Country Director Mara Foundation - Uganda

Country Director Role Definition

The County Director (CD), under the Chief of Staff’s (CoS) supervision, organizes, directs and reviews the work of all Launchpad Center Managers (LCM), Launch Fund Managers (LFM), interns, administrative personnel and other programme staff in his/her country. The CD is responsible for the performance of all country activities, staff, operations, strategic planning/implementation, partnerships and profitability models. The CD provides professional leadership in the analysis, implementation and monitoring of a wide-range of regional operational activities and programmes. The CD also provides analytical support and assistance to the CoS directly as well as indirectly support the Founder/Visionary on an ad hoc basis. The CD is a regional ambassador and authority figure for the Foundation and thus performs other leadership assignments upon request. S/he is also the spokesperson for our regional investors and stakeholders. The CD must reimagine the way business is done in incubation centres and increase the overall impact and programme efficacy for their constituents.

Job Description

• Provides country leadership for all operations within the assigned footprint. Strategizes on how to continuously improve the country programme and its offerings to its constituents. Plans quarterly revenue activities and events (well in advance) to maintain interest-levels and intellectual engagement of our target audience.
• Assists staff with marketing campaigns to ensure that messaging is clear and concise. Seeks and documents feedback from our target market and investors on a regular basis to ensure that client satisfaction is sustained.
• Provides team managerial leadership that fosters collaboration while ensuring an environment of high performance and measurable results. Coaches and develops all team members to exceed targets and reach their highest professional potential.
• Develops training and educational programmes for regional staff for continued staff development (e.g., at least semiannually). Hosts regular (e.g., weekly or biweekly) staff meetings to solve problems, share relevant company information, strategize for scale up and to build a strong sense of teamwork.
• Maximizes the Foundation’s commitment to country entrepreneurs and business communities by strategically planning, implementing and partnering with likeminded external mission-focused organizations.
• Performs critical financial analysis for all country operations (i.e., daily, weekly and monthly) including all inflows and outflows for all financial accounts. Able to use financial accounting software.
• Recruits mentors for the various regional mentorship programmes and recruits funding candidates for the Launch Fund. Provides strategic leadership whereby present and future opportunities to advance the global mission of the Foundation are identified and incorporated into planning systems.
• Assists with the implementation of appropriate local programmes. Develops cohesive country-specific sales and marketing efforts for seamless implementation of effective programming for entrepreneurs.
• Completes end-of-month (EoM), quarterly and annual reports and also semiannual and annual staff performance reviews. Recruits, disciplines and dismisses staff as appropriate. Refers subscribers to Mara Online for increased subscribership. Supports team locally to create content for all online and social media portals.
• Communicates clearly and succinctly to a variety of audiences including the in-country team, regional stakeholders and senior management via electronic and other media.
• Ensures that the Foundation is regionally branded within the country in a manner that strongly and appropriately communicates the mission and vision of the organization, resulting in strong brand recognition. Fosters strategic capabilities and plans throughout the assigned region and especially with other CDs across the sub-Saharan continent.
• Represents the Foundation within our internal and external constituencies including local venture capitalist and investors, public and private stakeholders, local and regional entrepreneurs and international donor agencies.
• Stays current on local business news.
• Leverages all types of media including traditional media and social media to drive business goals.

CDs may experience job-related stress due to deadlines and intense work schedules. Some CDs may face irregular and sometimes long work hours. CDs may also be on call during public relations crises relevant to their region. The CD reports to the Chief of Staff (CoS) who may or may not be “in country”; therefore, independence, proactivity, earned-trust and follow-through are keys to a successful CD’s regional team. Must be accessible via a company-provided mobile smartphone device until at least 8pm daily. Extensive in-country regional travel is required.

Desired Skills & Experience

Distinguishing Features

The CD is characterized by visionary leadership and accountability not only to the regional team but also to the senior leadership of the Mara Foundation and indirectly to the Board of Directors. Must have an excellent command of standard English and also software applications like Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint). Must have excellent written/verbal communication, listening, facilitation, interpersonal, conflict resolution and investigative skills and possess the proven ability to work independently in a fast-paced, complex environment. S/he will directly interact with senior executives, Launchpad center clients and the business community stakeholders via email, phone and face-to-face meetings thus professional decorum is of the utmost importance. Successful CDs will write succinct EoM and annual progress reports, conduct thorough Internet research for strategic plans and take copious notes during client and team meetings while balancing critical deadlines and maintaining effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and employees.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS - Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge, skills, and abilities would be the equivalent of:

Education and Experience: Either (1) Possession of a Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with deference given to a major in business management, marketing, or organizational behavior required and five years of full time experience working for senior management or in a professional staff management capacity; or (2) Possession of an Associate degree from an accredited college with deference given to a major in business management, marketing, or organizational behavior and seven years of full time experience working for senior management or in a professional staff management capacity.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Possesses a “can-do” infectious positive attitude and an entrepreneurial team player perspective. Must be honest, accountable and assertive. Must be a team leader and lead-by-example professional.
• Must have the ability to produce effective high level and detailed analyses.
• Must be self-directed and reliable in planning and implementation regional operations. Must possessstrong follow-through traits. Must have the ability to initiate creative and innovative strategic planning ideas.
• Must have excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills. Must be able to interact and communicate effectively with celebrities, executives, corporate administrators, department peers, community and public officials, sales representatives, media and the public.
• Must be able to effectively use office equipment, computers and scanner and other resources for completion of projects.
• Must have acute time management skills, thereby able to manage one’s own time, establish schedules and meet deadlines, including managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Must be able to extensively travel internationally at a moment’s notice.

Company Description

About Mara Foundation

In 2009, Mara Foundation was instituted by Ashish J. Thakkar, who is the Founder and Director of Mara Group. Mr. Thakkar spends a significant amount of his time driving the Foundation’s mission because he is passionate about entrepreneurship and small business development. Since 2009, the Foundation has scaled its programmatic focus and is active in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria, albeit in varying forms. Beginning in 2013, the Foundation will continue its strategic growth in Sub-Saharan African countries while simultaneously expanding to other global countries worldwide.

Mara Foundation, is the nonprofit social enterprise of the Mara Group that focuses on emerging African entrepreneurs. We work to create sustainable economic opportunities for young business owners with mentorship, business training, funding and office space via our Mara Launchpad incubation centres. Team Mara believes sincerely that Africa has a bright future of innovation, prosperity and global relevance. The Mara Group is headquartered in Dubai and as aforementioned, the Mara Foundation has country operations in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria. Read more about Mara Foundation online.

In addition our work in entrepreneurship development, Mara Foundation is also the founder of Next Generation Schools, an independent charity focused on improving education quality in disadvantaged secondary schools in Uganda.

We assist our clientele by

• Devising strategic plans for leadership development through assessments, educational workshops and
knowledge sharing that showcases best practices
• Creating highly customized mission-driven teambuilding systems that assist clients to identify, coach and
retain highly motivated team players who are passionate about the organizational mission
• Designing and performing program audits that include staff interviews, policy reviews, financial analysis,
industry benchmarking and recommendations for improved program effectiveness and organizational resource
optimization
• Researching and authoring fundraising proposals based upon organizational mission, potential for growth and
record of accomplishments