Job Title: Head of Business Development, Central & Eastern Africa Region
Department: Business Development
Reporting Line: Global Head of Business Development
Location: Kampala, Uganda
About ENGIE Energy Access
ENGIE Energy Access is one of the leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) and mini-grids solutions provider in Africa, with a mission to deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable energy solutions and life-changing services with exceptional customer experience. The company is a result of the integration of Fenix International, ENGIE Mobisol and ENGIE PowerCorner; and develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, enabling customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. The PAYGo solar home systems are financed through affordable installments from $0.19 per day and the mini-grids foster economic development by enabling electrical productive use and triggering business opportunities for entrepreneurs in rural communities. With over 1,700 employees, operations in 9 countries across Africa (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), over 1.5 million customers and more than 8 million lives impacted so far, ENGIE Energy Access aims to remain the leading clean energy company, serving millions of customers across Africa by 2025.
www.engie-energyaccess.com
Job Purpose/Mission
The Head of Business Development (BD) for Central and Eastern Africa Region drives the development of Mini-Grids in their countries of responsibility. The job holder supports Mini-Grid teams in locations where ENGIE Energy Access (EEA) has a presence and is responsible for building strategic partnerships and joint ventures, coordinates new market entry, drives tender applications, designs, tests and implements new revenues streams and presents investment files to EEA investment committee.
The job holder needs to interact with different global teams (legal, finance, technical, commercial, digital) when preparing new Mini-Grids projects or strategic partnerships and Joint Ventures.
During new market entry phase, under region of responsibility, the candidate is responsible for managing the local or regional BD activities. At the start of the operation phase, the candidate is responsible to build a viable Mini-Grid team. In existing markets, the candidate works with the applicable Country Head of Mini-Grids and/or the Country Directors to accelerate the pipeline development and securing of external funding. The role also drives the advocacy strategy towards international donors and governments.
Responsibilities
- Identify economic activities, potential partnerships and methodologies for development consideration in Uganda and neighboring countries in Central and East Africa.
- Build and test new revenues streams to improve the Mini-Grid business model:
- Identify and design new products and services mix to be offered to customers.
- Lead the building of the new business activities (product or service) with the support of the Global MG team: define the commercial offer, the financial model, the customer journey, and ensure the compliance of the new business with the local regulations.
- Present the new business activity to the EEA investment committee for approval.
- Coordinate implementation of the new business activity upon approval.
- Define the budget and HR needs to implement the new business activities.
- Build partnership or JV to implement new business activities at scale, when applicable.
Lead mini-grid entry to existing markets for Central and East Africa region
- Drive the development of Mini-Grids in Central and Eastern Africa region of responsibility.
- Accelerate Mini-Grid development in countries of responsibility with EEA physical presence, under investment committee mandate.
- Build strategic partnerships and joint ventures, test and implement new revenue streams within region of responsibility and possible global replication.
- Work with different global teams (legal, finance, technical, commercial, digital) to coordinate projects around building new Mini-Grids or strategic partnerships and Joint Ventures.
- Assist in building a viable Mini-Grid team in new markets of operation, with EEA presence.
- Work with the different global and country departments to accelerate pipeline development in conjunction with securing external funding.
- Drive advocacy strategy towards international donors and governments.
Opening New Markets for Central and East Africa region
- Define and improve the methodology to select new markets to be opened within the guidelines of EEA mandate.
- Support in building an operational team in newly opened market without an EEA presence, by defining the HR and training requirements.
- Present investment files and decision metrics to the EEA investment committee.
- Contribute to the constant improvements of the BD processes:
- Site selection process.
- Investment process.
- Tender application process.
- Innovative project development process.
- Partnership building process.
- Process to externalize site development.
Tender Applications
- Manage the overall tender coordination process, from pre-qualification to final submission, within regional area of responsibility.
- Coordinate the support function of information and document requirements.
- Lead EEA internal process validation (Head of BD with Origination Memo and Investment Committee with Advanced Notice and Investment Notes), within regional area of responsibility.
- Manage relationship with tender stakeholders (donors, developers, agencies…).
- Assess upcoming tender grant opportunities together with global grant funding team.
- Submit and track the progress on tender applications.
Joint venture, acquisitions and strategic partnerships
- Build strategic partnerships or Joint Ventures at a country, regional or continental level, in the context of regional area of responsibility:
- Design the partnership or Joint Venture mechanics and split of responsibilities.
- Lead the negotiations and coordination of the various teams.
- Present the partnership/JV project to EEA investment committee for approval
- After signature and in the case of a JV
- Be the representative of EEA in the JV
- Present new investment files of the JV to EEA investment committee.
- Negotiate amendments of the agreement with the partners and get approval from EEA management.
- Be the general coordinator of the JV.
- In the case of acquisition/equity investment in a third company:
- Coordinate the various streams Due Diligence phase
- Lead the negotiation on the terms of the transaction
- Coordinate the building of the financial model and project funding with the relevant global team
- Present the acquisition/equity investment project to the EEA management committee.
Advocacy and relationships with authority
- Lead the advocacy strategy within regional area of responsibility
- Acquire necessary permits and licenses in conjunction with local country teams
- Negotiate the electricity tariff and YoY escalations with the local energy regulator in conjunction with local country teams
- Drive the advocacy strategy towards international donors
- Define priority topics and positions to be defended towards global stakeholders
- Represent EEA as a speaker in conferences focusing on energy in Africa
At EEA, we have high expectations for our managers. Each manager plays a key role in creating an exceptional experience not only for our customers but for every person on our team. Our managers help EEA realize our ambitious goals while developing their own leadership skills and facilitating growth for their direct reports.
We believe that great managers:
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Deliver ambitious results: As a high-performing and accountable leader, you create an enabling environment for effective action and bold decision which contribute to successful delivery of results.
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Act with integrity: As an ethical leader you are honest, respectful, objective, and transparent. You create and build upon a foundation of trust and openness.
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Inspire and mentor the team: As an inspirational leader you walk the talk. You empower and coach your team with trust and humility.
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Are accessible: as an accessible leader, you develop and maintain deep connections with stakeholders through approachability and active listening.
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Ensure diversity and inclusion: as an inclusive leader, you ensure diversity and foster a sense of belonging.
Knowledge and skills
Experience:
- 5 -10 years of experience in business development and/or project management.
- Experience in tender submissions.
- Experience in business modeling and preparation of investment files and budget.
- Successful experience in signing deals and building partnerships.
- Strong leadership, experience in multicultural management and recruitment.
- Strong negotiation skills.
- Successful experience in innovation and time to market initiatives.
- Experience with governments, international institutions and in lobbying activities.
- Good understanding of the energy access sector.
- Excellent writing and communication skills.
- Good analytical skills.
- Strong problem solving and critical thinking ability.
Qualifications:
- Master/Bachelor of Business Administration, Economics/Political Sciences, Engineering or equivalent.
Language(s):
- English.
- French is a plus.
Technology:
- Good understanding of renewable energy technologies in the Mini-Grid environment.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however due to the large volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
ENGIE is an equal opportunity employer, promoting diversity and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all. All applications are screened based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without any regard to origin, age, name, sexual identity, orientation or preference, religion, marital status, health, disability, political opinions, union involvement or citizenship. Our differences are our strengths!
