About the Role
As General Manager you will oversee all business functions and lead the operations in Kenya. You will steer a growing and exciting business and help us reach our commercial goals and targets while keeping in mind our impact mission.
You are in charge of building the team and inspiring them towards achievement of our impact. Given that we are a small team you will need to balance getting results through others with getting personally involved.
Key areas are sales, training programs, financial modeling and general operations, balanced with strategic outlook. You will liaise with the Executive Director and the Director of Development to ensure healthy communication and results between commercial and social impact outcomes.
Job Responsibilities
Achieve sales targets. Our sales are our impact!
Oversee all sales related activities: recruitment and training of sales agents, procurement and supplier negotiations to ensure an attractive product portfolio, marketing campaigns, strategic sales initiatives and promotional partnerships with suppliers.
Manage our sales leads and regional sales managers, indirectly engaging the whole sales force across Kenya.
Improve organizational structures and approaches to optimize performance.
Ensure our sales agents are engaged and benefit from being part of Livelyhoods. This includes optimizing an incentive system which is attractive to them and makes business sense for us.
Understanding and continuously developing the value proposition for the various stakeholders: agents, community members, legal and regulatory authorities, etc.
Overseeing operations
Work with the headquarter team to deliver optimal support to a network of branches in order to improve their operations and financial sustainability.
Make staffing decisions in the HQ team and oversee it at the branch level.
Ensure our information management systems are optimally functioning and our data is relevant to measuring our business performance and outcomes.
Evaluate and optimize operations, ensuring cost-effectiveness.
Derive actionable plans for all departments from the overall strategic plan.
Coordinate, manage and track team members and activities to ensure we are delivering our goals effectively and efficiently.
Set up an Operations Committee (board members and other experts) to help grow our capacity in sales and operations.
Oversee financial management and lead the organization to profitability
Evaluating management reports created from the accounting data and drawing insights on profit margins, identifying big expense drivers, cashflow etc.
Make sure our processes are preventing mismanagement and theft.
Take decisions on spending: Vet investment opportunities based on likely impact on sales.
Managing relationship with accounting firm and auditor.
Growth and strategy development
Creating strategic plans, financial projections, and engaging and informing all relevant stakeholders, including funders and board members.
Implementation of these plans on the team side, including frequent meetings with staff.
Oversee geographic expansion where required.
Interfacing with the Director of Development on fundraising, partnerships and communications strategy and support implementation of the same.
Evolve the organization structure in line with growth.
Coaching and mentoring the team members to deliver their full potential for the organization.
External representation and management of key stakeholders
Manage relationships with board members, including board reporting
Represent Livelyhoods at strategic forums and to key stakeholders as needed
Build relations with donors and funders in order to communicate LivelyHood’s vision and strategies to attract funding in collaboration with the Director of Development
Building reports and being able to explain results to all key stakeholders, in particular funders and donors. nteracting with government actors as required.
Requirements for the General Manager NGO Job
You are excited about taking a business to the next level, a demanding job with a lot of responsibility
You have been part of a rapidly growing organization, ideally with a network across the country
You have managed a team of 5-10 people directly who had individuals and teams reporting to them
You easily combine your strong for-profit mindset with your passion for social advancement
You are resourceful and willing to roll up your sleeves to get things done
You have a track record of successfully managing diverse stakeholders
You have good financial management skills and have handled budgets, pricing/profit models and cashflow
You have a track record of delivering an organization’s growth with clear and impressive measurable outcomes (in indicators like sales, subscriptions, distributors, market coverage, program reach)
You are very comfortable with quantitative approaches and making decisions based on numbers and data
You know how to create and adapt processes that help a business grow
You have adjusted team structure along the growth journey and hired great people into the right places
Creative in how to position and sell products that don’t “sell themselves” to customers with limited disposable income
You take a developmental approach to managing people while being firm in pushing for and ensuring targets are met
You thrive in environments where there are a lot of moving parts. You adjust quickly and incorporate new developments into your strategies
Comfortable and experienced making decisions with limited data
You are resourceful: On many occasions, you have been able to deliver a lot with little money
You are highly self-motivated
You have the ability to manage multiple stakeholders and be fluidly responsible to them
Having exposure in East Africa beyond Kenya is highly preferred
Highly preferred to have a background in financial management
An undergraduate degree is required, a Master’s is preferred
You would be a good fit with our organizational culture if:
You want to serve and leave your mark in communities across Kenya
You have strong interpersonal communication skills, with a high degree of empathy
You are dynamic and excited to pivot when necessary to deliver the best possible outcomes
You pursue learning outcomes for yourself and your team on every occasion, and pride yourself on being flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances
You have a passion for social change through businesses-oriented interventions, and have a keen interest in keeping up-to-date with the latest innovations
You are comfortable in varying social and professional settings, alternating between interacting with under-educated youth in slums, and high-level stakeholder meetings with institutional representatives
Why work with us?
Our work is very rewarding – you see lives changing before your eyes! You’re selling products not just for profit but to make a difference.
As General Manager, you have a high level of ownership and responsibility – over 100 sales agents depend on you for their livelihoods. The role has a fulfilling level of autonomy: you can dream something into existence and implement it.
We are a close-knit and committed team.
We are growing fast, and sometimes we have to run to catch up with ourselves, so there’s always something to look forward to.
We’re not afraid to innovate, and move quickly in tackling issues when we identify them, so you can have a major impact on the direction of the organization, and directly lead change.
Other information
The position is based in our Nairobi office (Kawangware) and we would strongly prefer a Kenyan citizen for this role. Occasional weekend work is required as per business needs. We are looking for candidates who are ready to commit to a minimum of 4-5 years. There is a six month probation period and we will agree on performance and learning objectives.
