Director of Consulting & Client Relations

AGOVA JOB DESCRIPTION:

DIRECTOR OF CONSULTING & CLIENT RELATIONS

Agova (formerly Business Development Services Africa)
Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Contract Length: 2 years
Remuneration: ZMW 36,980 per month gross (Inc. gratuity)

Background:

Agova is an impact-driven consultancy and its mission is to make ‘shared value’ the new way of doing business. Shared value refers to ‘a business management strategy where companies find business opportunities in addressing social, environmental, or economic problems. Since 2011, Agova has been delivering management and technical advice to the private sector in Zambia to further the expansion of business models and norms that increase economic, social and environmental prosperity. Our mandate is to leverage capital, data and innovative ideas to develop a sustainable form of poverty reduction; we focus on creating win-win business models within our client organizations such that commercial and competitive mandates can be met while improving the livelihoods of an organization’s customer and supplier segments, who are generally the urban and rural poor and emergent agro-preneurs.

This role involves leading the Consulting and Client Relations Team at Agova, based in Lusaka, Zambia. The Consulting and Client Relations Team is the largest one at Agova, comprising of approximately 8-10 consultants of various backgrounds, expertise and levels of experience. This position is therefore a crucial and significant one, to ensure successful delivery of Agova’s client work and the development of key client relationships, in an effort to delivery on Agova’s strategy in Zambia.

Key tasks under this position include: line management of client relations managers and consultants, planning of client projects (including workplans and budgets), ensuring the successful delivery of client projects, facilitation of team meetings, supporting the monitoring and evaluation of client work, being a Project Lead on multiple client projects, management of key client relationships (including high-profile corporate clients, SMEs and donors/partners), ensuring high standards of customer support and customer services, business development, client recruitment and other related tasks.

The ideal person for this role comes with many connections to the business community in Zambia – and potentially the wider region – and can identify suitable client leads, has consulting and management experience and is ready to develop and improve team processes for quality improvement and efficiency.

Job Description:

Tasks could include (but are not limited to):

• Providing line management and support to Client Relations Managers and Consultants;
• Relationship management with variety of clients – Corporates, SMEs, and NGOs – to ensure client satisfaction and clear lines of communication;
• Support business development activities at Agova including but not limited to:
  • Sourcing business development leads
  • Informational meetings with potential clients
  • Drafting business proposals aimed at our portfolio of different clients (Corporates, SMEs, NGOs, etc.).
  • Closing the deal with potential clients
  • Negotiating contracts and terms for client projects
  • Client relationship management, etc.



• Consulting as the Lead Consultant on some client projects;


• Gathering periodic feedback from clients on the consultants’ work and providing appropriate solutions to unforeseen challenges;


• Supporting the monitoring and evaluation of Agova’s impact with its clients;


• Budget planning and ensuring budgets are adhered to;


• Support the training and coaching of the Consulting team;


• Reviewing all key deliverables of line managee’s work before it is submitted to clients to ensure high-quality of work and adherence to Agova standards;


• Leading process improvements within the Consulting & Client Relations team to ensure operational efficiencies and high-quality delivery of projects;


• Leading a variety of meetings (collaboration with other teams, internal team meetings, 121s, coaching, etc.)


• Support Agova management team on strategic decision making at Agova;


• Support the facilitation of the SME Shared Value Hub Co-Working Space at Agova as needed (The co-working space is a service provided by Agova for SMEs to rent a desk and use the space to develop their shared value businesses); and


• Reporting to Agova on progress of all consulting work.

Required Skills:

• Preferably be a Zambian citizen;


• Non-Zambians are also encouraged to apply but should state in their cover letter their status with immigration and their plan to acquire a work permit


• A relevant four-year bachelor’s degree (ideally a Master’s Degree);


• Five to six years of relevant work experience, ideally in a private sector environment (start-up/SME/corporate);


• Experience in business development, consulting and/or client management/relations roles;


• Experience managing multiple staff and multiple projects at once, within strict timelines and under ‘high-pressure’ environments;


• Experience managing and working with youth;


• Experience in client-facing roles, interacting with senior and executive levels of staff, ideally with corporate/multinational companies;


• Interest in Shared Value (new and innovative business strategies to solving social/environmental challenges);


• High-level of computer literacy with a solid command of Microsoft Office suite;


• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;


• Has major leadership experience and demonstrated ability to take initiative;


• Ability to work independently and as part of a team;


• Ability to design and implement work plans, within set timelines;


• Ability to set up and implement performance management processes, to ensure the setup and management of a high-performing team; and


• Ability to travel around Lusaka/Zambia (when required).

Agova Offers:

• A line manager to support the person in their day to day work;


• A coach to support long-term career path;


• A competitive salary;


• Communication and transport support;


• Basic health insurance;


• Professional development support through periodic skills trainings;

.