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Organization:FINCA International,
Location:Kampala, Uganda
Starting date is August: 15 2013 latest.
FINCA International, one of the world's leading microfinance institutions, provides financial services to more than 1,000,000 clients through 22 wholly-owned and operated subsidiaries in Africa, Eurasia, Latin America and the Greater Middle East. FINCA International is launching a large-scale micro-energy business in Uganda and eventually surrounding countries. FINCA International will promote the sales and distribution of renewable energy products (small solar solutions such as solar lanterns), with FINCA subsidiaries providing consumer and supply chain financing.
FINCA International is seeking a regional sales manager who can assist in setting up, training, and managing micro-entrepreneurs in Eastern Uganda. The regional Sales Manager will report to the future Marketing & Sales Manager/CEO of FINCA's energy program, but will report to the Energy Program consultant during the pilot period of the program. Starting date is August 15 2013 latest.
The regional sales manager will be responsible for setting up and training micro-entrepreneurs to start up sales of renewable energy products. S/he will co-implement FINCA Energy's marketing strategy on the ground; has to propose and implement innovative marketing ideas and seek channels to reach out to the target group (rural Ugandans). The regional sales manager is responsible to reach the set sales targets for his/her operational region and has to ensure high quality customer servicing to the end user. S/he will coordinate with FINCA Uganda in marketing activities, but also in making sure end-consumers and micro-entrepreneurs have (when necessary) easy access to financing. Part of the job will be to ensure smooth logistics, delivering inventory from energy suppliers to the micro-entrepreneurs. Finally, the regional sales manager will be asked to report on sales numbers and customer data by using predesigned report formats in order to measure performance, progress and sales growth. In short, the regional sales manager will be the key representative of FINCA International on the ground.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Commerce, Renewable Energy or related discipline
- Minimum 3 years of experience in marketing & sales of consumer durable goods in the rural Ugandan market, with preferably specific knowledge of the rural solar market
- Highly beneficial if the candidate has experience in working in a business start-up scenario
- Fluency in English is required. Also, fluency in Lusoga (including other local languages common in Eastern Uganda) is a prerequisite. Knowledge of other local Ugandan languages are a plus.
- Experience in working in a demanding sales environment, where sales targets are a key performance indicator
- Experience in coaching and training micro-entrepreneurs/startup businesses/retailers or a comparable target group
- Proficient in MS Office (Word and Excel) in order to set up periodically performance and progress reports
Candidate Profile:
- Commitment to establishing a successful regional sales network
- Willingness to travel within the country (up to 80% of time), starting especially in the Eastern part of Uganda, but this can and will change over time
- Perseverance and determined to get things done: hands-on, but can quickly switch from strategy to implementation
- Capable to come up with innovative ideas to market among the rural target group and motivate entrepreneurs to become and remain active in marketing
- Energized by working directly with micro-entrepreneurs in rural Uganda, and marketing solar products in the field
- Understands the needs of a start-up program, so flexible and willing to perform duties beyond the scope of work
- Excellent networking skills: ability to coordinate with multiple partners on different levels, such as FINCA Uganda, international suppliers, micro-entrepreneurs, local community groups and parties that can help to reach the program's sales objectives
- Strong interpersonal skills and written and oral communication skills
- Fit to FINCA's desired corporate culture and values, and committed to furthering FINCA's mission and vision. In particular, must demonstrate a commitment to transparency and integrity
http://unjobs.org/vacancies/1374784670321
