Our client is seeking a commercially astute, strategic and execution-oriented Head of Business Development, Marketing & Partnerships to lead its commercial growth agenda and strengthen its market position within Kenya's financial services and digital credit sector.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the Executive Committee, the role holder will be responsible for developing and executing integrated business development, sales, marketing and partnership strategies that drive sustainable revenue growth, loan book expansion, customer acquisition, profitability and market penetration.

The role will provide strategic and operational leadership across multiple product lines, distribution channels and customer acquisition platforms, including the branch network, field sales, digital channels and strategic partnerships.

A key priority will be to accelerate the commercialisation and market penetration of new and existing products, including digital lending solutions and revamped loan products, while ensuring that growth is supported by sound portfolio quality, effective customer acquisition, responsible lending practices and strong commercial discipline.

The successful candidate will lead a large, geographically distributed commercial team, build strong functional leadership capability, and establish a performance-driven culture anchored in data, accountability, customer focus and measurable business outcomes.

This is a high-impact executive role in a fast-paced, target-driven environment that requires a leader who can translate strategy into tangible results, make informed decisions quickly, and drive execution across multiple business functions.

3. Key Roles & Responsibilities

A. Commercial Strategy, Business Development and Growth

• Develop and execute the organisation's commercial strategy, translating enterprise objectives into integrated business development, sales, marketing and market expansion plans.
• Drive sustainable loan book growth, revenue growth, customer acquisition and profitability across product lines, channels and geographical markets.
• Identify and evaluate new markets, customer segments, business opportunities and distribution channels to expand the organisation's market reach.
• Develop strategies to strengthen customer acquisition, increase repeat business and improve customer lifetime value.
• Translate enterprise KPIs into clear departmental, functional and individual performance targets, ensuring alignment across the commercial organisation.
• Monitor commercial performance, identify emerging opportunities and performance gaps, and implement timely corrective measures.
• Provide strategic commercial insights and recommendations to the CEO and EXCO to support business planning and decision-making.

B. Sales and Business Development Leadership

• Lead the sales and business development function, ensuring effective execution of commercial plans across branches, regional teams, field sales, team leaders and other customer acquisition channels.
• Establish clear sales targets, performance standards, productivity expectations and accountability mechanisms across the commercial network.
• Drive customer acquisition, lead conversion, disbursement performance, portfolio growth and repeat business in line with approved business targets.
• Strengthen sales execution through effective pipeline management, customer segmentation, territory planning and performance monitoring.
• Identify opportunities to improve sales productivity, channel effectiveness and conversion rates.
• Work closely with Credit, Risk, Collections and Operations to improve the customer acquisition and disbursement journey while maintaining portfolio quality and responsible lending standards.
• Review commercial capacity, staffing requirements and sales coverage to ensure the organisation is appropriately positioned to deliver its growth objectives.

C. Marketing, Brand Positioning and Customer Acquisition

• Develop and implement an integrated marketing strategy that supports business growth, customer acquisition, product uptake and brand positioning.
• Lead the development and execution of marketing campaigns across digital, traditional, field activation, referral and other relevant channels.
• Oversee brand positioning, marketing communications, public relations and customer engagement initiatives.
• Drive qualified lead generation and improve the conversion of marketing leads into active customers.
• Monitor marketing effectiveness, campaign performance, customer acquisition costs and return on marketing investment.
• Use market intelligence, customer insights and competitor analysis to refine marketing strategies and improve campaign effectiveness.
• Ensure consistent brand identity, messaging and customer communication across all channels.
• Lead the development of marketing strategies that support new product launches, market expansion and customer retention.

D. Product Commercialisation and Market Expansion

• Lead the commercial development and market introduction of new products, product enhancements and digital lending solutions.
• Conduct market assessments, customer research and competitor analysis to identify opportunities for product innovation and commercial growth.
• Collaborate with Credit, Risk, IT, Operations, Finance and other relevant functions to ensure products are commercially viable, operationally deliverable and aligned with the organisation's risk appetite.
• Develop and execute product commercialisation strategies, including customer segmentation, pricing input, positioning, distribution and promotional plans.
• Monitor product performance against approved business cases and commercial targets, identifying opportunities to improve uptake, profitability and customer experience.
• Recommend corrective actions for underperforming products and support decisions on product enhancements, repositioning or market expansion.
• Support the development of new distribution channels and digital customer acquisition models.

E. Strategic Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

• Identify, develop and manage strategic partnerships that support customer acquisition, market access, product distribution, revenue growth and business expansion.
• Build and maintain relationships with relevant financial institutions, distribution partners, corporates, industry stakeholders and other strategic partners.
• Identify partnership opportunities that strengthen the organisation's competitive positioning and expand its commercial reach.
• Lead partnership negotiations and collaborate with relevant internal stakeholders to establish commercially viable and mutually beneficial arrangements.

• Define partnership objectives, performance measures and value realisation mechanisms.

• Monitor the commercial contribution of partnerships and recommend actions to maximise their business value.
• Represent the organisation at relevant industry forums, business engagements and stakeholder meetings.

F. Customer Experience, Retention and Commercial Effectiveness

• Work closely with the Customer Experience and Retention function to strengthen customer acquisition, engagement, retention and repeat business.
• Ensure commercial strategies are informed by customer insights, service performance, customer feedback and changing customer needs.
• Collaborate with Customer Experience, Operations and other relevant functions to identify and address bottlenecks across the customer journey.
• Support initiatives to improve customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, retention and Net Promoter Score.
• Promote customer-centric sales and marketing practices that support responsible lending, transparency and long-term customer relationships.
• Use customer retention and lifetime value insights to improve acquisition strategies and commercial returns.

G. Commercial Performance, Analytics and Business Intelligence

• Establish and maintain a robust commercial performance management framework aligned with enterprise KPIs.
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting on loan book growth, revenue, profitability, customer acquisition, disbursements, portfolio quality, marketing effectiveness and sales productivity.
• Work closely with the Data and IT teams to strengthen commercial dashboards, reporting systems and data-driven decision-making.
• Use business intelligence, market trends, customer behaviour and competitor insights to identify growth opportunities and commercial risks.
• Conduct regular performance reviews across products, branches, regions, channels and functional teams.

• Provide actionable insights and performance recommendations to the CEO and EXCO.

• Ensure commercial decisions are supported by reliable data, clear accountability and measurable business outcomes.

H. Financial Performance, Portfolio Quality and Risk Management

• Drive commercial growth while maintaining alignment with the organisation's risk appetite, credit policies and responsible lending requirements.
• Work closely with Credit, Risk, Collections and Recoveries to monitor portfolio quality and improve collection efficiency and recovery performance.
• Monitor portfolio-at-risk indicators and ensure commercial growth strategies account for the quality and sustainability of the loan book.
• Collaborate with Finance to improve commercial profitability, net interest margin and cost efficiency.
• Monitor customer acquisition costs relative to customer lifetime value and drive efficient allocation of commercial and marketing resources.
• Ensure that sales incentives, acquisition strategies and commercial practices support sustainable business performance rather than short-term volume growth alone.
• Promote compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, internal policies, consumer protection standards and data protection obligations.

I. People Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness

• Provide strategic leadership to the commercial function, building a high-performing team with clear accountability and a strong results orientation.
• Lead, coach and develop functional managers, regional leaders and other commercial team members.
• Establish clear performance expectations, KPIs, performance review mechanisms and development priorities across the function.
• Strengthen leadership capability, succession planning, talent development and workforce productivity.
• Foster collaboration, accountability, innovation, customer focus and continuous improvement.
• Review organisational effectiveness, reporting lines, spans of control and resource allocation in collaboration with Human Resources and relevant stakeholders.
• Promote a performance-driven culture that balances commercial ambition with sound judgement, ethical conduct and responsible business practices.

Performance Management Expectations

The role holder will be expected to:

• Translate enterprise KPIs into functional, departmental and individual performance targets.

• Establish clear accountability across direct reports and the wider commercial team.

• Monitor performance through regular dashboards and structured business reviews.

• Identify performance gaps and implement timely corrective actions.

• Ensure that commercial growth, profitability, portfolio quality and customer experience are managed as interconnected business outcomes.

5. Qualifications & Experience

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Business Management, Marketing, Finance, Economics or a related field.
• A relevant postgraduate qualification in Business Administration, Marketing, Strategy or Management will be an added advantage.
• Professional qualifications in marketing, sales, business management or related disciplines will be an advantage.

Professional Experience

• Significant progressive experience in business development, sales, commercial management, marketing or a related leadership function.
• Demonstrated experience in a senior leadership role with accountability for commercial performance, business growth and revenue generation.
• Experience in microfinance, digital credit, financial services, lending or a closely related sector is strongly preferred.
• Proven experience leading large, geographically distributed sales or commercial teams, preferably with a workforce of over 100 employees.
• Demonstrated success in driving customer acquisition, loan book growth, revenue growth, profitability and market expansion.
• Experience managing multiple products, distribution channels and customer acquisition platforms.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic partnerships, product commercialisation, marketing strategy and brand positioning.
• Experience working with enterprise KPIs, performance dashboards, commercial analytics and data-driven decision-making.
• Experience collaborating with Credit, Risk, Collections, Operations, Finance and other business functions in a regulated or performance-driven environment.

Candidates with direct experience in microfinance or digital credit, particularly those who have led large sales networks and managed growth alongside portfolio quality, will be particularly relevant to the role.

9. Key Internal & External Relationships

Internal Stakeholders

• Chief Executive Officer and Executive Committee.

• Credit and Risk Management.

• Collections and Recoveries.

• Operations.

• Customer Experience and Retention.

• Finance.

• Human Resources.

• IT and Data.

• Regional and Branch Management.

• Product and other relevant functional teams.

External Stakeholders

• Strategic and distribution partners.

• Customers and customer segments.

• Industry stakeholders and relevant institutions.

• Marketing, media and other commercial service providers.

11. Role Success profile

The ideal candidate is a commercially driven executive who combines strategic thinking with strong operational execution.

They should have the ability to lead a large and complex commercial function, deliver measurable growth, develop high-performing teams, build strategic partnerships and use data to drive decisions.

The individual must be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, demanding and performance-oriented environment, with the resilience, agility and leadership maturity to navigate competing priorities while maintaining focus on sustainable business outcomes.

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate a track record of delivering commercial results, building strong teams and translating business strategy into measurable performance.