Director of Sales & Operations - West Africa at BURN Manufacturing
Job description
BURN is seeking a Director of Sales and Operations for West Africa, who will be responsible for scaling up BURN’s existing regional market operations and expanding the business into new markets in West Africa, in line with the company’s expansion and carbon strategy. BURN is currently operational in four markets in West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, and has plans to expand into a further two markets over the next 1-2 years.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Distribution Management: Develop robust distribution models for both urban and rural settings to achieve up to 50,000 stoves per month in each country; refine existing B2B distribution models to absorb a 3x increase in sales and build B2C distribution models from scratch.
- Operations: Oversee operations in all markets in West Africa, including supply chain management, inbound and outbound logistics, inventory management, and hiring and management of all staff.
- Regional Strategy: Consult with, and advise, Management team on the country and regional-specific strategies. Execute on agreed-upon strategies and provide regular assessments to the Management team.
- Sales, Marketing, and Business Development: Together with the Country Managers, develop appropriate sales and marketing strategies and initiatives for all markets. Assist Country Managers with the development of strategic distribution partnerships.
- P&L Management: Own the budget and spending for West Africa; disburse resources appropriately to each market. Track and provide regular updates on profitability to the Management team.
- Stakeholder Management: Own all lobbying efforts in West Africa; develop and manage relationships with key stakeholders, including Government ministries.
- New Product Development/Launch: Advise the New Product Development team on new product development strategies, considering regional market needs. Together with Country Managers, develop and implement strategies for new product launches.
- New Market Entry: Together with the Expansion team, assess the market potential for other markets in West Africa. Lead market entry planning and formation of go-to-market plans.
- Reporting: Produce analytical reports for the Management team on the performance of all markets, including analyzing key sales, marketing, distribution, carbon registration, and team performance metrics.
- Forecasting: Own all forecasts (shipment and sales) across all countries and liaise regularly with Production and Operations teams.
- KPI Management: Device, track, and manage key performance indicators for all Country Managers and local teams in line with country-specific strategies.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s / Master's degree in a relevant field
- 5+ years sales and operations experience, at a mid to senior level, with at least 2 years experience in West Africa.
- Proven track record in building and managing successful B2C sales teams, and developing B2B distribution projects across a range of sales channels preferably with FMCG and consumer durables, in West Africa
- 3+ years supply chain management experience in West Africa.
About BURN Manufacturing
Vision
Impacting lives and forests through efficient cooking appliances.
Corporate Overview
BURN Manufacturing designs, produces, and distributes Africa’s best-selling, fuel efficient biomass, electric, hybrid and liquid fuel cooking appliances. Not only do our products save money, fuel, and natural resources, but they also dramatically reduce harmful indoor smoke emissions which can cause significant health problems, even de*th.
With more than 1.2Millon+ stoves sold since commencing manufacturing operations in 2013, BURN has established itself as Africa’s most trusted cookstove brand thanks to our unwavering commitment to innovative research and design, manufacturing excellence, and customer care.
BURN is now the only vertically integrated modern cookstove company in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our solar-powered facility currently has a capacity of 45,000 stoves per month. We are proud to employ 400 team members throughout Kenya and East Africa, and support a workforce which is 50 percent female, thus empowering women in roles traditionally considered to be “for men only.”
Among our national and global honors, we have received the 2018 Bloomberg New Energy Pioneers Award for being among the world’s leaders in clean energy solutions, the 2018 Swiss Energy and Climate Summit Award for our pitch on the impact of clean-burning stoves, and the 2015 Ashden Green Energy International Award for empowering women with new economic opportunities.
