Vacancy title:
Kenya Country Manager

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Human Services, Category: Management]

Jobs at:
Optimum Options

Deadline of this Job:
Tuesday, June 24 2025

Duty Station:
Nairobi | Nairobi | Kenya

Summary
Date Posted: Monday, June 23 2025, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:

Kenya Country Manager at Optimum Options

Are you an innovative networker &project manager, a masterful partnership builder, and a strategic fundraiser ready to drive change? We are looking for you.

The job holder shall be based in Nairobi, Kenya, reporting to Regional Manager – East Africa Hub on a Fixed Term contract. 

Optimum Options a leading HR Consultancy firm in partnership with our client an award-winning, global nonprofit social enterprise Kickstart International are looking to hire a Country Manager for Kenya Office.

KickStart International through agriculture employs two-thirds of Africa’s population. More than anything, these households need an opportunity to make a lot more money. However, most of these farmers rely on seasonal rains to water their crops. They all plant and harvest at the same time, flooding the local markets, making very little money. But with irrigation, farmers break their dependence on seasonal rain by growing and harvesting high-value crops throughout the year. Then they sell their produce when prices are highest and transform their farms into highly profitable enterprises. KickStart works with these smallholders to achieve this life-changing opportunity.

KickStart International (www.kickstart.org) is an award-winning international non-profit social enterprise with a mission to enable millions of smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa to earn a lot more money, climb out of poverty and adapt to changing weather patterns. KickStart unleashes the power of enterprise with the irrigation tools that enable millions of smallholder farmers across the sub-continent to tackle poverty on their own terms. With our innovative irrigation pumps, farming families break their dependence on rain, grow and harvest high-value crops year-round, withstand droughts and flooding, improve quality of life, reduce hunger, build businesses, and strengthen livelihoods. KickStart currently works in 17 countries in Africa. We are an ambitious organization with big impacts. To date, we have sold over 400,000 irrigation pumps to families across Sub-Saharan Africa and lifted over 1.6 million people out of poverty. We are looking for a qualified and experienced professional to drive this legacy in Kenya. 

Position Overview

The Kenya Country Manager is responsible for overseeing the overall operations of KickStart’s activities in Kenya. He/she is responsible for providing leadership and support to the program team in Kenya. He/she develops and implements core program activities that drive sales and donor funded projects deliverables. To achieve this, the Country Manager is responsible for building and strengthening country program delivery of results and providing strategic analysis to support KickStart’s overall growth in Kenya as part of its strategic direction.

The Country Manager is a key member of the Senior Management Team. As such he/she works closely with the Regional Manager for East Africa to ensure overall strategic development and effective operational delivery of the country program’s activities. The manager also works with various functional leads, including Fundraising, Product Innovation & Development, Supply Chain, Impact & Monitoring, Finance, IT & Governance, Human Resources, Marketing and Communication to strengthen project implementation strategies, business development opportunities, partnerships, and fundraising initiatives.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

1. Project Management and Target Achievement:
   1. Working effectively with other functional teams to ensure all country donor-funded projects activities and targets are met and exceeded in time.
   2. Drive a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement, fostering collaboration, accountability, and results-oriented mindset in Kenya.
   3. Develop and implement strategic plans, goals, and objectives to drive business growth and expansion in the country market.
   4. Provide accurate project management reports by ensuring that efficient and adequate management practices and tools are in place to enable monitoring of projects and accurate reporting to donors, the board, and senior management.
   5. Working with Project Leads, regularly reviewing the progress of projects against milestones and taking corrective action, raising any issues with the leadership.
   6. Support Project Leads in managing the partners helping them to identify opportunities and respond to existing relationships.
   7. Ensure all projects have Tracking Tool such as an Efficiency Matrix, etc.,
   8. Working with the Marketing & Communication team to communicate and build a strong and positive KickStart brand visibility and recognition among partners.
   9. Identify and establish business opportunities for MoneyMaker products with partners in the country in line with the organizations strategic direction.
   10. Working with the Fundraising & Development team, identify and discuss potential funding opportunities in Kenya and provide advice on their suitability and potential alignment with KickStart’s strategic direction.
   11. Monitor and analyze performance metrics, financial indicators, and market data to track progress towards goals and make data-driven decisions.
   12. Identify local partners and agents in the country and build strategic alliances with them to facilitate the implementation and success of projects.
   13. Represent KickStart in building and maintaining relationships with in-country service providers, government, donor representatives, local and international development partners, and the private sector.
   14. Support effective liaison between Kenya and other KickStart country programs in pursuit of achievement of integrated program direction and delivery
   15. Manage financial budgets, resources, and expenditures to ensure cost-effectiveness, profitability, and sustainability of operations.
2. Distributor Relationship Management:
   1. Identify and recruit high potential distributors that meet all the requirements of one becoming a distributor and promoter of MoneyMaker Pumps.
   2. Create a communication plan to keep distributors informed and engaged, addressing issues such as underperformance and non-compliance promptly. 
   3. Build and maintain strong relationships with distributors, ensuring they have adequate pumps, accessories, and promotional materials to facilitate sales.
   4. Provide training and support for distributors and their staff on product knowledge, branding, stock management, and customer engagement techniques.
   5. Responsible for credit risk management by ensuring distributors pay their debts.
3. Marketing, Communication, Sales Support & New Product Testing/Launches:
   1. Execute marketing activities and ensure effective outreach in the field.
   2. Collaborate Marketing, Product Development, and Fundraising to develop successful sales strategies and resources needed to drive sales for the country.
   3. Represent the organization at industry events and partner meetings, building strong relationships and promoting partnerships.
   4. Work with the Product Innovation and Development and Marketing teams to carry out market tests and launches of new products and services.
4. Strategic Partnership Development & Management:
   1. Research, identify, and establish strategic partnerships with NGOs, Governments, corporations, and key stakeholders to expand KickStart's mission.
   2. Engage potential partner organizations, government agencies, and farmer groups to foster sales initiatives and promote KickStart technologies.
   3. Develop and implement a comprehensive country partnership strategy, including target partner profiles, go-to-market plans, and performance metrics to drive sales.
   4. Negotiate and draft partnership agreements and MOU’s ensuring they have a win-win-win beneficial terms and conditions for KickStart, partners and farmers.
   5. Lead the team to deliver training to partner staff, farmer groups, and stakeholders on irrigation practices and the importance of sustainable farming.
   6. Track and analyze country partnership performance, providing regular reports on key metrics and insights.
   7. Identify trends and opportunities for improvement, informing future partnership strategies. Stay informed about industry trends and competitor activities, identifying potential partnerships and opportunities. 
   8. Lead the team in building and maintaining strong relationships with key partners, acting as a primary point of contact and ensuring ongoing collaboration.
   9. Regularly review and assess the country partnership performance, identifying areas for improvement and optimization. Proactively address partner needs and concerns, resolving issues and ensuring partnership success.
5. Representation:
   1. Act as the representative for KickStart in stakeholder forums, trade shows, conferences to communicate KickStart’s mission and strategies effectively.
6. Strategic Direction and Planning
   1. Ensure appropriate vision and strategy are in place to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Kenya program and KickStart International as a whole.
   2. Work closely with the Regional Manager for East Africa, the COO and others to drive KickStart’s strategic goals through annual planning and other forums.
   3. Provide strategic direction to the country program which aligns with KickStart’s global strategic plan and contributes to achieving overall strategic goals.
7. Leadership and Management
   1. Lead, motivate and manage the country program team in a supportive style adhering to KickStart’s policies and procedures, staff recognition and celebration of success and as well as managing poor performance in the team.
   2. Work with other functional teams to ensure the program is adequately resourced.
   3. Effectively communicate KickStart’s vision, mission and core values to the team.
   4. Ensure staff are empowered to carry out their tasks to their skills and capabilities.
   5. Ensure well-coordinated management of work plans in line with program budgets, donor funded project goals and country strategic requirements.
   6. In consultation with HR, manage staff performance, annual appraisals, motivation, and retention according to KickStart’s policies and procedures.
   7. Work with HR to develop training plans to build the capacity of the country team.
   8. Support effective communication and teamwork within and without the team.
   9. Lead the team in driving sales efforts within the partnership ecosystem, setting clear targets and monitoring performance against key metrics for team members.
   10. Financial/Asset Management:
   11. Oversee all assets and resources assigned to the country program to ensure proper usage and management.
   12. Be responsible for approving work plans, advance requests, expenditures and disbursement for the country program.

Personal Attributes

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, sales and marketing, agribusiness, project management or related field
• 7 years of experience in partnership development, sales, or business development.
• Strong experience in managing projects funded by donors, the private sector or governments with a record of delivering program goals within deadlines and budgets.
• Experience in effectively building and sustaining key external and internal partners and stakeholders to realize organizational goals.

Knowledge of the job

• Good understanding of the donor funded project implementation environment.
• Proven track record of successfully identifying, negotiating, and managing partnerships.
• Strong understanding of B2B sales processes, strategies and the enabling drivers key to success in selling to partners such as NGOs, Governments, Farmer Coops, etc., 

Skills and Abilities 

• Project Management skills preferably as a Country Lead
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to drive sales to both corporate clients as well as low-income communities.   
• Proficient use of MS Office suite including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint as well as Enterprise Systems such ERP and CRM systems/sales tools. 
• Proficiency in written and spoken English and Swahili languages
• Ability to identify and prioritize tasks and manage areas of risk
• Ability to influence and engage effectively with key stakeholders, partners, and senior management level, articulating strategies with confidence.

Other Desirable Attributes

• Commitment to the mission, vision and core values of KickStart International
• Non-for-profit/social entreprise sector experience
• Knowledge of managing donor funds such Foundations, USAID, EU, DFID, DANIDA, 
• Willingness to travel at least 60% of time
• A valid driving licence
• Experience working with smallholder farmers and low-income communities
• Ability to work under pressure both proactively and reactively and prioritize workloads.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 84

Level of Education: bachelor degree

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