Area Sales Manager

About Us

Husk Power Systems (“Husk”) is an award-winning clean energy company serving rural India and Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, it was named “World’s Best Challenger Brand” in the energy industry and is a 3-time Global Cleantech 100 company. The company’s AI-powered rural energy platform provides 24/7 renewable power to rural households, commercial customers, institutions, and small factories. It also delivers a range of other products and services, including e-commerce and credit financing of branded appliances for home and commercial use, as well as community-based solutions for e-mobility and the agricultural value chain. Husk’s mission is to superchange economic growth and social well-being in rural communities that are unserved and underserved.

Benefits

Husk offers flexible working conditions with employee benefits that are in line with global best practices. These include clear career growth planning, transparent performance review and reward processes that are gender neutral, maternity, and paternity leave, gender-inclusive workplace conditions with special attention given to the safety and security of our women employees, 18-day annual paid leave, and family health insurance. Husk does not believe in micromanagement and encourages its employees to have a healthy work-life balance, giving them the freedom to manage their workload to be compatible with their lives.

Position objective:

Husk is recruiting for an Area Sales Manager to help expand its Mini Grids business footprint within Nigeria and across other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. We seek a highly motivated and talented salesperson for our rapidly developing Nigerian market focusing on territorial sales across Husk sites and potential sites and who will be committed to executing at a high level in a fast-paced environment.

The Area Sales Manager will be accountable for the MiniGrids Sales Team's financial performance in partnership with the Country Director and is required to drive continuous revenue growth. This position provides the opportunity to join a growing team that is changing the face of rural electrification in Nigeria and Asia.

The individual should also be passionate about contributing to solving one of Nigeria’s most critical challenges - the energy access deficit. This is a Head of Sales role with a reporting line to the Country Director.

Key Responsibilities Include:

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.
• Establish the strategic vision and direction for the Hybrid Minigrids (HMG) Sales.
• Drive “Best Practices” across the business. Once a “Best Practice” has been identified, ensure that the practice is visible nationally and to another subsidiary.
• Managing sales operations with a focus on achieving predefined sales targets. Forecasting and planning monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales targets and executing them in a given time frame.
• Work closely with Heads of other Business Units to understand sales/business performance trends and position partnership engagements adequately.
• Negotiate solutions, resolve conflicts, and provide solutions in the best interest of Husk, and our customers/clients and employees.
• 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.
• Support the optimization of various Husk Nigeria activities to ensure best practices are entrenched towards more efficient processes.
• Business Growth and Support
• Identify new markets and business opportunities for sales and revenue growth.
• Formulating sales strategy and ensuring sales goals are achieved.
• Develop and implement robust sales management processes. Stringently monitor revenue pipeline to ensure revenue targets and achievements.
• Provide regular reporting on sales management, sales pipeline development, forecasting, key account status, market condition updates, sales results, and budget performance.
• Market research across the Hybrid Minigrid (HMG) business, including but not limited to marketing, business development, review, and budgeting, across Husk sites and Potential Sites.
• Development of accurate segmentation and targeting of the market including identification of customer and market opportunities, market entry/expansion strategy, and establishing a balance of long-term pipeline and short-term revenue.
• Create community market intelligence packs to drive customer sizing and customer pricing decisions. Establish scalable promotional tools and processes.
• Support business growth and continuous cost & and quality improvements in the business.

Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate, maintain regular communication, and develop positive and productive relationships with various stakeholders, regulatory stakeholders, customer groups, etc.
• Collaboration and convergence with the Operations/Service, Engineering, IT, and Software and the finance department to ensure the successful implementation of business plans.
• Build and maintain a high-performing sales team whilst promoting individual/team performance and a collaborative attitude across the board.

Thought Leadership

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

Requirements:

• 7+ years of relevant sales experience, with 2 - 4 years in a similar role within the energy sector.
• Graduate from a leading institution with a related degree in Sales, Business Management, and marketing. Postgraduate degree in business and/or related professional qualifications, a plus.
• A clearly defined strategic thought process and a continuous improvement mindset with excellent problem-solving skills.
• This position requires an in-depth understanding of business development, sales, critical thinking, and the ability to provide time-bound solutions to the benefit of the company and projects.
• Hands-on experience in sales and Marketing within rural areas (B2C & B2B)
• Great relationship management skills and an understanding of data analysis and forecasting methods.
• Excellent skills with MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Slack, etc.)
• In-depth knowledge of the power sector in Nigeria, a plus.

Location and Travel

This role is based in Nassarawa State, Nigeria with regular travel to Husk Mini grid and other operational locations.

Salary

Based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications, salary can be negotiated if required

Women candidates are encouraged to apply.

DISCLAIMER:

This description indicates the general nature and level of the qualifications and duties required of employees in this job classification, as well as the essential functions a person must be able to perform to do this job. It is not designed to be a comprehensive inventory of all duties and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Husk Power Systems and its subsidiaries are equal-opportunity employers and make employment decisions on the basis of merit and business needs. We hire without consideration of race, colour, religion, citizenship, political activity or affiliation, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex or gender, or any other basis protected by law.