Consultant Support Manager

AGOVA JOB DESCRIPTION:

CONSULTANT SUPPORT MANAGER

Agova (formerly Business Development Services Africa)

Title: Client Relations Manager

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Contract Length: 2 years

Remuneration: ZMW 13,990 per month gross (inc. gratuity)

Background:

Agova is a consultancy service and its mission is to make shared value the new way of doing business. Shared value refers to ‘a management strategy in which companies find business opportunities in social, environmental, or economic problems’. Since 2011, Agova has been delivering management and technical advice to actors in the private sector in Zambia to further the expansion of business models and norms that increase economic, social and environmental prosperity. Our mandate is to leverage capital, data and innovative ideas to develop a sustainable form of poverty reduction; we focus on creating win-win business models within our client organizations such that commercial and competitive mandates can be met while improving the livelihoods of an organization’s customer and supplier segments, who are generally the urban and rural poor and emergent agropreneurs.

This role would initially involve supporting and line managing a group of Consultant Trainees with their contracts. After this project ends (~6 months) you would likely transition to support the the operations of our existing and new consultant contracts, with corporate and/or small and medium enterprises (SME) clients. This would involve the line management of our consultants and the delivery of some ad-hoc consulting work, as and when is required.

Job Description:

This role will be supporting our two existing Client Relations Managers to continue to expand and grow two of Agova’s newest services that are targeting SMEs namely: tailored consulting and a shared value hub for SME development. As well as the line management and support of our corporate clients.

Tasks could include (but are not limited to):

• Training of the Consultant Trainees (our entry-level consultants implementing our client work on a variety of projects) for both SME and corporate clients’ tailored consulting program;
• Providing line management and support to Consultant Trainees and Agova’s other consultant levels that are placed with both SME and corporate clients;
• Management of the relationship with variety of clients – Corporates, SMEs, and NGOs – to ensure client satisfaction and clear lines of communication;
• Gathering feedback from the SMEs and corporate clients in the tailored consulting program and troubleshooting relevant and appropriate solutions;
• Reviewing all key deliverables and Consultants’ work before it is submitted to clients to ensure high-quality of work and adherence to Agova standards;
• Support the facilitation of the SME Shared Value Hub Co-Working Space at Agova as needed (The co-working space is a service provided by Agova for SMEs to rent a desk and use the space to develop their shared value businesses);
• Reporting to Agova on progress of all consulting work;
• Support in sourcing and implementing SME-related external grant funding; and
• Support in drafting business proposals aimed at our portfolio of different clients (Corporates, SMEs, NGOs, etc.).

Required Skills:

• A relevant four-year Bachelor’s degree (ideally a Master’s Degree);
• Three to five years of relevant work experience, ideally in the SME and/or corporate sector;
• Experience in business development and client management/relations roles;
• Experience managing multiple staff and multiple projects at once, within strict timelines and under ‘high-pressure’ environments;
• Experience managing and working with youth;
• Experience in client-facing roles, interacting with senior and executive levels of staff;
• Interest in Shared Value (businesses solving social/environmental challenges by reshaping their business strategy);
• High-level of computer literacy with a solid command of Microsoft Office suite;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Has major leadership experience and demonstrated ability to take initiative;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• Ability to design and implement work plans, within set timelines;
• Ability to set up and implement performance management processes, to ensure the setup of a high-performing team; and
• Ability to travel around Lusaka/Zambia (when required).

Agova Offers:

• A manager to support the person in their day to day work;
• A coach to support long-term career path and professional development support;
• A competitive salary;
• Communication and transport support;
• Health Insurance;
• A comprehensive training program; and

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