INTRODUCTION

One of our clients in the Logistics & Freight business with Group operations across East and Central Africa is seeking to onboard a strategic Country Manager to be based in Dar Es Salam to oversee the startup and growth of their business operations in country. This position will be responsible for the development and management of country operations in Tanzania. The Country Manager will lead the team, develop and execute business plans, and ensure the achievement of operational and financial goals. S/he will also closely collaborate with the wider Group team to implement the overall business strategy in Tanzania, adapting to local market conditions.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop and Implement the Strategic Business Plan for Tanzania

• Create and implement a strategic business plan for the French market in alignment with the company’s overall strategic objectives
• Identify market opportunities and develop sales and business development strategies and marketing initiatives
• Regularly analyze business data to refine and optimize business strategies
• Collaborate closely with the Group teams to implement the overall business strategy in Tanzania, considering local market conditions
• Coordinate internal resources and external partners to ensure the timely and quality completion of business projects
• Regularly report business progress and market dynamics to Group leadership, providing strategic advice and decision support.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Build and manage an efficient team, ensuring team members possess professional competence and work efficiency
• Conduct performance evaluations and implement incentive mechanisms to enhance team cohesion and work enthusiasm
• Provide training and development opportunities to improve the overall business capabilities of the team
• Identify, mentor, and develop employees in the country to manage work allocation, training, problem resolution, performance evaluation, and the building of an effective team dynamic
• Identify potential employees and develop them into key resources for capability building
• Supervise, lead, and provide guidance to employees in the Country, while ensuring that their duties are carried out efficiently on a day-to-day or project basis
• With support of group HR – recruit and retain fit for purpose and fit for future employees in country
• Partner with Group HR to review, analyze, and implement strategic HR Initiatives
• Review company policies align hem to legal and regulatory frameworks in Country, including reward and benefits frameworks to ensure they are competitive in the market.

Business Growth & Development

• Increase market share through customer acquisition and increased patronage of country service offerings
• Strategically position country services through acquisition of relevant insights on market and competitor dynamics with pricing and positioning
• Gather market feedback, study current and future trends emerging within the industry/sector operating environment and use this to inform the country services offering journey
• Collaborate closely with an extensive network of cross-functional stakeholders representing multiple players in order to bring the country operations to optimal operations.

Customer Service

• Foster partnerships with relevant internal teams to align customer service policies and systems with the country office objectives and customer and market needs
• Provide best in class customer support and relationship management
• Drive the oversight of customer issues and ensure effective and long-term problem resolution and feedback
• Champion the implementation and continuous improvement of NPS (Net Promoter Score) – CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), and any other Customer Metric relevant to the country business
• Facilitate internal teams to be agile and innovative in dealing with sudden customer needs and changes that disrupt the comfort zone and known way of doing things to ensure the business is a step ahead of its competitors.

Marketing

• Lead relevant teams in defining the marketing strategies and targeted activities for the country business
• Oversee the delivery of a fully integrated marketing strategy – including branding, campaigns, events, and digital marketing
• Use dada and data analysis, market research and insights to inform country business strategy and key revenue driven decision.

Business Performance & Results

• Take full responsibility for the business performance in country, including revenue, collection, profit and loss, ensuring the achievement of the company’s financial targets
• Develop objectives and drive cascade and socialization across Country teams
• Ensure performance targets are reviewed regularly and met as per set expectations
• Drive performance reporting periodically to the relevant group teams
• Develop relevant partnerships with relevant stakeholders to support ease of doing business in Country with government, regulators, like minded businesses and associations and any other relevant organizations and authorities
• Develop performance matrix and analyze these periodically to establish baselines for continual improvement.

Operational Excellence

• Monitor and manage operational costs to enhance operational efficiency and profitability
• Develop risk management strategies to ensure compliance and safety in business operations
• Drive the establishment of a business continuity plan
• Monitor costs and assure a watertight budgeting and operational expenditure process and analysis with continuous mitigation
• Establish effective ways of working through well-defined and sensitized SLA’s
• Monitor health safety and wellness and safeguard the workplace as well as the workforce against accidents and incidences as well as any foreseeable risks
• Drive the establishment of a creative, innovative, agile and ever learning culture to drive collaboration and excellence in the Country office.

Any other duties as required.

SKILS & COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

• An Undergraduate Degree preferably in Business Management, Business Administration, Operations Management, Logistics or Supply Chain Management, Warehouse Management from a recognized institution of learning
• An MBA or a Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management strongly preferred
• CISM, CSCMP, ASCM, CSCP, CLTD qualifications and certification will be an added advantage
• Relevant memberships in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• At least ten (10) years of work experience in the Logistics and Freight industry, with a minimum of 5 years in team management
• Familiarity with the Tanzanian and East & Central African logistics markets
• Effective communication and leadership skills; management experience including the ability to problem-solve and motivate teams
• Proven track record from working in startups, consulting or general management experience with considerable P&L leadership experience
• Strong understanding of financial regulations, compliance requirements, and risk management in the context of payment operations
• Proficiency using warehouse management systems supply chain management platforms, financial software, advanced Microsoft Office and Google Suite tools skills along with the willingness and ability to become familiar with company-specific tools and software
• Strong analytical and structured way of working, logical thinking skills with the ability to obtain fast solutions while working independently
• Highly proficient in data analysis with the ability to utilize new analytical tools to make data driven decisions
• Dependable and solid access to a large network of local and regional decision-makers within corporates, the logistics and freight sector and governments
• A proven track record of developing and closing complex business deals from the ground up
• Creative problem solver with the ability to work independently with minimal guidance
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize immediate, short-term goals and simultaneously focus on strategic, long-term goals
• Passionate about driving the company vision and mission; familiar with and influential within the supply chain management sphere
• Strong technical writing skills with the ability to communicate technical/complex information both verbally and in writing, analyze and problem solve a variety of highly technical issues to effectively negotiate with and influence others
• Proficiency in English and Kiswahili is a must have.