Corporate Overview
BURN Manufacturing designs, produces, and distributes Africa’s best-selling, fuel efficient biomass, electric, hybrid and liquid fuel cooking appliances. Not only do our products save money, fuel, and natural resources, but they also dramatically reduce harmful indoor smoke emissions which can cause significant health problems, even death.
With more than 1.2Millon+ stoves sold since commencing manufacturing operations in 2013, BURN has established itself as Africa’s most trusted cookstove brand thanks to our unwavering commitment to innovative research and design, manufacturing excellence, and customer care.
BURN is now the only vertically integrated modern cookstove company in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our solar-powered facility currently has a capacity of 45,000 stoves per month. We are proud to employ 400 team members throughout Kenya and East Africa, and support a workforce which is 50 percent female, thus empowering women in roles traditionally considered to be “for men only.”
Among our national and global honors, we have received the 2018 Bloomberg New Energy Pioneers Award for being among the world’s leaders in clean energy solutions, the 2018 Swiss Energy and Climate Summit Award for our pitch on the impact of clean-burning stoves, and the 2015 Ashden Green Energy International Award for empowering women with new economic opportunities.
Job description
About the Role:
BURN is looking for a strategic New Markets Expansion Officer to support its fast-growing expansion efforts across Sub-Saharan Africa. The successful candidate will be required to travel (40%) to support the setting up of commercial/carbon operations, as well as scale up existing operations in the expansion markets.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
(In order of priority/importance)
Expansion Strategy: Maintain BURN’s new market scoping process, including spearheading comprehensive market assessments, liaising with industry stakeholders, sending sample products to new markets, and designing route-to-market strategies. Develop reports and recommendations for the Senior Management team on new market opportunities that align with BURN’s expansion, carbon, and new product offering strategies.New Market Entry/Scale Up: Assist with the planning and implementation of entry into new markets, including supporting setting up commercial/carbon operations, as well as scaling up existing operations in collaboration with local country teams. This will include travel to BURN’s expansion markets.Reporting: Produce analytical reports on the development of new market entry initiatives and performance of BURN’s existing markets, including analyzing and reporting on key sales, marketing, distribution, and carbon registration metrics.Collaboration: Be an organizer and go-between with BURN’s New Product Development, Carbon, Business Intelligence, Market Research, and Senior Management teams for tracking and reporting on Expansion project execution.Secondary Duties and Responsibilities:
(In order of priority/importance)
Market Research: Manage specific desktop research assignments to support new market assessment, scoping initiatives and new product testing across BURN.Special Projects: Carrying out specific tasks, as defined by the Expansion Manager, falling outside the scope of existing Expansion staff.Expansion Admin: Assist BURNs Expansion team on specific order management, ERP, finance, HR and procurement tasks.
Skills and Experience
Essential
- 1+ years’ experience working on market scoping/assessments exercises and designing route-to-market plans, preferably for markets within sub-Saharan Africa.
- 1+ years’ new business development and account management experience, with a proven record in successfully identifying and developing B2B distribution partnerships.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French.
- Excellent project management skills.
- Strong analytic/number-crunching background, supported by excellent graphical presentation skills
- Excellent desktop research and networking skills
- Enthusiastic, proactive, organized, creative, a desire to ‘sell for good’ and a willingness to get your ‘hands dirty’.
- MBA or Bachelor’s degree.
Skills and Experience
Desired:
- Experience managing primary and secondary market research projects.
- Experience working on carbon offsetting projects, preferably with a focus on renewable energy products.
- Experience managing sales teams.
- Experience with travel within Sub-Saharan Africa, most notably West Africa.
How to apply
If you believe you can clearly demonstrate your abilities to meet the criteria given above, please submit your application with a detailed CV to the email:[email protected]
