Africa Growth VP at International Workplace Group

Job purpose 

IWG has an ambition to get to 10,000 locations over the medium-term by executing our growth strategy and leveraging multiple channels including (but not limited to):

• Company-owned locations.
• Managed partnerships (with building owners).
• Franchise partnerships (with building owners and franchise operators).
• M&A.

Key responsibilities

• Reporting to our SVP Growth for Asia, Middle East and Africa you will be responsible for setting and delivering the growth plan across Africa.
• This is a dynamic, high growth region so we need you to hire and lead a world class team and consistently drive performance.
• Leading and driving a team of Partnership Sales Directors and their teams across the region to;
• Generate awareness and visibility of the IWG partnership proposition in the market by developing B2B connections.
• Identify, contact, and pitch prospective partners through a range of Business Development activities including networking and cold calling.
• Sourcing partners capable of delivering rapid growth of our network through conversion of existing buildings or by quickly securing new buildings.
• Sell the range of partnership solutions to all prospects, converting interest into commercial negotiations and securing board approval for new partnership deals.
• Convert commercial discussions into signed contracts with the support of the IWG legal team.
• Spend a significant amount of time in the field supporting country teams to deliver the growth agenda.
• Ensure all team members deliver at least ten new deals every year.
• Plan and execute the promotion of our proposition to potential partners and the broader market through all routes to market such as trade shows.
• Use existing and develop a network with large real estate institutions to deliver portfolio deals.
• Conduct due diligence with prospective partners and work with legal to get development agreements finalised and signed.
• Sign deals with partners that allow us to grow the network quickly, in the right locations and profitably whilst giving partners a return on investment.

Required Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Senior B2B sales leadership experience in a fast-growing, dynamic multinational business, across Africa.
• Business development background in complex solution / service led sales.
• Previous experience in commercial real estate investment or franchise development is an advantage.
• Proven ability to remotely manage and motivate a business development team to develop, track, and close large deals, with a track record of regularly exceeding targets.
• Flexible and broadminded with a “can-do” attitude, possessing a disciplined approach to business development. 
• Self-starter used to self-generating interest and focusing relentlessly on delivering results.
• Demonstrable track record of sourcing & delivering, at pace, multiple deals of a meaningful scale ($1M investment).
• Self-sufficient, deal-focused, and can-do mindset, willing to take risks to succeed.
• Outstanding communications skills and the ability to present a compelling narrative to a wide variety of audiences, both large & small.
• Able to work under pressure and to think independently to create interest in a proposition.
• Strong business and financial acumen to give others confidence & to give credibility to the selling process.
• Proven capability to work across diverse cultural populations.
• Expertise in developing relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, including “C” level executives and decision makers.