Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, March 02, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Director of Innovation
About the Company
African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC) supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses to improve livelihoods and to create thriving communities.
Founded in 2012, AEC has worked with more than 35,000 entrepreneurs, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs, providing a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change. We are the largest lender to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.
AEC is now a 200-person organization with 13 offices across East Africa (Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia), and all of our diverse staff are connected to a shared set of values and beliefs. Most importantly: that all problems on the Continent already have solutions on the Continent. If you believe that, too, join us.

Company Values
We have a diverse staff, who all embody the company’s culture. In addition to the skills above, all candidates must demonstrate our core values:
• Purpose: be solutions-oriented and produce high-quality work and be a global leader.
• Achievement: Showing up over and over again to get the work done right.
• Improvement: Be humble and committed to continuous learning and growing. Improve through giving and receiving open and accurate feedback
• Bravery: willing to take risks and create a safe space for others. Be compassionate and inclusive.
• Turikumwe/Tuko Pamoja/Abren Nen/Waliin Jirra/We are Together: We appreciate our colleagues, celebrate success, and support each other in hard times.

About the Opportunity
Powered by the belief in entrepreneurship to drive positive social and economic change, AEC needs a team of talented, experienced, connected, and courageous professionals who are inspired to grow AEC.
AEC’s Director of Innovation is a critical position to help us maximize our impact with refreshed approaches as we grow in new markets and with new clients. This position is a new one at AEC, and one that is highly dynamic. This position is for someone eager to build a department and have a tremendous social impact. The Director of Innovation is a colleague who deeply understands the problems the organization is trying to solve and the problems our customers face. With a problem-solving orientation, the Director of Innovation is the creative spirit that collects solutions ideas from wide variety sources, using customer insights and human-centered design processes to generate and roll-out new solutions. Benchmarking against industry standards, gaps in the market, and client needs, the Director of Innovation is always seeking relevant and cost-effective ways to improve.

Responsibilities
With the framing above, the Director of Innovation helps AEC continuously improve in alignment with AEC’s Strategic Plan “Vision 2030”, which seeks to create thriving communities through entrepreneurship development, market-systems approaches, and advocacy for inclusive economic development policies.
This person will perform several specific activity types but more importantly, the Director of Innovation will play these five key roles:
1. Innovation Strategist - The innovation strategist takes care of the strategic elements of innovation. Specifically, this involves an analysis of the opportunities, risks, strengths and weaknesses of new ideas, as well as creating a vision of what we want to achieve with innovation.
• Develop, strategize, and plan new interventions that will drive innovation in alignment with our company objectives and growth intentions
• Create and oversee a comprehensive innovation strategy for the company - including yearly, medium-term, long-term, and future innovation goals
• Meet with clients/stakeholders at different levels to identify problem areas ripe for iteration
• Identify new market spaces and market disruptions, searching for new opportunities for the company.
• Research trends to spot ideas and innovative strategies that help AEC benchmark/exceed peers.
• Collaborate with company departments (MEL, Client Services, Tech, Loan Team, Finance, HR…) to identify pain points and time wasters needing new solutions
• Identify innovation trends and business opportunities within the markets in which we operate
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to enhance innovative thinking around the company.
• Present new ideas and approaches to high-level stakeholders, working with the fundraising department to ensure adequate resources to implement these innovations

2. Organizational Developer - The Director of Innovation puts in place company-wide innovation culture and systems. In this role, the DI does not create an innovation themself but sets the framework/conditions for innovations to flourish from all team members.
• Encourage and promote creative thinking across the organization by offering systems to facilitate new results
• Facilitate workshops and professional development to continually build and reinforce a growth mindset
• Work with the MEL team to create learnings, insight, and feedback loops that can create the next iteration
• Connect colleagues to relevant external partners by building strong ties with innovation networks and global thinking

3. Innovation Project Lead - The project management of innovation is a key task. The Director of Innovation coordinates a team of experts who manage all process steps to create new and meaningful approaches.
• Drive solution development in a pragmatic, cost-effective, user-centered, result-oriented way
• Build design processes to support agile development, testing phases and the deployment of projects
• Use Human centered design approaches to innovations to deliver value to company and clients
• Strategize with their team every day to develop effective solutions to work problems.
• Accompany an innovation from the beginning to the end and then hand it over to relevant stakeholders
• Ensure there are multidimensional perspectives incorporated into final designs as relevant
• Ensure products and processes are culturally relevant, inclusive and justice-minded
• Work with the MEL team to continually assess the effectiveness of new solutions and iterate as needed

4. Internal Innovation Champion - Change can be hard (for some people), so as the champion of iteration, the Director of Innovation will work with departments to ensure smooth transition and adoption of new ways of working, ensuring that nobody is left behind in old ways of thinking or doing.
• Take lead in the organization’s change management, working closely with relevant department directors/managers to roll out new processes and products
• Provide training to team members, providing clear guidance on how to adopt these updates
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures manuals as needed for consistency of implementation
• Integrate new elements with existing systems, ensuring coordination across departments
• Clearly communicate rationale behind the change, offering transparency and insight to smooth adoption of new processes and products.
• Train the company’s personnel on the skills needed to implement new innovations.
• Work with the MEL team to develop metrics to track improvements in alignment with the company theory of change, and evaluate rigorously against the original objectives

5. Management and Administration - As a leader in the organization, there are still elements of the role which also include working within the existing systems and processes of the company. This includes:
• Structure, hire, and ensure high-performance management of all department staff, providing coaching, discipline, or promotions as appropriate.
• Select and supervises any external third-party vendor contracts
• Develop the annual Innovation department budget, ensuring resources are allocated in a strategic manner
• Manage the department budget, and maintain ultimate accountability for financial performance of the Innovation strategy
• Fundraise with the CEO – relationship building, donor engagement, supporting proposals, reporting – to create resources needed for the success of the Innovation strategy
• Serve as an organizational director, proactively contributing to leadership activities across the company (director meetings, manager meetings, strategic planning, all-staff meetings, cultural activities, etc.)
• Submit all information, reports, and records as requested or required to appropriate partners, donors, Board.

Minimum Qualifications
AEC has found that the happiest and most effective colleagues are proactive, resourceful, self-motivated go-getters with a can-do attitude, who support their teammates with sincerity. They are strategic, but also willing to roll up their sleeves. They give and receive feedback freely. Successful candidates will demonstrate:
• 8+ years of work experience in relevant field with at least 5 years in Leadership position
• Masters degree in a relevant field preferred (e.g. strategy, design, etc.)
• High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position innovation discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels
• Expert in design thinking/HCD principles - enjoys researching, creating and implementing with the customer’s perspective
• Excellent interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills – approachable, warm, honest, transparent, and able to manage up with confidence and the ability to build relationships
• Strong business acumen with an adaptive thinking and a growth mindset
• Self-starter, able to work independently, and entrepreneurial
• Proven track record of leadership, remote team management and including significant roles in team development and growth
• Sincere commitment and skills to work inclusively with diverse groups, including staff and clients
• Highly proficient at project planning, budgeting, and oversight
• Forward-thinking and adaptable to dynamic situations
• Experience in East Africa will be an added advantage
• Ability to travel locally, regionally, and internationally with limited advanced notice.

What You'll Get
• Fun, collaborative work environment
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate, and committed team of professionals
• Challenging work and the opportunity to grow and develop your skills
• Ability to make a significant social impact and contribute to economic growth
• Competitive benefits package - health insurance, staff savings program, parental leave, sabbatical program, and more.

Compensation
Compensation includes salary and potential KPI-based bonus, healthcare, retirement benefits, flexible annual leave, possible travel in East Africa, professional development opportunities, and the chance to connect with colleagues across East Africa in a supportive and inclusive environment. In addition, this role is a tremendous opportunity to work in a high-growth, mission-driven organization.
Should you wish to apply for this position; please submit your cover letter stating why you would be the best for this role and your CV. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The expected starting month of this position is May 2022.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 96

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

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