learn Swahili
• Computer literacy (project planning, spreadsheets,
word processing, email/internet)
• Educated to degree level, preferably with management
training

Experience
• Experience of leading successful commercial
enterprises and teams in Africa
• Experience of managing human and financial resources
that demonstrates ability to set objectives, monitor
and evaluate progress and outcomes

Other
1. Commitment to developing the solar market, reducing
reliance on kerosene for lighting
2. Participative and collaborative working approach
3. Self starting, passionate, trustworthy, dependable
and decisive leader who communicates effectively and
consistently works efficiently to high standards

Terms and conditions
• Full-time
• Notice period: one week within probationary period,
three months thereafter.
• Annual leave: 25 days
• Salary commensurate with experience
• Opportunities for training and personal development
will be made available.
• The employee will have a contract of employment
containing more details of the terms and conditions
relating to the post.

How to apply

Interested applicants please email CV together with a covering letter which explains how you meet the criteria in this job description to recruitment@solar-aid.org

Notes: Please entitle your email subject line with: Your Name SunnyMoneyOD Tanzania and save letter together with CV in one attached file.

Deadline for applicants: 14th October 2011, 5pm GMT