Partnerships Lead, West Africa at 54 Collective

About the Role

We’re looking for a Partnerships Lead (West Africa) that will work closely with our Head, Global Partnerships, to: 

• Grow 54 Co’s network of strategic and commercial partners
• Manage relationships with 54 Co’s strategic partners to unlock operational and commercial opportunities for 54 Co’s portfolio businesses
• Design, develop and deliver 54 Co’s Partnerships strategy across Health, Financial Services, FMCG and Agriculture ecosystems
• Support 54 Co’s founders to design, develop and deliver their Partnerships strategies.

You will need to have the commercial and technical skills required to navigate the challenges startups face but also an appreciation of how large organisations think and work. You’ll also need to have outstanding people skills, hustle, resilience, and a healthy curiosity for technology and start-ups. You should have a strong network across our focus sectors, and the ability to grow and leverage that network to create value for our portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain 54 Co’s network to be leveraged for partnership opportunities with a focus on Health, Financial Services, FMCG and Agriculture ecosystems
• Support our founders develop, implement and validate their commercial strategy and understand how to build deep and successful relationships with partners
• Tracking and monitoring of business development opportunities across the portfolio
• Building a great relationship with our portfolio founders and helping them with strategic advice; achieving product + market fit; pricing and supporting them close and manage pilots and commercial contracts
• Utilising strong client and interpersonal skills to help us bring in the right strategic partners for our Venture Scaling and Venture Building businesses

Must-Have Skills/ Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience in  working with corporates and/or start ups across Africa, or adjacent industries like consultancy, brand and media companies
• A candidate with a proven track record in Strategic Partnership development
• Strong business development skills in a B2B and lead generation
• A person who thrives in working alongside sales and business development teams
• Immaculate organisational, project management, and time management skills
• Experience to work at the cross-section of technology and business. 
• Experience solving complex challenges across complex environments
• An understanding of both product and commercial decision making processes.
• Knowledge, enthusiasm and interest in technology, start-ups and digital.
• Experience managing client or senior executive relationships.
• Understand the challenges and approaches of taking emerging technology to first customers