About SureChill

Millar Cameron is supporting SureChill with their search for a General Manager, East Africa.

SureChill, headquartered in Cardiff with offices across Africa, has recently secured funding to amplify its impact on the lives of millions through its disruptive off/weak grid refrigeration technology. The role will be instrumental in spearheading the expansion of both their Home & Small Business unit and their Cooling as a Service model in East Africa.

Combining UK design and emerging markets expertise, SureChill possesses cooling technology that permits effective and consistent refrigeration without constant access to the grid. From vaccines to food & beverages, this technology has a range of medical and other commercial use cases, with the potential to solve ongoing supply-chain inefficiencies at a global scale. Thousands of refrigeration units have already been deployed, with measurable positive impact on supply-chain and health outcomes across multiple countries in Africa.

About the Role

Reporting to the Group CEO, the General Manager East Africa will lead the company through an exciting phase of growth. This role will be focusing on managing the day-to-day operations of the team in Kenya and driving commercial traction to the Agri and FMCG value chains, as well as directly to consumers. The successful candidate will be trusted with P&L ownership, autonomy, and the mandate to drive significant growth, leveraging the operational and commercial foundations that have already been built over the last 2 years.

The incumbent should understand distribution, marketing, and sales in emerging markets especially in Kenya and its neighbouring countries. They should possess a strong commercial network and understand how to get access to decision makers in the government, NGOs, and corporate industry. The General Manager East Africa should be a strong operational leader with the ability to build and manage on the ground dynamic teams while putting in place the required processes to enable fast and sustainable growth. The position requires someone with an entrepreneurial mindset and preferably experience in scaling up a business commercially and operationally.

Based in East Africa, this position represents an opportunity to strategically and autonomously expand their presence and influence in the market while moulding and fostering a culture of success within the team.

Responsibilities

• The candidate will be responsible for the East African business unit, taking full ownership of the P&L and creation of a business plan that is focused on commercial execution.
• They will oversee the day-to-day operations of the business this includes management of consultants and partners in East Africa, logistics management, customer/after sales support, and supply chain management.
• In collaboration with the CEO and Commercial Director, they will be responsible for building and executing a commercial strategy.
• They will be responsible for building commercial partnerships with B2B entities across Africa to scale the Home & Small Business division, as well as the Cooling as a Service model.

Skills, Competencies and Experience.

• At least 10 years of experience in a commercial or operational capacity; with at least 5 years of experience managing a team.
• Experience in selling appliances to businesses, with a preference for cold chain solutions such as beverage coolers and cold rooms.
• Demonstrated experience in introducing new products with a technological aspect into the East African market.
• Previous experience managing both B2B and B2C operations. Exposure to B2G or NGO sector operations is considered a plus.
• Exposure to African markets with a good track record in East Africa.
• Proven experience in effectively managing financial targets.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, driven by a passion to create meaningful impact.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Millar Cameron, we are dedicated to supporting our clients in building and supporting diverse and inclusive workplaces and culture, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.