Business Manager, Minigrids at Husk Power Systems

Role Summary

Husk is recruiting for a Business Manager for Minigrids to help expand its Minigrids business footprint within Nigeria and across other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. We seek a highly motivated and talented salesperson for our rapidly developing Nigerian market, focusing on territorial sales across Husk sites and potential sites. The candidate must be committed to executing at a high level in a fast-paced environment.

The Business Manager, Minigrids will be accountable for the MiniGrids Sales Team's financial performance in partnership with the Country Director and is required to drive continuous revenue growth. This position provides the opportunity to join a growing team that is changing the face of rural electrification in Nigeria and Asia. 

Key responsibilities:

General

• Manage, motivate, and mentor other team members along with a variety of personnel to create a positive, constructive, and performance-driven dynamic, while driving efficiencies.
• Establish the strategic vision and direction for the Hybrid Minigrids (HMG) Sales.
• Drive “Best Practices” across the business. Once a “Best Practice” has been identified, ensure that the practice is visible nationally and to another subsidiary.
• Managing sales operations with a focus on achieving predefined sales targets. Forecasting and planning monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales targets and executing them in a given time frame.
• Work closely with Heads of other Business Units to understand sales/business performance trends and position partnership engagements adequately.
• Negotiate solutions, resolve conflicts, and provide solutions in the best interest of Husk, and our customers/clients and employees.
• Act as a leader within the country. Understand the priorities of the country operations and support the Country Director and Heads of other Business Units when necessary.
• Support the optimization of various Husk Nigeria activities to ensure best practices are entrenched towards more efficient processes.

Business Growth and Support

• Identify new markets and business opportunities for sales and revenue growth. 
• Formulating sales strategy and ensuring sales goals are achieved.
• Develop and implement robust sales management processes. Stringently monitor revenue pipeline to ensure revenue targets and achievements.
• Provide regular reporting on sales management, sales pipeline development, forecasting, key account status, market condition updates, sales results, and budget performance.
• Market research across the Hybrid Minigrid (HMG) business, including but not limited to marketing, business development, review, and budgeting, across Husk sites and Potential Sites. 
• Development of accurate segmentation and targeting of the market including identification of customer and market opportunities, market entry/expansion strategy, and establishing a balance of long-term pipeline and short-term revenue.
• Create community market intelligence packs to drive customer sizing and customer pricing decisions. Establish scalable promotional tools and processes.
• Support business growth and continuous cost & and quality improvements in the business.

Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate, maintain regular communication, and develop positive and productive relationships with various stakeholders, regulatory stakeholders, customer groups, etc.
• Collaboration and convergence with the Operations/Service, Engineering, IT, and Software and the finance department to ensure the successful implementation of business plans.
• Build and maintain a high-performing sales team whilst promoting individual/team performance and a collaborative attitude across the board.

Thought Leadership

• Drive thought leadership engagements to ensure Husk maintains local visibility as an industry leader within the MiniGrids space.

Required Skills & Attributes

• 10+ years of relevant sales experience, with 3 – 5 years in a similar role within the energy sector. 
• Graduate from a leading institution with a related degree in Sales, Business Management, and marketing. Postgraduate degree in business and/or related professional qualifications, a plus.
• A clearly defined strategic thought process and a continuous improvement mindset with excellent problem-solving skills.
• This position requires an in-depth understanding of business development, sales, critical thinking, and the ability to provide time-bound solutions to the benefit of the company, and projects. 
• Hands-on experience in sales and Marketing within rural areas (B2C & B2B)
• Great relationship management skills and an understanding of data analysis and forecasting methods.
• Excellent skills with MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Slack, etc.)
• In-depth knowledge of the power sector in Nigeria, a plus.