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Managing Director, Zambia (Lusaka, Zambia)

About Solar Panda

Solar Panda is a high-growth, clean-tech company providing home solar systems and appliances to customers in Africa without access to electricity.  Our loan-to-own model allows families to afford reliable electricity and life-changing appliances that can drastically improve their lives. Over 1 billion people in the world lack access to electricity, and we believe that access to electricity should be a right for everyone, everywhere. In Kenya, our first market, we have brought light to over 350,000 homes and have achieved profitability, a difficult feat in this industry. Find us at www.solarpanda.com.

Solar Panda has recently acquired Vitalite in Zambia and is in the process of integrating Vitalite into Solar Panda.  Vitalite has 10 years of experience in Zambia, 25 shops and a passionate team that is ready for its next chapter.

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced leader to join as the Managing Director of Solar Panda Zambia (formerly Vitalite). The ideal candidate must have proven success in leading large teams, fostering culture and driving strong business results.  Experience in some or all of the critical functions of Solar Panda (strategy, sales, customer service, operations, finance) will be an asset.  The successful candidate will have a minimum of 10 years relevant experience, a strong sense of ownership and accountability and a passion for working in a dynamic, high-growth company.  Experience with acquisitions and managing through a transition is an asset.

After proving our model in Kenya, we are looking to replicate our growth across many new markets in Africa.  While we will provide best-in-class hardware and software, as well as handle the financing needs and orders from the factory, we are looking for an autonomous leader to oversee all aspects of the operations within Zambia.  This would include hiring new team members to accelerate growth, ensuring a smooth transition for the existing employees and and overseeing operations, sales, and customer loan performance.  While we can provide a blueprint from what is working in Kenya, there will undoubtedly be local nuances or requirements that this leader will need to navigate.

To be successful at this job, a candidate must:

• Foster a successful culture that embraces openness, fairness, accountability and empowerment of all people in the organization.
• Demand high standards of all direct reports so that this mindset spreads throughout the organization – this can be demonstrated as attention to detail, high quality of deliverables, meeting deadlines, etc.
• Drive efficiency and a lean mindset throughout the organization – this can be demonstrated through finding ways to reduce non-value-add costs, efficient staffing structures, embracing automation, etc.
• Understand that sales growth and high repayment are two of the most critical success factors for Solar Panda and ensure all team members are aligned towards these dual goals.
• Have a working knowledge of all relevant departments or be able to learn about them quickly in order to evaluate performance and identify improvement opportunities – sales, finance, operations, customer service, training, HR.
• Have strong skills and experience in HR related areas (recruiting, performance evaluations, terminations, training).
• Embrace diversity and inclusion in all people-related matters.
• Be capable of hosting investors or lenders who want to visit our operations on the ground while performing due diligence about Solar Panda.

The right candidate must have the following traits:

• Always acts with integrity and demands the same from everyone around.
• Has a growth mindset and is always pushing for new opportunities to scale the business.
• Passion for customers and ensures all departments are putting the customer at the forefront of all decisions.
• Analytical abilities and practices a data-driven, analytical approach to problems – gather relevant information, evaluate options, make sound strategic decisions.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data for reasonableness and insights: must “own” Solar Panda Zambia’s results and financials and understand their implications.
• Take initiative and be curious: initiate and execute projects and analysis with limited direction or oversight.
• Believe in the company’s mission of improving the lives of millions of off-grid customers in Africa.
• Be fluent in English.

If this position sounds like a good fit for you, please submit your cover letter and CV to recruitmentKE@solarpanda.com. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Kindly reference the job title in your application.

Solar Panda is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, or disability.

Solar Panda does not charge any fees on recruitment.

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