Founded in 2015 and based in Nairobi, Kenya, Poa Internet has seen rapid growth, recently joining the Financial Times’ list of Africa’s fastest growing companies. In 2022, they completed a Series C financing round with investors including Africa50, Novastar Ventures, DFC and BIO. Ultimately, Poa’s goal is to facilitate high quality, affordable internet services into every home in Africa. To move closer to achieving this, Poa are searching for an International Expansion Director to join the company on a permanent basis, driving new market selection and entry at what is a critical point in the company’s trajectory.
- Take end-to-end ownership of the strategic and operational aspects of Poa's international expansion.
- Rapidly Develop a deep understanding of Poa's operating model, business model, service delivery and USPs to determine product future market fit (Including how the model could be adapted to new ,markets).
- Work directly with selected consultancy partner to build the market study, ensuring deadlines met.
- Review the playbooks for countries shortlisted for the market entry, soliciting, summarising, and validating feedback from local subject matter experts.
- Synthesise the understanding of Poa, consultant reports and a view "on-the-ground" practices /opportunities to make recomendations on countries for entry and sequencing of entry.
- Co-create market entry playbook with selected consultancy for each selected country.
- Forge relationships with prospective local partners, acquire licenses and sign strategic partnerships with existing / new partners in the shortlisted countries for all business-critical activities.
- Drive operational deployment in selected countries including hiring of in-country leadership teams.
- Balance top-down systematic multi-stakeholder approach to expansion with an up-to-date and broad bottom-up view of time sensitive opportunities ( E.g inorganic growth opportunities etc.)
- Significant senior experience in a tech-enabled business, rolling out existing operations into new markets.
- Experience operating with(in) a country rollout team, with a demonstratable understanding of the critical success factors for expansion/market entry, preferably having had a budgetary responsibility for rollouts.
- A history of significant and consistent contribution of rapid large-scale growth of a multi-country business.
- A track record of translating/synthesising broad brush business intent into specific and effective local rollout plans.
- Experience designing and deploying a mixed insource/outsource partner model to optimise multi-country operational effectiveness/efficiency.
- A deep and broad network across the Pan-African telecoms ecosystem.
- A sincere passion for the positive impact Poa is having on the communities it serves.
- A track record of building effective collaborative relationships across multiple business functions (customer experience, operations, procurement , legal etc.)
- Gravitas and credibility when interacting with senior stakeholders , effectively representing Poa.
- The demonstrated ability to effectively switch between vastly varying levels of details, manage large scale, multi-party projects and creatively identify specific market opportunities.
Since 2007 Millar Cameron has specialised in sourcing leadership and keyperson talent across a number of industries, including agribusiness, international development, industrial, consumer, financial and professional services, private equity, and technology, media and telecommunications. Our mission and purpose is to positively contribute to the development of Africa, and other emerging markets, through the provision of people.