SolarAid Operations Director - Zambia

This is a unique opportunity to join an innovative, ambitious organisation which plans to sell solar lights at scale across Zambia, 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, Zambia
Location: Lusaka, with frequent travel to rural Zambia
Reporting to: SunnyMoney Managing Director (Nairobi based)
Salary: £30,000 - £45,000 depending on experience
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 building momentum in the solar market. Our overarching goal in Zambia is to eradicate the use of kerosene for lighting and help create a genuine solar lighting market. Our mission as a company is to Eradicate the Kerosene Light from Africa by the end of this decade. We call this our Big Hairy Audacious Goal – our BHAG. To find out more, go to www.sunnymoney.org
Mission for this post
We are looking for a dynamic, business minded individual to lead our operations in Zambia. Responsible for our existing team of 13 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. You will also drive forward our SunnyMoney Trade department which seeks to support demand by setting up dealer and stockist networks in addition to working with organisations to successfully work within their distribution networks. We have ambitious plans to sell hundreds of thousands of lights over the coming years.
Objectives for this post for first 12 months

1. Lead the implementation and scale up of our ambitious SunnyMoney school campaign and SunnyMoney Trade departments in accordance with our current business plan
2. Lead on work to increase the profile of SunnyMoney in Zambia through creating and implementing a successful plan to engage with key stakeholders, partners and government ministries
3. Work closely together with the Managing Director and your team to finalise the business plan for the coming 2012/13 financial
4. Work closely the Managing Director to further develop our customer service and marketing capacity in country - particularly direct marketing – in order to build SunnyMoney as trusted solar brand across Zambia
5. Support our research work which both aims to help us understand and better serve our customers and demonstrate the positive impact solar products have on education, health and quality of life.
6. As necessary, recruit and lead a team of A-player staff who will successfully implement the programme
7. 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 SunnyMoney sales teams which consistently hits and exceeds sales targets.
2. Where necessary, develop strong relationships with partners, local and national governments to enable us to meet and exceed targets and raise in country funds
3. Ensure the organisation is complying with all legal requirements
4. Ensure that end of year targets are met and within budget
5. 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

1. Strong business planning and commercial skills
2. Substantial staff management skills (recruiting, developing, performance managing large teams, motivating staff)
3. Strong financial ability (prepare budgets and to monitor expenditure)
4. Strong communication skills, including representing the Zambia team at meetings and conferences and writing regular, comprehensive reports
5. Able to make decisions, take the initiative, originate action and be responsible for the decisions made
6. Excellent oral and written English
7. Computer literacy (project planning, spreadsheets, word processing, email/internet)
8. Educated to degree level (or considerable professional management and operational experience)
9. Experience of leading successful commercial enterprises and teams in Africa
10. 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 contract of employment containing full details of the terms and conditions

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@sunnymoney.org
Note: Please entitle your email subject line with: Your Name SunnyMoney Zambia Operations Director and save letter together with CV in one attached file.
Deadline for applicants: 10th October 2012