Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Ignitia is recruiting a Chief Operating Officer to work from our offices in Accra, Ghana.

Are you a mid-career professional looking to expand your horizons into emerging markets? We are now looking for a COO who wants to help Ignitia grasp its enormous potential.

As the COO, your main responsibility will be managing our existing marketing and sales team in Ghana. We are a young and multicultural team. You will oversee a portfolio of assigned customers and projects, develop new business from existing clients and actively seek new sales opportunities. You will also be responsible for organising and implementing current project work plans, and ensuring that on the ground operations run smoothly.

This role will play an important part in leading our operational success, growth, and expansion into new markets. We are looking for a highly organised individual capable of overseeing various teams and projects in West Africa. You will be a natural communicator who is approachable, interested in the work of others and able to motivate your team to hit targets and maintain a consistent high standard. You will be responsible for managing, running, and coordinating sales in Africa for an incredibly exciting company with enormous potential impact.

Requirements

Job Duties:

• Accountable for directing, managing, and overseeing programs, projects and staff based in Ghana
• Work closely with the CEO and lead sales team in Accra and West Africa
• Create and implement projects throughout entire lifecycle: managing timelines, work plans and staffing, ensuring the timely and successful delivery of our solutions according to customer needs and objectives
• Develop new business with existing clients and/or identify areas of improvement
• Collaborate with sales team to identify and grow opportunities within territory
• Assist with challenging client requests or issue escalations as needed
• Has hire and fire abilities for staff

Experience:

• Proven experience in a managerial position, with responsibility over varying members of staff. 7 years of leadership experience preferred
• Strong background in Sales and Business Development. BA/BS degree in Business Administration, Sales or relevant field, MBA/Masters desired. Demonstrable experience (7+ years) in this sector may be considered in lieu of formal qualifications
• Previous experience in international development is highly desirable, preferably in Africa
• Proven ability to lead multiple projects at a time, while maintaining sharp attention to detail, and an approachable manner to team members
• Excellent listening and interpersonal skills: the ability to lead whilst retaining a team atmosphere

Personal skills:

• Well-organized, with strong administrative skills and outstanding attention to detail
• Ability to work effectively in an entrepreneurial environment, with the capacity to remain flexible and adapt to change
• Self-directed, intrinsically motivated; proven capacity to manage work independently, multitask and be responsive to time-sensitive deadlines
• Ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality. Cultural sensitivity and demonstrated ability to work diplomatically with diverse constituencies
• Fluent in English, with French language ability desired
• Intellectual agility, curiosity, and creativity; problem-solving is your default mode

Benefits

About Ignitia

Ignitia is a high-technology company and social enterprise that has recently developed the world’s first highly accurate tropical weather forecast model. We serve small-scale farmers in West Africa by sending a daily forecast provided in partnership with major telecommunication firms and agricultural B2B organisations.

We started in 2010 as a new research team in physics & meteorology, gathered from different renowned universities and research institutions such as NASA. We set out to tackle the difficult problem of accurately predicting weather in the tropics. It wasn’t easy.

After years of painstaking efforts in developing the algorithms and model, we finally had something we wanted to test in the field. Our first trial in 2013 offered 3,400 small-scale farmers in Ghana seasonal, monthly and daily weather forecasts. A mere eight farmers opted out of the service during the season and our accuracy rate was measured at 82%, as compared to the current standard of 39%.

We made it – a reliable tropical weather forecast was born!

For the first time, rural small-scale farmers in West Africa are the first clients of a major technology innovation. We like that … and we’re just getting started!

What we offer you

To lead a dynamic team in an exciting environment. Due to our lean operations and rapid growth you will get access to greater learnings, freedom, and responsibilities than most companies could offer. Each person plays a significant role in the company and is treated accordingly with a great amount of respect and appreciation.

Some additional perks are also part of the deal - like delicious meals cooked by our own wonderful chef every day for lunch, or the warm sunsets that can be enjoyed from our office balcony….not to mention the beautiful beaches of Ghana where we usually head on weekends!

Employment

Start as soon as possible - full time contract

Benefits
salary + housing allowance + part of option pool for shares