About the Company
Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs – including refugees – to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods and to create thriving communities.
Founded in 2012, Inkomoko has worked with more than 60,000 entrepreneurs across East Africa, resulting in thousands of new jobs. Inkomoko provides a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change. We are the largest lender to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.
Inkomoko has +300 staff in 20 offices across Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Through Inkomoko’s 2030 strategic plan, we are expanding to 5 additional countries to serve more than 550,000 entrepreneurs and growing our $30M loan fund.
In 2023, Inkomoko will open in South Sudan, our fourth country, and with a HQ office in Juba and programming to extend in various refugee/host locations. In 2023, we will serve 600 entrepreneurs within the first year. In order to achieve this, we are looking for a highly-skilled leader to launch the company and expand the work in the coming years.
Company Values
Our leaders embody the key tenants of the company’s culture. In addition to the skills above, all candidates must demonstrate our core values:
- Purpose: we are solutions-oriented and produce high quality work to be a global leader.
- Achievement: we push ourselves to reach beyond what we previously thought possible.
- Improvement: we are humble and committed to continuous learning and growing. We improve through giving and receiving open and accurate feedback.
- Bravery: we are willing to take risks and create a safe space for others to take risks. We are compassionate and inclusive.
- Nina Maa-en (“We are together”): we take time to appreciate colleagues, celebrate success, and hold each other up in hard times. We eat goat.
Inkomoko reflects the communities we serve. Displaced persons and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
About the Opportunity
Reporting to Inkomoko’s Chief Operating Officer, the Managing Director will be the first and most senior leader in South Sudan, responsible for driving Inkomoko’s competitive advantage to meet and exceed our strategic goals across the country. To do so, the MD will need to work effectively with a range of stakeholders both inside and outside the company – the CEO/COO, prominent government partners, donors, and Inkomoko’s talented regional leads.
Responsibilities
Specific Managing Director responsibilities include:
STRATEGY & MANAGEMENT (30% time)
- Set and implement Inkomoko’s growth strategy in South Sudan
- Lead annual country goal setting, ensuring that KPIs align with the company-wide objectives and funder targets
- Consistently advance, analyze, and adjust as necessary the country-wide strategies to reach set goals, based on changing markets, new opportunities, and new insight
- Manage all country-wide contracts, including regular review with Inkomoko’s legal team
- Ensure adherence with all relevant local laws and regulations
- Understands corporate risk – legal, financial, the safety of staff, reputational, etc. – across the company and develops strategies to keep the company and its staff and clients safe
- Be a phenomenally proactive and transparent communicator with other colleagues- Directors, C-level colleagues, and regional leaders from Inkomoko – ensuring smooth coordination of company resources for country-wide objectives
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & REVENUE GENERATION (25% time)
- Develop and manage the annual and multi-year company budgets
- Work with CEO’s office to fundraise – relationship building, donor engagement, reporting, presentations
- Actively solicit profitable contracts, and work with fundraising team to produce proposals and budgets to secure these resources
- Review and manage the company’s finances to stay within budget
- Participate in the annual audit process and other financial compliance requirements
PARTNERSHIPS & EXTERNAL RELATIONS (25% time)
- Lead government and partner relations within S Sudan, including ministries, UN, etc.
- Serve as a spokesperson in relevant local and international media, panels, conferences
- Seek new opportunities to expand the company brand, reputation, and services
- Develop an Advisory Board of leaders from across the country
PROGRAM IMPACT & EXPANSION (20% time)
- Coordinate client services with Regional Business Growth Services director to meet program deliverables and impact targets
- Work closely with Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) to generate insights, and action those for the benefit of the company and clients.
- Lead in-country geographic expansion, including market-entry strategy, partnerships development, resource allocation, and operations
- Advise colleagues on Innovations in initiatives/products to lead competitive advantage,
- As Inkomoko establishes advocacy approaches for inclusion of refugees, take a lead role in facilitating conversations on systemic change.
Minimum Qualifications
The Managing Director role is diverse. While the description above provides an overview of some key areas of focus, we’re looking for a seasoned leader who can continue to grow the organization, its impact, and has the drive and flexibility to adapt themselves to the goals at hand. In that vein, the Managing Director will be:
- A South Sudanese national that is passionate about improving lives and communities through entrepreneurship
- Experience working with refugees, banking, or entrepreneurship is beneficial
- Commitment to a harassment free workplace, equity, inclusion, and fairness
- Experience leading senior leadership teams to meet strategic objectives
- Both strategic and operational – develop a big picture and manage operations to achieve
- Comfortable with ambiguity – helps create clarity
- Skilled in business management – including good working knowledge of business finance, negotiation, legal, risk assessment, IT
- Excellent in interpersonal relationships, build trust through both words and actions
- Excited to give and receive authentic feedback to/from a diverse range of colleagues
- High levels of discretion, diplomacy, and sophistication when engaging key stakeholders
- Impeccable integrity, trustworthiness, and professionalism
- Excellent written and verbal communication in English and at least one local language
- Advanced education qualification (CPA, relevant masters, or MBA strongly preferred)
What You’ll Get
This role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization. Our compensation includes both a great culture and a competitive market-based package:
- Incredible company culture, including deep investment in your learning and growth, and a commitment to inclusion and diversity
- Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth
- Competitive salary, and potential KPI-based bonus
- Favorable policies like health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.
Tell us about what you’ll bring to this growing company.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
DEADLINE: Open until filled. Please apply as soon as possible. Only qualified candidates will be contacted for additional information.
As a company we have policies in place that promote diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels
NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Employment is conditional upon successful background checks and other verification as needed.
