Operations | Nairobi, Kenya
About Bridge
Bridge International Academies is the world’s largest chain of primary and pre-primary schools with more than 300 academies and 100,000 pupils in Kenya. We democratize the right to succeed by giving families living in poverty access to the high-quality education that will allow their children to live a very different life. We leverage experts, data, and technology in order to standardize and scale every aspect of quality education delivery, from how and where academies are built to how teachers are selected and trained, and how lessons are delivered and monitored for improvement. We are vertically-integrated, tech-enabled, and on our way to profitability. Bridge expects to continue rapid expansion in Kenya, and will be launching operations in Uganda and Nigeria in 2015.
About the Position
We are looking for a commercially-minded superstar to lead our retail operations, which will provide substantial revenue growth opportunities to Bridge as we scale towards 10,000,000 pupils in the next 10 years. Today, this encompasses our in-house lunch programme, which launched in January 2013 and has expanded to over 80 academies in Kenya, as well as our retail uniform sales programme, which will launch in early 2015.
The Business Manager – Retail is ultimately responsible for managing and innovating on all aspects of these revenue-generating programmes, including operations, supply chain, marketing, finance, and technology. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for someone with the right mix of operational excellence and creativity as you will help expand and build these programmes into large business units at Bridge. Just as we are excited about the top-line revenue potential of our retail operations, we are laser-focused on the bottom line; you should have an eye for operational excellence and reducing costs, as maintaining competitive pricing is crucial to financial success of our operations given the bottom of the pyramid market.
Who Should Apply
Customer Centric Leaders – You understand and have experience in leading a customer-focused business. You know that customer satisfaction is the key to success.
Business Drivers – You understand the long-term vision and are hungry and impatient to get there. You don’t take “no” for an answer and you always have your eyes set on the goal. You require resources from other parts of the organization to achieve this but you are a master at creating relationships and influencing others to join you in your quest – even when it’s not their highest priority.
Organisational task-masters – You live for structure and systems; you’ve always been the sort of person that instinctively takes notes in every meeting. You understand how to drill down into one process, but you also get how each process adds up to a much greater whole
Detailed doers – You have a track record of getting things done . You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details
Creative problem-solvers – Growing any business comes with massive and constant challenges. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and with the tools at hand.
Life-long learners – You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
Education and Experience
- BA/BS from a top university with top marks. MS/MA/MBA a plus
- Several years of post under-graduate work experience
- Commercial management experience with P&L responsibility in fast-paced – environments with clear cut targets
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail and a passion for data-driven decision making required
- Experience working in startups/fast-growth companies a HUGE plus
- Interest and/or experience in working with BoP customers and emerging markets with an understanding of their purchasing decisions and consumer behavior
The post Bridge International Academies Job Vacancy : Business Manager – Retail appeared first on Jobs in Kenya.
