About Husk Power Systems

Husk is one of the world’s leading rural energy service companies with operations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. We provide low-cost and reliable power to rural households and businesses, entirely from renewable energy sources. Powering economic possibilities in every village is at the heart of everything we do.

We design, build and operate the lowest cost hybrid (solar and biomass) power plant and distribution network in India and Africa. To date, Husk has provided electricity to over 15,000 homes and business, reducing 95,000 tonnes of CO2. Our aim is to provide 30MW of power to 225,000 customers by 2025, and save 350,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Role Summary

Husk is recruiting for a Sales Head to help expand its EPC business footprint within Nigeria and across other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. We seek a business professional to take up the challenge of developing wide range of functions and who will be committed to execute at a high level in a start-up paced environment.

The Sales Head - EPC is a leadership position responsible for organizing, motivating, and leading efforts to build the EPC business within the country and other sub-Saharan African countries. This role is ultimately responsible for driving sales of our EPC capabilities to clients who require reliable solutions for their power challenges. The Sales Head - EPC is accountable for their area’s financial performance in partnership with the Country Director and is required to drive continuous improvement through operations in alignment with functional leadership. The candidate will have a track record of proven leadership abilities (communication, relationship building, training & development, employee relations, performance management, etc.) as well as relevant industry knowledge. In continuing to guide various clients to the path of cleaner energy use, Husk is seeking to provide reliable power from renewable sources to large corporates, MNCs, and MSMEs across Nigeria. This will be done through our unique Solar(hybrid) solutions being installed on multiple facilities and locations for such clients.

The individual should also be passionate about solving one of Nigeria’s most critical challenges – energy access deficit. This position provides the opportunity to join a growing team that is changing the face of rural electrification in many countries in Asia and Africa, including India, Tanzania, Nigeria etc.

Key Responsibilities

General

• Manage, motivate, and mentor other team members along with a variety of personnel  to create a positive, constructive, and performance driven dynamic, while driving efficiencies.
• Drive “Best Practices” across the business. Once a “Best Practice” has been identified, ensure that the practice is visible nationally and to another subsidiary.
• Work closely with Heads of other Business Units to understand sales/business performance trending and position partnership engagements adequately.
• Negotiate solutions, resolve conflicts and provide solutions in the best interest of Husk, and our customers/clients and employees.
• Support in the training and mentoring of new members to the Leadership/Management Team
• Act as a leader within the country. Understand the priorities of the country operations and support the Country Director and Heads of other Business Units when necessary.
• Provide requisite support on building and aligning various company processes and policies according to global best practices.

Sales Management

• Provide regular reporting on sales management, sales pipeline development, forecasting, key account status, market condition updates, sales results and budget performance.
• Provide requisite client support during sales cycle including enquiry generation, load analysis/energy audits, offer submission, techno-commercial discussion, financial negotiation, contract closure.
• Develop and maintain relationships with solar distribution channels and strategic accounts and the technical and commercial decision makers for potential and existing clients.
• Identify client requirements and proffer product, project, EPC or knowledge-based solutions.
• Provide key account management support for existing clients and target potential clients for direct selling guided by strategic roadmap.
• Performance will be assessed by pipeline generation, projects closed, project profitability, revenue, customer relationship enhancement, brand influence, enhanced market competitiveness.

Stakeholder Management

• Coordination with clients and prospective customers/clients, business meetings, progress tracking, site visits.
• Build and maintain relationships with clients by providing support, information, and guidance.

Business Growth

• Coordinate with relevant internal teams on inputs regarding client specific solutions and efficient project deployment.
• Identify and select Products/Technologies/Vendors/Service Providers/Tools in alignment with relevant teams ensuring best prices, and reliability.

Thought Leadership

• Drive thought leadership engagements to ensure Husk maintains local visibility as an industry leader within the EPC space

General Skills & Attributes

• Ability to develop and update professional knowledge and skills quickly and efficiently. Ability to apply professional knowledge and skills in the advancement of business objectives.
• Effectively carries out tasks that are required by the Nigeria Management team in addition to carrying out own role.
• Adapts to changes in company strategy whilst developing own strategy to achieve personal goals of competently owning and managing processes.
• Has a collaborative attitude and ability to drive that through across business units/work functions.
• Understands company strategy and vision and is able to drive that through across to other employees across the organization.
• Assesses own development needs and develops self to improve job performance and fulfil future potential. Contributes to the team ethos and instilling the values of Company.
• The ability to evaluate and convey complex information to others in an effective manner through concise communication skills and clear presentation skills in both verbal and written contexts.
• Should possess requisite skill sets- active listening, speaking, reading, comprehension, critical thinking, performance monitoring, time management, people management, material resource management, effective time management, judgment and decision making, teaching, coaching, and social awareness.

Physical Demands

• Have adequate visual and hearing acuity to follow instructions; and determine accuracy of the work assigned
• Ability to work in rural, peri-urban locations as required
• Ability to drive a vehicle during the normal course of business. Must possess a driver’s licence, maintain a clean driving record with the ability to pass a driving background check.

Does this sound like you?

• Graduate from a leading institution with a related degree in Engineering, Sciences, Social Sciences, etc. Postgraduate degree in business and/or related professional qualifications, a plus.
• A minimum of 10 years of work experience and 3-5 years of experience in a B2B sales role or similar role within the energy sector.
• Hands on experience in selling power or infrastructure solutions to a variety of customers and clients.
• In-depth knowledge of the power sector in Nigeria, a plus.
• Capable of working out cost benefit analysis and Internal Rate of Return for clients' investments.
• Highly motivated and target driven
• Excellent negotiation, project and contract management skills
• Excellent skills with MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint and project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Slack etc)
• Demonstrated success in operating effectively in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, complex, rapid growth environment
• A distinct customer service focus
• Excellent interpersonal verbal and written communication skills
• Business level fluency in major Nigerian languages, a plus
• Ability to identify and convert new accounts while maintaining existing relationships
• Entrepreneurial mindset, self-driven, goal oriented and ability to take initiative

Also;                                             

• You are driven to support the delivery of business growth in a new market.
• You have a robust industry network and understand effective client engagement practices.
• You are an effective planner and have a strong orientation to process
• Most importantly, candidate must fit company spirit where people work smart, play hard, have fun and are dedicated to success.
• You build strong relationships on trust, and are a strong verbal communicator