Overview

Greenlight Planet is a social, for-profit business that designs, distributes, and finances solar-powered home energy products, with an underserved population in mind: the 1.3 billion global consumers for whom the old-fashioned electrical grid is either unavailable or too expensive.  

Over a decade in business, the company is now a leading global brand in emerging markets across Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Greenlight’s Sun King™ products provide modern light and energy to 30 million people in more than 60 countries.

From the company’s wide range of trusted Sun King™ solar lamps and home energy systems, to its innovative distribution partnerships, to its EasyBuy™ pay-as-you-go consumer financing model, Greenlight Planet continuously strives to meet the evolving needs of the off-grid market.

Greenlight stays in touch with underserved consumers’ needs in part by operating its own direct-to-consumer sales network, including thousands of trusted sales agents in local communities.  But to reach most consumers, Greenlight partners with hundreds of of last-mile distribution companies, ranging from small retail wholesalers, to the world’s largest micro-finance institutions, mobile network operators, and energy companies.

Today, with over 900 full-time employees in 11 countries, we remain continuously impressed at how each new team member contributes unique and innovative solutions to the global off-grid challenge, from new product designs, to better training strategies, to more efficient logistical and after-sales service systems.  We listen closely to each other to improve our products, our service, and ultimately, the lives of underserved consumers. 

How Sun King EasyBuy Products Work:

Sun King Energy Officers (or the Field Agents) are tasked to visit their communities and household (Door-to-Door) to demonstrate and sell Sun King EasyBuy Solar Products, every day. Customers can purchase a Sun King EasyBuy Solar Home Systems and other products from the Energy Officers, by making a small down-payment and agreeing to pay the remainder of the amount in installments over a pre-agreed period of time. Energy Officers are also responsible to ensure that the Customers make the payment to Greenlight Planet, using the multiple available avenues that Greenlight Planet makes available to them. 

Customers make small, affordable periodic payments (at a standard daily rate established & pre-agreed for each product) to purchase light for a number of days. Their solar products will turn off automatically once the amount they have paid for, is exhausted until another re-charge is done. Once the product is fully paid off, it is unlocked and customers can enjoy unlimited access to the product without any further payments. Area Business Manager is accountable for establishing and growing the channel of Energy Officers and ensure that the units are sold, the money. 

Position: Area Business Manager

Job Location: Countrywide

Reporting to: Regional Business Manager

The Role:

The Area Business Manager will lead sales, collections and distribution operations in the area they are assigned for the direct distribution of Sun King Solar products sold on Pay-As-You-Go Basis (also called and recognized as “EasyBuy” Business unit) through a network of agents called as “Energy Officer”. EasyBuy technology and services allows customers to purchase units by paying for their Solar products in small instalments, thus ensuring they are extremely affordable for off-grid or rural customers. The Area Business Manager is ultimately accountable for generating sales, ensuring collections are timely and accurate and keeping the entire Direct Distribution growing rapidly in a sustainable manager. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Hire & retain Energy Officers: Hire, train and maintain a team of atleast 40 active Sun King Energy Officers in the area. Use multiple avenues for finding the right talent to sell Sun King EasyBuy products with the help of village influencers such as the village heads, teachers, religious heads, doctors, farmers and others, as applicable. Create a reputation and goodwill for the mission of Sun King to provide clean, affordable and reliable source of energy in their areas.
• Training of Energy Officers: Provide training to the Energy Officers on several aspects of the business such as sales, collections, product, technical, inventory and logistics related. Ensure that they are fully supported and lead in the best professional manner demonstrating highest levels of integrity, ethics and professionalism while dealing with customers.
• Provide role clarity to Energy Officers: Provide complete clarity to Energy Officers related to their day to day tasks, sales & collections plans, routes and targets. This includes, ensuring Energy Officers have a pre-agreed sales route/area to sell in, they understand how to demonstrate and sell Sun King products, they have the confidence to be able to present and resolve basic customer queries on the spot and they have access to Area Business Manager at all times in case of questions and concerns.
• Daily field visits: Have a weekly touch point with every Energy Officer in your area – either through in-person meetings, making a sale to the customer in your area or having a call. Resolve all possible issues faced by the Energy Officers and report them to your Regional Business Manager, every week. Ensure that first 5 sales of each Energy Officer is done along with the Area Business Manager in the area, by each Energy Officer to ensure that the core sales and collection process is fully understood by each Energy Officer.
• Work with Energy Officers: Conduct joint field work with a group of Energy Officers to provide sales and collection training on a weekly basis and drive EO engagement. This includes doing night activations which take place from 6.30PM to 9.00PM, market activations, visiting local communities and gatherings such as SACCOs, Self Help groups, retail centres and markets to make group sales.
• Exceed your sales & collections targets: Meet or exceed sales and collection targets established and agreed on 2^nd of every month by your Regional Business Manager. Provide daily, weekly updates on sales, EO recruitments, Customer issues and resolutions, as desired and agreed with your Regional Business Manager.
• Drive robust field sales processes: Review collection progress with your Energy Officers daily and provide adequate training to them on driving better collections in your areas. This includes, customer and area profiling, ensuring regular and timely collection follow-ups, resolving customer issues to ensure they make payments and ultimately repossessing the systems as a last recourse in case the customer defaults.
• Remain externally focused: Keep an eye on competition within your area and ensure you take adequate measures to protect and grow our business from competitive pressures. Pro-actively inform your leadership team and take measures to ensure Sun King remains a paramount brand name in Solar products for your area.
• Resolve customer issues: Provide world-class support to your customers as it relates to product delivery, training on how to use and make payments, installation, after sales warranty issues. Ensure that you work with your Energy Officers to establish clear expectations and processes to resolve all customer issues within 24 hours.  
• Control Marketing & Other Support spend: Provide adequate marketing support & equipment (such as smartphones) necessary to all your Energy Officers. Ensure we get maximum return on investment for all the costs we incur in areas of marketing, supply chain, store maintenance and smartphone issuance.

• Review meetings with Energy Officers: Conduct weekly table meetings with Energy Officers and ensure that you have RBM present in those meetings to resolve any outstanding customers or EO issues. Coordinate, plan and organize the meeting to have maximum attendance and progress. Recognize outstanding performers from time to time and ensure the motivation of Energy Officers is maintained at an all-time high.

• Grow Retail presence: Ensure the retail network in your Area grows with the help of an Area Retail Coordinator, hired under you. Ensure all retail related activities are followed per process and the base of high-selling retailer grows exponentially within your area of operation.

 Requirements/ Qualifications 

• Degree/Diploma in Social Sciences or related subjects
• At least 2 years of field sales experience
• Preferably having worked in Solar energy Industry, Micro Finance or Telecom
• Have great communication skills both in English and Kiswahili
• Should have experience in recruiting and managing a team of Sales Agents “Energy Officers”
• Passionate about working with rural consumers and resolving their issues.
• Should be process and result oriented individual, self-motivated and able to work independently.
• Driven by the social mission to provide energy to consumers and employment to rural communities. Should be a values driven individual.

We are looking for someone who is driven, passionate and excited about the opportunity to bring honest, affordable, energy to homes in Africa and Asia.  If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.

Greenlight Planet offers competitive compensation, a fun, supportive work environment, and opportunities for continued professional growth within a fast-growing global enterprise.

Greenlight Planet believes in equal opportunity for all people:  We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, HIV/AIDS status, or disability.