KickStart New Innovations Senior Project Manager Job Vacancy

KickStart is an award-winning, nonprofit, social enterprise with a unique solution for fighting poverty in Africa. They design and mass-market simple, money-making tools that poor entrepreneurs buy and use to create highly profitable businesses.

Location: Kenya - Nairobi

The Job Opportunity

The successful candidate will provide leadership for, and manage, a number of exciting new Product Management and Process Improvement projects at KickStart.

They will report to the COO, and work with, and manage, a number of small, but dynamic, teams to bring these new projects to fruition.

Specifically, the job responsibilities will include, but not necessarily be limited to:

• Ensuring the successful market test and launch of two exciting new irrigation pumps that will improve and expand KickStart’s product line. In particular:

1. The mass market launch of KickStart’s new MoneyMaker-Max irrigation pump
2. A market test of KickStart’s new Deep Lift Pump.

• Managing the development and piloting of a new line of KickStart Service Products, that will greatly increase the impacts of KickStart’s irrigation pumps. In particular:

1. An expanded pilot of KickStart’s Unique Cell Phone Based Layaway Payment System that enables farmers to save money to pay for pumps.
2. Developing and piloting KickStart’s new MoneyMaker Farmer’s Club – a cell phone based social networking product that will enable farmers to better utilize and promote KickStart’s irrigation pumps.

• Developing and piloting a new system that can track and measure the social impacts of KickStart’s B2B Export pump sales.
• Designing, implementing and managing key process improvement initiatives. Specifically new initiatives to:

1. Reduce the time from inception to market for KickStart’s new products without compromising quality and performance
2. Increase the cost effectiveness of KickStart’s procurement and inventory management processes.
3. Establish, and put in place systems to track, new Key Performance Indicators for KickStart’s Product Development/ Management, Procurement and Inventory Management processes.

Qualifications:

Necessary Skills and Experience:

• Strong background and experience in Project Management at a Senior Level
• Excellent experience and proven skills in Team Management with a high level of responsibility
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills – a complete team player
• Exceptional planning, organizational, and leadership capabilities
• Strong analytical skills including Microsoft Excel financial modeling skills
• Results/Performance Orientation – proven “self-starter”
• Ability to work in a dynamic and unstructured environment
• Undergraduate degree required. MBA desirable
• Fluency in English.

Desirable Skills and Experience – a successful candidate will have some or all of:

• Experience in Product Management of hardware and/or software products.
• Experience in supply-chain management including vendor and inventory management, procurement and logistics
• Experience and knowledge of computer science, mechanical and/or manufacturing engineering, marketing/sales, social networking
• Experience working and living in, or visiting developing countries - preferably in Africa
• Fluency in French and/or Kiswahili desirable

How to apply

If you believe you have what it takes to handle this opportunity, kindly email your one page Application Letter, together with your CV (maximum of 3 pages), with the position in the subject line of your email to HR@kickstart.org by January 31, 2011.