Chief Executive Officer - Hyde Park at Signa Advisors (PTY) Ltd

MAIN JOB PURPOSE

The Chief Executive Officer of Signa Advisors (CEO) role is responsible for providing leadership and direction to the organization to achieve its strategic objectives and deliver exceptional advisory services to clients seeking to transform and comply with BBBEE regulations. This role’s primary responsibility is to identify and create new business opportunities, build, and maintain client relationships, and contribute to the firms and revenue and market expansion. The CEO oversees all aspects of the Advisory service and operations infrastructure and resources ensuring that the company maintains and grows its position in the market as the specialist, professional B-BBEE team of advisors delivering impact through transformative solutions for its clients.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic leadership:

• Develop, present to the board for approval, and execute a clear and effective strategic plan aligned with the firm’s mission and goals.
• Provide vision and direction for the organization to ensure sustainable growth and success.
• Monitor industry trends and regulatory changes related to B-BBEE.
• Conduct market research to identify industry trends, client needs, and competitor offerings.
• Analyze market data and client feedback to make informed recommendations for service enhancements and adjustments to the board and lead the change management as necessary.
• Keep abreast of market needs and opportunities and innovate, design, and diversify products.
• Ensure all business development activities comply with B-BBEE legislation and ethical standards.
• Facilitate collaboration between the Advisory team, legal experts, and other professionals internally and externally to deliver comprehensive BBBEE solutions to clients.
• Position the company as a thought leader by ensuring advisors stay informed about changes in BBBEE regulations, industry trends, and consulting best practices through training and professional development.

New business development, client relationship and retention management:

• Identify potential clients and industries where BBBEE advisory and other strategic services are relevant.
•  Research and analyze market trends and competition to identify opportunities for business growth.
• Attending networking events, industry conferences, and trade shows to generate leads and promote the company’s services.
• Foster partnerships and alliances to enhance the firm’s reputation and reach.
• Lead marketing and business development efforts
• Build and nurture strong relationships with existing clients to understand their needs and monitor ensure client satisfaction and retention, as well as Advisor appropriateness and service levels.
• Institute regular communication with clients to provide updates on BBBEE compliance and consulting services, using appropriate methods including but not limited to meetings, strategic and identified forum participation, information session such as updates workshops/webinars on regulations/practice notes, newsletters etc.
• Ensure customer engagement results in excellent retention/renewal rate and improvements in the customer lifetime value.

Sales and revenue generation and growth:

• Set and achieve sales targets and revenue goals as defined and approved by the company board of directors.
• Develop and implement strategic sales and marketing plans to acquire new clients and expand the company's client base.
• Create and /or support the development of compelling proposals and presentations tailored to the specific needs of potential clients.
• Negotiate and / or support the customization of contracts, pricing, and terms with clients to maximize revenue and profitability.
• Prepare and manage sales forecasts, budgets, and reports to track progress and performance.

BBBEE advisory expertise development and leadership:

• Stay up to date with the latest developments in BBBEE legislation, regulations, and best practices.
• Actively identify, source, and recruit new quality advisors into the business.
• Be knowledgeable about the firm's BBBEE consulting services and effectively communicate their value proposition to clients.
• Support the advisory team as needed technically and relationally to maximize client outcomes and ensure optimal service delivery.
• Lead and collaborate with the company's advisory team to ensure accurate and relevant information is provided to clients.
• Identify/enlist, build, and maintain a highly professional advisory standard by ensuring best knowledge-best practice and brand trust through training and continuous professional development of self and team.
• Maintain and appropriately leverage market experts, including but not limited to Regulators/DTi, SANAS, Verification Agencies representatives and various sector/industry experts to ensure alignment on interpretation, opinion on developments and influence/collaborate accordingly.

Governance and financial management

• Develop and manage the company's budget and financial strategies.
• Monitor financial performance, revenue generation, and cost control.
• Make informed financial decisions to optimize profitability.
• Ensure systematic collections and improvement in debtors’ days outstanding.
• Identify and mitigate potential risks to the firm's operations and reputation.
• Develop and implement risk management strategies/mitigation.
• Report to the board of directors on the company's performance and strategic initiatives.
• Maintain open and transparent communication with all stakeholders.
• Ensure the company and advisory team are compliant and adhere to relevant S.A. legislations, regulatory framework, acceptable practice, and work in line with company’s values, ethos and professional and ethical conduct.
• Ensure protection of IP, and that accurate records are maintained of client interactions, proposals,contracts, and sales activities and related billing through compliance record management/according to law and internal information and document management systems.

Operational management and administration.

• Ensure progressively developing efficient and effective back office/central office capability.
• Set up the systems/technology enablement to support advisors’ requirements for evaluating and assessing (gaps) the current BBBEE status of client businesses, and conduct client BBBEE Strategic Planning, and verification facilitation.
• Ensure ongoing review of associate practices and lessons learnt are captured in process/documentation/ information improvements in all phases.
• Design and manage continuous improvement in efficiency of processes, relevance of documentation/tools and standard templates and reporting procedures.
• Oversee the standardization of strategy and operational model and related processes for quality, productivity, and efficiency management.
• Manage technical quality consistency and improvement of advice given to clients and support appropriately.
• Liaise with government authorities, industry bodies, and BBBEE verification agencies on behalf clients,
•  Manage the associate and strategic networks and client relationships and intervene as necessary and support/ intervene as necessary,
• Appropriately assign/allocate expert skill and monitor client projects ensuring internal collaboration for adherence to service SLAs, governance requirements and regulatory/compliance imperatives while ensuring appropriate solutions for client’s transformation and related objectives
• Facilitate collaboration between associates and broader Signa teams to effectively introduce collaborative solutions for identified clients.
• Manage client and Signa- Associate/Advisor relationships to ensure ongoing mutual benefit.
• Plan, and ensure scheduling of training and mentor Associates in collaborate with Executives/Directors
• Manage the collation and centralization of all clients related services and documents generated by advisors in line with the Group central filing protocols (RDMS)

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., business, law, finance).
• Relevant certificates/diploma in BBBEE or combination of labour law/HR and Procurement/supply chain management would be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience as a CEO/equivalent strategic role.
• Combination of private small business and corporate sales/advisory experience a plus
• 5+ years of experience in management/ preferably Sales
• At least 8 years in Transformation/BBBEE
• Employment Equity planning or ownership structuring experience will be an advantage.
• Finance/Law experience is an added advantage.
• Track record in building lasting business relationships and success in networking.
• Experience at working both independently and in a team-orientated, collaborative environment.