Incubation - Commercial Support Analyst

SUMMARY:
Our client, a leader in the Telecommunications industry, has launched an incubation programme, where the very best, ground-breaking and high potential ideas are developed into fully fledged lines of business. We are looking for a Commercial Support Analyst - Incubation for a 12 month contract position.R370 per hour.

POSITION INFO:

The incubation function is a high-performance team of people who bring  ideas to life. Bringing together business acumen, technical excellence, passion for problem-solving and deep curiosity, this team will develop ideas from concept to start-up, and take the successful ideas to full commercialisation.

This fast-paced team operates at the cutting edge of the organisation, experimenting and innovating to accelerate thestrategy of becoming a leading Technology Company and purpose of connecting for a better future.

Key stakeholders in the Incubation structure are the Commercial Leads who are overall responsible for the end-to-end execution of specified projects. The Commercial Lead leads the team responsible to transform ideas into fully fledged new lines of business. The Commercial Lead can be seen as the “CEO” of the new ideas to be incubated.

The Commercial Support Analyst will work closely with and in direct support of the Commercial Leads.

Role purpose:

The Commercial Support Analyst: The successful candidate will provide business and commercial analysis support services to the team of commercial leads. The incumbent will be responsible to deliver specific project defined scope of work items in aid of the commercial end-to-end delivery of the project requirements.

The commercial support activities include:

The business concept: Research and document the full extent of the solution, the associated products and value proposition to customers. Research and document the market landscape, applicable market segments and the competitive environment.

The customer value proposition: Design, refine and document the customer value proposition that aligns with the market segment. Engaging with prospective customers in order to collaboratively design the product/solution using a customer-led design thinking approach. Obtaining full customer endorsement for the solution.

The prototype: Provide commercial support to guide the technical outputs to ensure that the technical solution aligns to customer needs and specifications.

The strategy: Conducting relevant market research to inform the solution development and market potential. Investigating global best practices, case examples and benchmarks to bring in the latest cutting-edge innovations and capabilities to build world-class solutions. In conjunction with the commercial leads, developing a clear vision for the business and a compelling strategy for taking the product to market and scaling it up over the first few years of operation. The strategy will have clear recommendations for the strategic approach for the venture – build, buy or partner, identifying potential targets or partners for commercialising the venture. The strategy will also outline the proposed operating model and synergies within the Vodacom ecosystem, including clear recommendations on the structure and execution framework.

Stakeholder engagement: Engaging with experts and industry insiders to enrich our understanding of the market, operating context and potential for the product/solution. Engaging with external stakeholders that need to be part of the solution e.g., regulators, partners, suppliers, etc. engaging with internal stakeholders and collaborators within the company to support the successful delivery of the project e.g., Sales, IT, Network Technology, Finance, Legal, Strategy, Marketing etc.

The business case: Developing an end-to-end, bankable financial business case for the prospective business. The business case will cover market size and revenue projections, cost profile, resource requirements, investment ask and return on investment over 3-5 years of operation.

Deliverables

The Commercial Support Analyst will be responsible for supporting the commercial leads with the creation of the following deliverables for each project:

1. Executive Summary

–      Encapsulate the defining characteristics of the business proposition and the request in terms of approval of funding and resources.

2. Environmental Scan

–      Assessing the environment in which the product is intended to launch, as well as an overview of the Vodacom’s current assets and competences that can support the initiative.

–      Ensuring that the idea passes the legal and legislative framework in South Africa. This includes the POPI act and any other type of regulation that will influence the project’s scope and objectives.

–      Conducting competitive analysis to determine what other companies are doing to offer competing services in the market, although it may be a based on an old business model.

–      Focus inwards and conduct an initial assessment if the competences, support structures and technologies to support the project exist within Vodacom and identify the competences that are needed to be acquired.

3. Market research

–        Research into the needs of the company/industry that will make use of the proposed service.

Identify the market segments that the solution is aimed at and identify the core needs of these market segments.

–        Ensure that the legal process that supports this initiative is aligned.

–        Identify the market segments.

–        Identify the core needs of these market segments.

–        Undertake research to indicate the current shortcomings of current practices, techniques and technology used in the industry.

–        Undertake research to determine what the core needs are in the industry.

1. 2.    Value Proposition and Technology

–        Create a clear value proposition to offer a superior service to the customer.

–        Map the client relationship process.

–        Undertake research to identify the relevant resources and activities that are needed. This includes competences, technologies and required skillsets.

–        Describe a variety of different technology solutions that can possibly be used to solve the problems unearthed in the client research.

–        Assess the various technology solutions that are unearthed during research and choose the one that will optimally fit the client’s needs.

–        Alternatively, choose the optimal solution or create a new solution based on research and sourcing creative ideas.

–        Illustrate how the technology solution will address the unique client’s needs.

–        Package the solution in such a way that the client will choose your technology solution above those of the competitors.

–        Construct a Business Model canvas.

1. 3.    Resource plan, Operational and Project Management

–        Identify all the necessary resources required to address the problem effectively.

–        Create a Resource Map to align the core benefits promised to the customer and align it with the Capabilities and Resources required to offer the service.

–        Create an Activity Map to align the core benefits promised to the customer and align it with the Capabilities and Resources required to offer the service.

–        Create a comprehensive implementation strategy.

–        Draw up an operational plan to address the problem effectively. Including human resources and software requirements in the plan.

–        Create a project plan with clear line of responsibility and accountability.

–        Include clear development and deployment guidelines.

–        Plan and describe the support structure that will run the Operations and Billing once the initiative has been launched.

1. 4.    Financial Analysis

–        Describe the Financial plan. Create an OPEX / CAPEX and Revenue model. Determine the ROI and Break-even point.

–        Create a CAPEX and OPEX model for the optimal strategy chosen.

–        Create a price structure for the solution and determine which part of the market is intended for conquering. This will define the REVENUE targets over the next few years.

–        Conduct a ROI study based on the OPEX/CAPEX model (assess the benefit that will be derived compared with the cost of the solution).

Other responsibilities:

–        Prepare the necessary documentations and presentations as required for internal and external audiences by prioritising and validating information that facilitates sound decision making

–        Evaluate commercial information and recommend compelling value propositions

Provide analysis and reporting for team members

Core competencies, knowledge and experience:

• At least 5 years commercial analysis experience
• Proven ability to research and document business opportunities
• Telecomms Industry knowledge
• Proven Financial Analysis/Forecasting skills
• Capital and Project Budgeting experience
• Understanding of Project Management/Development methodologies
• Understanding of Agile methodologies
• Business and Market Planning experience
• Customer Communication and Negotiation

Must have technical / professional qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in commercial or engineering disciplines or equivalent degree is a requirement
• MBA or another post-graduate qualification is advantageous

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