Chief Business Operations & Strategy Offier

Main Purpose:

• Drive overall strategy for the organisation across all locations on key projects and focusing on geographic expansion, partnerships and capital raising initiatives;
• Leads and coordinates key initiatives with the Executive Committee to ensure strategic alignment across the business;
• Leads strategic projects by coordinating functions that include commercial activities, drive the Product Management function with a focus on revenues by enhancements and business growth and ensuring cross-functional coordination between internal teams and track quality / timely delivery on key initiatives;
• Further develop the business opportunities by collaborating with the Group companies;
• Lead the planning and management of power availability, cost, advanced technology renewable energy and sustainability and site selection;

Key Performance Area:

Strategy and Execution:

• Drive process or organisational autonomy: manage the process of inter-company structure and transactions;
• In collaboration with the CEO and CFO, be the business point of contact for investments and capital raise with prospective investors to help them understand the business and make efficient, positive investment decisions;
• Strategy: make key contributions to strategic analysis for the organisation’s growth and expansion plans by reviewing business cases; developing board reports and collaborating with key stakeholders;
• Lead cross functional projects that require multiple departments to collaborate on a strategic initiative;
• Overall Exco coordination: set agenda for Exco calls, ensure accountability and communication among management team; organise all-hands meetings / communication session with the business;
• Business intelligence / analytics: build this function within the organisation to ensure data-driven decision-making and the use of non-financial KPIs for the company;
• Ensure each Head of Department is using BI and analytics to improve performance;
• Business intelligence / analytics: develop Exco business intelligence report covering non-financial KPIs on company performance;
• Financial review: review monthly financials reported by the Finance Team and provide feedback; continue to budget planning and provide key input into company forecasts;
• Aligns the organisation’s product portfolio and strategy across the Africa region;
• Ensure that the organisation is the Pan-African leader in sustainability and community impact – develop a comprehensive sustainability and social impact plan, implement flagship sustainability projects at all of the organisation’s sites;
• Supports the Exco and CEO in ensuring that the strategic objectives will be achieved annually;

Drive Expansion Plans and New Site Acquisition:

• Coordinate cross-functional teams (including development, Operations, Sales, Product, Finance, HR, Legal, etc) around site selection and expansion into new markets;
• Gather relevant market intelligence and build strategic relationship in new priority markets and support the team identifying new sites;
• Project manage the organisation’s launch into new countries and sites to ensure the complete business can operate on timeline and up to the organisation’s quality standards;
• Partner with other relevant departments and Exco members to achieve the collective goals on site selections;
• Work with the CEO on evaluating strategic partnerships and Joint Ventures. Mergers and site selections;
• Drive research on new markets, including competitive landscape and key customer priorities;
• Represent the organisation with external partners and the market: build relationships and develop pipeline of international customers and partners; manage relationships with local government institutions where relevant;

Leading Power Management and Sustainability:

• Manage the Energy Team towards the following performance indicators;
• Planning and managing power availability, ensuring that the organisation is always able to provide capacity to existing and future customers;
• Identifying and implementing action plans to reduce power-related operating costs;
• Benchmark power-related expenses across the organisation’s locations and industry standard in order to prioritise where to focus cost-reduction efforts;
• Review utility tariff structures and evaluate if opportunities exist to reduce utility costs (demand charges, time-of-use rates, etc);
• Manage strategic relationships with utilities, municipalities, and energy suppliers;
• Compile analysis on renewable power options for each of the organisation’s locations, based on local renewable resources (technical potential), policy / regulation and economics;
• Drive strategic programme to maximise the use of renewable power;
• Ensure the organisation is the pan-African leader in sustainability – implementing flagship sustainability projects at all of the organisation’s sites;

Product Management and Development:

• Manage and oversee the Product Team for the organisation;
• Align the organisation’s product portfolio and strategy across the Africa region;
• Approve and contribute to the organisation’s Product Roadmap for product refinement, new product development and partnerships;
• Pricing: Validate the organisation’s pricing models; support the pricing of new products under the organisation; give guidance on specialised pricing and approve business cases for strategic customers;
• Introduce Systems: Ensure approved products and pricing are integrated into the organisation’s sales and billing systems for efficient generation of customer quotes and bills;
• Review and contribute to regular market analysis and competitive benchmarking to ensure proper pricing and product development;
• Support in business development with key customers, tender / bid evaluations;

Leadership Support, People Management, Teamwork and Collaboration:

• Recruit and manage a capable and professional team within the function – ensuring a strong git with the organisation’s values;
• Excel at people management, ensuring quality work product, independent ownership, and employee mentorship;
• Build and maintain strong and productive internal relationships with the key teams to ensure a seamless coordination across the organisation;
• Build and maintain a strong and productive relationship with Liquid Group Holdings for collaboration on bundled projects, joint capital raising initiatives;
• Work collaboratively to contribute to achieving multiple team’s business outcomes;
• Communicate efficiently and effectively across teams and among the executive team to ensure business outcomes are met;
• Support on talent planning: coordinate closely with CEO and HR on team structure, talent development and recruiting;
• Organisational alignment: play a critical role of ensuring cooperation and alignment between the various business functions;
• Partner with the Products team on the organisation’s product strategy. Review and contribute to regular market analysis and competitive benchmarking to ensure proper pricing and product offering;

Key Decisions:

• Decides on strategic projects for the business;
• Decides on the commercial opportunities to present to the Exco and Group Stakeholders;
• Decides on Complex pricing or customised solutions for strategic customers;
• Decides on the creation of Business Intelligence / Analytics function;
• Decides on Power capacity plans, energy cost-reduction measures, and renewable energy solutions for the organisation;
• Decides on sustainability initiatives;
• Decides on key resources requirements for the organisation and the key projects;

Accountable For:

• Accountable for Business Operations;
• Accountable for Strategic projects and site selection;
• Accountable for Governance and Compliance;
• Accountable for Business analysis;
• Accountable for Product and pricing;
• Accountable for Power management;

Job Requirements:

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in relevant field (Engineering, Business) – Desirable;
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (Engineering, Economics, Business) – Essential;

Experience:

Job related Experience Required:

• Strategy and Commercial experience in the B-to-B experience in the ICT / Telecommunications / Data Centre industries or similar – 12 years – Essential;

Role Related Experience Required:

• Strategy – 5+ - Essential;
• Energy and power management – 5+ - Essential;
• People and team management – 5+ - Essential;
• Financial analysis – 2+ - Desirable;
• Investor relations and reporting – 2+ - Desirable;
• Sustainability initiatives – 3 - 5 – Desirable;
• Data centre development or operations – 3 – 5 – Desirable;

Knowledge Areas:

• Energy and power management – Essential;
• Clean energy technologies – Essential;
• Business development and strategic partnerships – Desirable;
• African markets – Desirable;

Skills / Competencies:

• Complex project management – Essential;
• Financial analysis – Essential;
• People and team management – Essential;
• Energy / power mechanics – Essential;
• Strategy analytics – Essential;
• Communication – Desirable.