Associate Director - Chinese Business, West Africa at Control Risks

Locations: Lagos or Abuja, with regular travel within Africa

Job Purpose

• To be a trusted adviser to Chinese clients, providing high-level insight and advisory to Africa-based senior executives at Chinese companies, with a specific focus on our existing client base.
• To serve as an account representative to Chinese clients and prospects, managing client relationships with Chinese companies operating in the Africa market, with a particular focus on West Africa; to identify and develop local opportunities with strategic clients and key sectors as part of the China global strategy, ensuring that we provide professional consultancy to Chinese businesses and their partners in the region.
• To implement the regional strategy for growing the China business in Africa, working with colleagues across the region and China; to co-ordinate our business plan and actions to meet and surpass regional targets; and to mentor Chinese resources in the region.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Be the focal point and lead (internal and external) for all Chinese opportunities within West Africa
• Implement and drive a targeted and focused business development plan that leads to sustainable and profitable growth with Chinese companies
• Develop and maintain key relationships with Chinese clients and prospects
• Identify, target and attract new Chinese projects/clients to the Control Risks portfolio
• Work closely with regional China colleagues, the China outbound team and other international offices to support sales in the overall Africa market
• Mentor Chinese colleagues in East and Southern Africa, co-ordinating and supporting business development and account management across the region
• Participate in regular internal calls with regional China colleagues and China outbound team to discuss business development and sales strategy
• Work with regional Marketing, identify industry conferences and other business events to promote Control Risks and its associated branding, and to gain professional recognition and standing
• Maintain records of contacts and prospects on the CRM system; track outcomes of major events on CRM
• Act as project coordinator for multi-disciplinary tasks, assisting colleagues in how to deliver engagements to Chinese clients and helping to deliver consulting solutions as appropriate
• Achieve and surpass sales targets
• Travel to key countries within West Africa and across Sub-Saharan Africa more broadly
• Be an ambassador for the Control Risks brand, demonstrating a deep understanding of our history and full-service offering.

Knowledge and Experience
Essential:

• Extensive experience with a proven record of managing/establishing strong senior client relationships, trust and origination of work
• Strong knowledge of multinational Chinese companies and excellent understanding of international business, regulatory, security, operational and/or corruption issues that impact Chinese companies worldwide, particularly in emerging markets. International experience preferred
• Demonstrate ability to think laterally and creatively in dynamic and occasionally high-pressure situations
• Knowledge of, or exposure to, “hot spots” such as sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East and North Africa

Preferred:

• Previous experience working in either a risk-related professional services/consulting role, or an internal risk management role at a major international corporation would be preferred
• Business financial literacy and commercial astuteness
• Persuasive verbal and written communication skills in Chinese and English.

Qualifications and Specialist Skills

• Minimum Bachelor's Degree or equivalent
• Excellent English and Chinese (written and spoken); comfortable conducting meetings in both languages
• Strong interpersonal communications and presentation skills
• Political awareness and an understanding of decision-making channels in the company
• Capable of seeking innovative ways to improve our client services
• Able to make difficult decisions quickly under pressure
• Strong administration skills, with the ability to manage numerous diverse projects simultaneously while meeting exacting deadlines
• Detail-orientated and thorough
• Able to prioritise and handle multiple tasks within concurrent deadlines
• Capable of working both independently and as part of a team.