Country Director Sinapis Group - Kenya

Sinapis Country Director Position

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

About Sinapis:

Sinapis is a social enterprise with a mission to empower aspiring entrepreneurs in the developing world with innovative, scalable business ideas by providing them with a rigorous business education, Christian ethics and Kingdom business training, world-class consulting and mentoring services and access to seed capital. Through these means, we strive to create Kingdom business leaders, sustainable employment and an improved quality of life for many that we may glorify God in service of His people.

Sinapis begins by selecting 15 of the most innovative entrepreneurs in Kenya and puts them through 6 months of intensive training similar to a mini-MBA but customized for early stage enterprises. Throughout the training program, entrepreneurs must implement what they have learned in class in their own businesses and meet certain milestones. Only the highest performing entrepreneurs advance through the program, the best of which receive seed capital for their businesses of between $10-$100,000.  The businesses that receive seed capital are also eligible to receive full-time support from a Sinapis Entrepreneur Consultant for up to six months following receipt of capital.

Sinapis has both a non-profit branch called Sinapis Group which handles the training and mentoring aspects of the organization and a for-profit branch called Sinapis Capital that allows external investors to invest in our highest performing entrepreneurs.

Position Summary & Responsibilities:

Sinapis is looking for a Country Director to lead all operations in Kenya and manage our team locally. The position has the following responsibilities:

• Recruiting & HR- Recruit, create on-boarding materials for, train, supervise, and manage regular performance reviews for the following positions and any other positions as they come up:

• Entrepreneur Consultants: Consultants that work with entrepreneurs on a daily basis to help them launch their companies. Either hire internally or source externally (with a high preference for training up local consultants); one EC will be designated Lead EC and will help train other new ECs
• PR Officer: Handles all local PR duties
• Office Manager: Handles all administrative tasks for the office plus receipt and petty cash management
• Driver
• Cleaner if needed

• Entrepreneur Recruiting- Work with Lead EC to develop advertisement for program, info sessions with key pipeline groups, teaser classes for high potential entrepreneurs, testimonials and videos from our alumni and/or any other type of adverting to promote our program; develop and implement thorough application process for acceptance, perform interviews with finalists and facilitate mentor and investor involvement in selection and interview process

• Curriculum Development- Create class schedule and syllabus; Develop, improve and localize curriculum for start-up entrepreneurs including creating local case examples with alumni and mentors

• Sourcing & Training of Lecturers- Source and hire good lecturers for each class from among entrepreneur consultants, external consultants, alumni, mentors and university lecturers. Do practice runs and critique them before class to ensure class delivery is excellent and on message

• Feedback Management- Ensure feedback surveys are successfully collected throughout program, and supervise office manager to ensure feedback is summarized online; ensure feedback is incorporated into performance reviews for lecturers, entrepreneur consultants and guides program and curriculum changes in the future

• EC/Investor Management- Work with Lead EC to ensure the following is done:
  • Manage weekly EC meetings to see the progress against milestones, hear updates and provide advice
  • Mentor Management- Manage all communications with mentors and ensure entrepreneurs receive scheduled time with them once per month
  • Outreach Program: Manage relationship with outreach program and schedule regular events every 2 months
  • Manage End of Program Investment Event: Hold event to invite local community & investors and showcase entrepreneurs
  • Manage Investment Selection Process: Participate in meetings/phone conferences with investor base to ensure they receive investment worthy business plans from the entrepreneurs, projections, get time for Q&A, and make their decision about investment in a timely manner

• Partnership Building- Work with Lead EC to build partnerships locally that have a positive impact on the organization for the purposes of recruiting staff, entrepreneurs, building brand or local institutional memory, creating capacity, improving our services, fundraising, etc

• Fundraising Locally- Work with Lead EC to apply for larger grants (especially in partnership with others), show off entrepreneurs and network with investors/donors when they are in town

• Public Relations- Supervise PR officer to ensure they are doing the following: Engaging local and international community on Sinapis program including regular email newsletters, regular updates on social media sites, posting and sharing of videos for investors/donors, and updating website and annual reports on progress/accomplishments

• Alumni Club Management- Supervise Lead EC on holding social events/learning opportunities for alumni once per quarter, create and oversee alumni working committees to help with program design and implementation

• Investment Management- Supervise designated accounting firm to ensure all payments are being made on time by investees; Participate in monthly updates with Sinapis investees with Lead EC and advise as appropriate; Ensure Investees provide quarterly financial and milestone updates for investors

• Program Strategy- Respond to local environment to improve program effectiveness; Hold meetings as needed with staff to brainstorm about strategy and improvements to program

• Budgeting & Accounting- Supervise office manager to ensure regular and accurate financial tracking of revenues, expenses and receipts, payroll, collection of entrepreneur payments and all other vendor payments for office management; Oversee yearly budget; Monitor incoming funds from US; Report to Executive Director regularly regarding financial updates;

• Legal- Supervise office manager to ensure monthly payroll taxes (NHIF) are paid, Kenyan office permits are up to date, and work permits are obtained for all employees; Create and sign employment contracts for employees as necessary, manage entrepreneur investment contracts for investees and entrepreneur program agreements for new cohorts (with final sign off from Executive Director for all legal documents)

• Logistics- Supervise office manager to ensure all facilities and print outs are prepared for classes, attendance is monitored, and lecturers and students arrive on time

• Processes & Policies- Supervise office manager to ensure processes are in place and policies are followed for usage of driver, office admin, expenses and other office resources

• Scaling Strategy- Work with Lead EC and Executive Director in creating an online franchise and sales tool for Sinapis model

• Developing Alternative Revenue Streams- Work with Lead EC and Exec Director in facilitating creation of other revenue streams to make program more financially self-sustainable

As we are a faith-based organization, we are looking for consultants that share our Christian beliefs and are willing to also serve as a spiritual partner for our staff and entrepreneurs.

Position Term:

 We are looking for someone who can make a longer term commitment (3-5 years) to build the program. However, we will have a 6 month probation period where we will test their fit with the program and organization. 

Candidate Profile and Experience Prerequisites:

We are a small, young, energetic team, so we are looking for candidates that are comfortable in a start-up environment. We are looking for highly qualified candidates from some of the best business schools and firms. Generally, a successful candidate will have:

• 5+ years of work experience in business;
• Graduate degree in business administration or related field;
• Experience in management consulting, entrepreneurship, investment banking, private equity, or venture capital
• Proven managerial experience in leading an organization, business or team of employees
• A heart and passion for our mission of creating Kingdom businesses in Kenya that will alleviate poverty and glorify God; and
• The patience required to mentor entrepreneurs in a context which can at times be difficult.
• Teaching and mentoring experience

Benefits and Salary:

Sinapis will discuss salary offers with high potential candidates.

Application Requirements and Process:

Please send a cover letter, CV, and three references to info@sinapisgroup.org. The cover letter should include more detail about your business expertise, reason for applying, passion for our cause and commitment to our Christian beliefs.