COUNTRY MANAGER, MICROENSURE TANZANIA

Country Manager, MicroEnsure Tanzania

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Reports to:
General Manager, MicroEnsure Tanzania
Chief Operating Officer, MicroEnsure Global (dotted line)

MicroEnsure is the world’s first and largest insurance intermediary dedicated to serving low income families across the globe. The organisation, founded in 2005 and headquartered in the UK, currently covers 4.5 million people with a range of micro insurance products across life, loan, savings, personal accident, property, weather index, and health categories. We do this by developing and implementing appropriate products and services for our clients, enabling them to address the risks they face in life.

MicroEnsure works in partnership with a host of organizations including microfinance institutions, mobile phone companies, rural banks, retailers, co-operatives, faith-based and humanitarian organisations. MicroEnsure’s services include product and program design, insurance and reinsurance placement, training, marketing development and delivery, sales management, back office management and provider networking. In recognition of its innovations in financial services, the organisation was awarded the 2009 and 2011 Financial Times/IFC Sustainable Finance Award for Achievement in Basic Needs Financing.

The Country Manager is responsible for overseeing the general operations and country performance. In addition, the Country Manager will be quickly groomed to own the sales pipeline, eventually taking on full responsibility for the country's business development. Micro insurance is an emerging industry in Tanzania so MicroEnsure must continue to set the standard for product innovation, business process acumen and service excellence. The Country Manager should develop the capacity and skills of the existing team and new hires to ensure effective delivery of services for new and existing business.

Success for the Country Manager will be defined by 1) quickly forming deep understanding of the micro insurance sector and interfacing with existing and new customers, 2) developing a strong team of Tanzanian professionals who can provide high quality, efficient service to partners and clients and eventually 3) taking full ownership for the country's revenue and business development.

Country Manager Responsibilities:

The County Manager role is a role for a high potential leader interested in fast-tracking to the full country leadership position. Responsibilities are highlighted as either immediate or developmental, as appropriate:

Partner Relationship Management

Establish and maintain excellent communication with existing front office partners and insurers (immediate)
Capitalize on opportunities and address operational weaknesses with urgency and focus (immediate)
Ensure an excellent reputation for MicroEnsure both within and beyond partner networks (immediate)
With underwriting partners, design products in collaboration and negotiate terms based on the unique needs of underserved (low income) markets (developmental)

Business Development

Identify and capitalize on new opportunities for new partnerships with banks, mobile, NGOs, and other aggregators in the low-income sector (developmental)
Maximize opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell to existing partners, to drive revenue (immediate)
Develop and execute country-level strategy and plan for business revenue growth (developmental)

Financial Management

Develop a profitable micro insurance business, governed by outreach, revenue and profit targets agreed between Senior Management and the Country Manager (developmental)
Provide updated reports, forecasts and projections relating to the development of the business are required (immediate)
Develop business plans for long term growth and profitability of the MicroEnsure Tanzania business (developmental)

Operational Delivery

Work with the operations teams, locally and globally, to maintain effective, efficient operations to handle processing of business and reporting of results (immediate)
Ensure that service at all levels, including claims, enrolment and reporting, is of the highest quality (immediate)

Market Awareness

Ensure a deep understanding of the insurance needs of the low-income market within MicroEnsure Tanzania (immediate)
Anticipate opportunities in the marketplace by organizing market research efforts among current and potential clients (immediate)
Use research insights to deliver value in current products, identify new products, and make critical changes in operations and communication (developmental)

Public Relations

Promote visibility to the market that MicroEnsure serves that evokes the image of compassion, ethics and integrity, projecting the Christian image of our organisation (immediate)
Organize press events around MicroEnsure achievements, new partnerships and product launches (immediate)
Compile and distribute client outcome stories for publication within partner networks (immediate)

Team Leadership

Provide strong leadership, mentoring and guidance to all of the MicroEnsure Tanzania team (immediate)
Encourage a culture of continuous improvement and innovation (immediate)
Ensure the team is motivated to perform effectively (immediate)

Senior Leadership (Head Office) Participation

Ensure that Senior Management are informed as required of progress, risks and issues relating to operational and service delivery (development)
Lead interface with Senior Management including financial, operational and strategic review (developmental)
Develop key relationships across technical global leaders at MicroEnsure to bring top products, services and best practices to Tanzania

Qualifications

Four-year degree qualification required, Master’s degree preferred
5-10+ years’ work experience preferred, with a demonstrated track record of achievement and increasing responsibility, although exceptional candidates may have shorter work tenure
Strong business development, sales or marketing background and/or leadership ability, preferably with management experience
Appreciation and concern for the plight of low-income Tanzanians
Ability to effectively present and sell concepts to senior managers in partner organizations who are often not familiar with insurance
Ability to train staff members and low-income individuals in unfamiliar insurance concepts
Demonstrated ability to develop business, sell concepts and close deals, preferably in Tanzania
Experience in developing new products and demonstrated understanding of market research techniques and competitor analysis
Experience in working with low-income persons in professional or informal settings
Knowledge of Tanzanian financial services sector essential, knowledge of insurance preferred
Ability to utilize contacts for new business opportunities
Ability to perform business analysis by utilizing operational, financial and other data
Willingness to work as a team member with people across geographies and cultures
Strong self-starter able to perform tasks with minimal input
Ability to work on the move approximately 50% of time in Dar, travel outside Dar 20% of time
Commitment to model and articulate MicroEnsure’s Christian mission, vision and values
Fluency in spoken and written English essential
Fluency in spoken and written Swahili preferred
Strong knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, including using these tools to present materials orally, and in written form