Growth Manager

Innovate Durban is a Non-profit Organisation aimed at supporting innovators and developing the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in KwaZulu-Natal.

We are a young company with a bunch of people who are passionate about innovation and highly motivated to implement programmes that support innovators in Durban. We are driven by a continuous need to deliver high quality work and work that adds immense value and impacts the lives of others. Furthermore, collaboration within our company and with others is a critical part of how we work. Our work is fast paced, forward looking and highly rewarding!

We are needing to grow our team to ensure that we continue to deliver high value projects that meet the need of innovators. So, if you are a motivated, innovative individual, that is open to collaboration and has good work ethic and integrity, then you may fit right in!

Purpose of the position:

The Purpose of the position is to drive revenue growth of the organization by identifying growth opportunities and implementing strategies to capitalize on them through attraction, engagement and retention of partners and funders, whilst growing the brand of the organization.

Outcomes of the position – what does the Growth Manager need to accomplish?

The Growth Manager will

1.    Make effective initial connections using planned, organized and measured growth strategies to attract new partners and funders aligned to our vision and mission

2.    Build trust, develop and retain long-term relationships with the partners and funders through consistent and rich engagement

3.    Growth in revenue by actively converting leads and opportunities into new business, funding and partnerships with agreed revenue targets

4.    Meet partner’s requirements in line with organizational objectives

5.    Successful promotion resulting in the growth of the Innovate Durban brand through effective marketing and brand strategies

Key Competencies

Successful Characteristics:

·      Strong work ethic and high level of integrity

·      Discipline, Organisation and Planning: Plans, organises, schedules and follows up in an efficient and productive manner. Focuses on key priorities and stays on track.

·      Innovative: looking at projects with a new perspective

·      Perseverance: never giving up and striving to overcome every obstacle on your journey

·      Tactful and diplomatic

·      Honest and ethical: Builds trust and confidence

·      Is excited by being a contributing member of a high performance team

·      Proactivity: Acts without being told what to do. Brings new ideas to the Business.

·      Collaborative: able to work well together within a team and with stakeholders

·      Attention to detail

·      Results oriented

Experience & Skills:

·      Relevant tertiary qualification in business development, marketing or similar

·      Communication: Must speak and write articulately. Maintains this standard in all forms of communication including emails. Timing of communication is critical.

·      Good management skills: ability to set the tone of projects and provide clear vision about its objectives

·      Good decision-making skills: capable of thinking quickly and acting decisively

·      Task delegation: ability to judge your teams skills and assign tasks in accordance to strengths

·      Problem solving: mastery of handling issues in the most effective way

·      Must speak English fluently.

·      Strong interpersonal skills

·      Negotiation skills

·      Must have a minimum of 3 years developing and implementing strategies for growth and brand positioning

·      Must have a minimum of 3 years experience in B2B partnerships and be able to demonstrate that you are able to open doors with new prospective partners

·      Must be able to engage with senior executives both virtually and in person.

·      Must have a minimum of 3 years experience in project management to set goals, plan and manage projects, manage the risks

·      Must have at least 3 years professional proposal writing experience

·      Must have at least 3 years experience in writing reports

·      Must have business intelligence experience: knowing and understanding all about the organisation’s services and products

·      Minimum of 3 years brand, marketing and sales skills and experience

·      Financial management: budgeting, forecasting, income and expenditure tracking, reporting – a minimum of 2 years experience

·      Team management: min of 3 years experience in managing project teams with successful results

Additional requirements:

·      Drivers license and own car

·      Advantageous: Experience working with digital project/sales/funder management tool

·      Experience using online project management tools

·      MS Office proficiency

·      Advanced writing skills