Francophone Africa Expansion Lead

POSITION OBJECTIVE (overall purpose of position)

• Business Development and Region Representation
• Develop country-specific and regional expansion strategies, aligned with the organization's 5-year growth plan, designed to achieve overall organizational reach and impact goals.
• Implement the regional strategy by taking the lead on business development work including building new relationships across Francophone Africa, nurturing & maintaining these relationships and identifying new opportunities to grow our audiences in the region
• Design and implement market entry and scaling plans annually across different growth phases (testing, entry, growth, expansion).
• Track progress and adapt strategies based on market feedback and performance metrics
• In collaboration with the marketing teams, develop relevant marketing campaigns and activities for countries in the region aimed at increasing brand awareness, loyalty and uptake.

• Identify, approach, and negotiate partnerships with broadcasters, digital platforms, radio networks, government entities, NGOs, and community organizations to distribute our content.
• Maintain and nurture strong, long-term relationships with key stakeholders and distribution partners.
• Coordinate and lead work with said partners as needed, including Ubongo's in-classroom projects of their content
• Organize and oversee on the ground efforts for all Ubongo on ground activities including but not limited to in-school projects
• Represent the organization in relevant industry events, forums, and meetings (including education sector partners and government ) to build visibility and credibility.

• Collaborate with the marketing team to plan and execute regional marketing campaigns, activations, and brand promotion activities tailored to local contexts.
• Champion efforts to build brand awareness, trust, and loyalty among caregivers, children, educators, and other target audiences
• Identify local influencers, media outlets, and community channels to amplify brand presence.

• Work closely with content, education, research, and digital teams to align expansion activities with product development and impact goals.
• Coordinate with the monitoring and evaluation team to track and report reach, engagement, and audience impact.
• Support fundraising and reporting efforts by contributing regional insights and partner success stories.

• Liaise with Head of Operations, SA and Remote on operational matters
• Actively participate in annual budgeting cycles with a focus on Francophone markets
• Procurement and expenditure
• Expense reconciliation
• Financial reporting

• Significant travel in-country. Need to be flexible and prepared to be 'uncomfortable' as some of the areas to be reached are remote with minimal amenities

• Bachelor Degree holder

• At least 7 years' related experience in media and broadcasting sales, marketing and communications, business development.

• Technical knowledge – a fair understanding of the media and education ecosystem in the region (the Expansion Lead will be expected to be able to tell the team what the situation on the ground in their region is)
• Effective communication – Written and oral proficiency in English and major language(s) of the country. Good interpersonal and persuasive communication ability to be able to engage with internal and external stakeholders (role entails engaging with external stakeholders to sell the organization and content at various levels including the community level when doing eco-system interventions).
• Initiative – self-starter, get-up-and go, knock on doors and keep on going even if doors don't open right away.
• Work independently – engage with frameworks and procedures to be able to engage with stakeholders
• Proactive and solution oriented – very good at problem solving and decision making. There will be many circumstances that will require one to think on the spot to address issues and report back challenges faced and solutions applied (if any), to the center i.e. Ubongo afterwards
• Planning and organisation – there are a lot of 'moving parts' as the role entails working with a lot of internal and external stakeholders. Having and delivering on clear plans, coupled with clear communication, will prevent wrong assumptions and expectations
• Adaptability and flexibility – the role is constantly evolving
• Have a passion for children as all Ubongo does is about the children.
• Effective relationships and networking – the role requires the ability to build, nurture and leverage relationships is an added advantage.
• Budgeting and financial reporting
• IT knowledge – Computer literate with basic understanding of the Google Suite and any other cloud storage software.
• Remote working - a lot of interaction takes place over the internet (SLACK, ASANA, Google).

• Teamwork and collaboration – ability to work in a team environment
• Leadership – versatile leader capable of managing sideways and vertically as at the collaborative work culture at Ubongo entails dealing with almost everyone within the organization, from top to bottom.
• Cultural diversity and adaptability – ability to interact with people from different countries, cultural backgrounds and status e.g. Cabinet Minister to student
• Speak up - speaking up in a persuasive manner to build support is very important for a country representative and is one of the values of Ubongo.
• Conflict management – ability to resolve conflict pro-actively and build consensus around issues/projects to avoid/minimize conflict. As country representative have to work across the board to support different teams and strategies that may occasionally conflict
• Trustworthy
• Emotional intelligence – ability to control one's own reactions and respond to events and others in a calm and rational manner.