Chief Operations Officer - Tanzania

Job Title: CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER (COO)

Location: Tanzania

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer / Board of Directors

BRIEF  SUMMARY

Our client is seeking an entrepreneurial and commercially minded Chief Operations Officer to lead business growth, sales execution and day-to-day operations across its markets.
The Chief Operations Officer will be a key member of the company executive leadership team and will have overall responsibility for translating the company's strategy into sustainable commercial growth and operational execution.

The COO will lead the company commercial and operational activities across multiple markets, manage a multicultural and geographically distributed team, develop strategic relationships with commercial banks and other partners, and ensure that customers receive a consistently high-quality experience.
The ideal candidate combines the instincts of a business builder and salesperson with the discipline of an experienced operator and people leader.

Key Responsibilities: 

1. Drive Revenue Growth and Sales

Take executive ownership of the company commercial growth and revenue performance. The COO will:

Develop and execute system sales and go-to-market strategy across existing and new markets.
Build and manage a strong sales pipeline across corporate, SME, enterprise, financial-sector and institutional customers.
Personally lead strategic and high-value sales opportunities from initial engagement through negotiation and closing.
Establish clear sales targets, pipeline-management processes and accountability across the commercial team.
Identify new customer segments, markets, distribution models and revenue opportunities.
Develop pricing, packaging and commercial propositions that increase recurring revenue and customer lifetime value.
Improve conversion rates, sales productivity and predictability of revenue.
Build a strong performance-oriented sales culture across the organization.
Ensure that commercial teams are consistently focused on acquiring new customers while growing relationships with existing customers.

2. Build and Grow Strategic Banking and Fintech Partnerships

Develop the company position at the intersection of HR technology, payroll and financial services. The COO will:

Develop strategic partnerships with commercial banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and other relevant ecosystem partners.
Design compelling joint propositions that combine the system  payroll and HR capabilities with banking and financial products.
Engage senior executives within banks and financial institutions to establish mutually beneficial long-term partnerships.
Build business models that enable banks to use payroll relationships to deepen engagement with employers and their employees.
Identify opportunities around payroll processing, salary accounts, payments, employee lending, savings and other appropriate financial-service propositions.
Structure and negotiate commercial partnership agreements.
Coordinate internal product, technology, implementation and commercial teams to successfully execute strategic partnerships.
Ensure that partnership opportunities translate into measurable customer and revenue growth.

3. Lead Business Operations

Take overall responsibility for the effective day-to-day operation of the business.

Responsibilities will include:

Translate corporate strategy into clear operating plans, targets and execution priorities.
Establish scalable business processes, operating procedures and management systems.
Coordinate sales, customer success, implementation, support, product and other operational functions.
Ensure effective allocation of people and resources against the company's strategic priorities.
Identify operational bottlenecks and implement solutions that improve efficiency and customer experience.
Establish appropriate operational controls, governance and management reporting.
Monitor business performance and intervene rapidly where targets are not being achieved.
Build an organization capable of scaling across countries without compromising service quality.

4. Own Customer Success and Service Excellence

Ensure that  the company develops long-term, profitable relationships with its customers. The COO will:

Establish a customer-centric operating culture across the organization.
Oversee customer on boarding, implementation, support and account-management activities.
Ensure successful implementation of system solutions within agreed timelines and service standards.
Develop processes for monitoring customer satisfaction, product adoption, retention and expansion.
Reduce customer churn and identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Maintain executive relationships with key customers and personally intervene in strategically important customer matters.
Ensure customer feedback is systematically communicated to product and technology teams.

5. Lead and Develop a Multicultural Team

Provide strong leadership across a geographically and culturally diverse organization. The COO will:

Lead, motivate and develop teams operating across different countries, cultures and professional disciplines.
Create a high-performance culture based on accountability, collaboration, customer focus and measurable results.
Establish clear objectives and performance expectations for senior managers and their teams.
Develop leadership capability throughout the organization.
Recruit and retain high-quality commercial and operational talent.

Encourage effective communication and collaboration across regional and functional boundaries.
Build an inclusive working environment in which individuals from different backgrounds can perform at their best.
Address under performance decisively while recognizing and rewarding strong performance.

6. Drive Market Expansion

Identify and execute opportunities to expand system geographical and commercial footprint. The COO will:

Assess and prioritize potential new markets.
Develop appropriate market-entry and distribution strategies.
Build relationships with local partners, banks and major potential customers.
Develop repeatable commercial models that can be deployed across countries.
Ensure that expansion decisions reflect market opportunity, regulatory requirements, operational capability and expected financial returns.
Establish appropriate local structures and teams as the business expands.

7. Strengthen Commercial and Operational Performance Management

Build a data-driven management culture.
The COO will establish and monitor key performance indicators including:

Monthly and annual recurring revenue growth.
New customer acquisition.
Sales pipeline value and quality.
Sales conversion rates.
Average contract value.
Customer acquisition cost.
Customer retention and churn.
Customer lifetime value.
Revenue generated through banking and strategic partnerships.
Product and service implementation timelines.
Customer satisfaction.
Operational efficiency and service quality.
Employee productivity and performance.

• At least 10–15 years of progressive leadership experience, including significant responsibility for sales, business development and operations.
• Demonstrated experience growing revenue in a technology, SaaS, fintech, banking, payments, HR technology or related B2B environment.
• A strong personal track record of originating, negotiating and closing significant B2B or enterprise sales opportunities.
• Experience developing partnerships with banks, financial institutions or other major corporate partners.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across multiple countries or cultures.
  Strong understanding of recurring-revenue, SaaS or technology-enabled service business models.
• Experience building or scaling a business across developing or emerging markets would be highly advantageous.
• Experience managing customer implementation, service delivery or customer-success functions.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including familiarity with budgets, revenue forecasts, pricing, margins and profitability.
• A bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Technology, Economics, Engineering or a related field.
• An MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification would be advantageous but is not essential