General Manager - Kenya

About the company

SunCulture, established in 2012, is focused on enabling people to shape their surroundings in practical, sustainable, and rewarding ways. The company designs and commercializes technology that addresses major everyday challenges faced by smallholder farming households, serving a market of around 570 million farmers globally. It is the largest distributor of solar water pumps and solar irrigation solutions for smallholder farmers in Africa. SunCulture was also recognized by Fast Company in 2021 as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, and the organization has expanded significantly over the past five years to more than 400 employees worldwide.

Role overview

The General Manager will lead SunCulture’s Kenya operations and ensure local execution aligns with the organization’s mission, long-term vision, and strategic priorities. This role calls for strong judgment, accountability, problem-solving ability, risk awareness, and a mindset that drives innovation and measurable outcomes. A major part of the position is to support revenue growth, strengthen customer focus, improve profitability, and deliver consistent operational performance.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with the Executive Committee to execute company strategy and support growth in Kenya in line with broader business goals.
• Provide overall leadership for the Kenya operation, including full accountability for profit and loss.
• Lead, guide, and develop the Kenya OpCo team while maintaining motivation and high performance.
• Oversee the PAYGrow credit portfolio and ensure it remains healthy against company KPIs.
• Improve processes continuously to raise efficiency and lower operating costs.
• Strengthen operational excellence across the equipment lifecycle by managing stock levels, improving dispatch flow, speeding up pending installations, and putting strong repossession processes in place to limit churn-related losses and recover inventory effectively.
• Manage operating expenses by tightening cost control, building reporting discipline, and ensuring spending stays within approved budgets without sacrificing performance.
• Secure funding for the operating company through debt, equity, and revenue-based financing to support scale, working capital, and long-term expansion.
• Serve as the coordination point between head office and field teams to keep communication clear and execution aligned.
• Set ambitious objectives, KPIs, and OKRs across financial, customer, process, and people areas, and regularly review the performance of direct reports.
• Build an entrepreneurial culture that encourages creativity, innovation, and ownership.
• Own business reporting and forecasting, including updates on market conditions, partnerships, distribution activity, and overall commercial progress.
• Lead local marketing efforts for new product launches.
• Take on additional duties as required.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in leadership or management roles.
• A bachelor’s degree in Business Management or a related discipline.
• An MBA is considered an added advantage.
• Prior work experience in Kenya or East Africa is required.
• A track record of improving workflows and removing inefficiencies.
• Direct experience with profit and loss ownership.
• Background in managing an off-grid pay-as-you-go or credit portfolio.
• Strong experience in sales, route-to-market planning, and distribution in direct-to-consumer or business-to-consumer settings.
• Experience leading a sizable field sales organization, including agents and regional sales teams.
• Exposure to consumer durable goods, last-mile delivery, and bottom-of-the-pyramid markets.
• Ability to prepare and present professional strategies, reports, forecasts, and operational plans.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to prioritize effectively and keep teams focused on high-priority goals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for stakeholder engagement and presentations.
• A strong ownership mindset suited to a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
• Entrepreneurial energy and a genuine interest in using sales for social impact.
• Comfort working with data and analysis to guide decisions.

Additional information

Reporting line: Chief Operating Officer. Location: Nairobi, Kenya. Role type: Full-time. SunCulture is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without discrimination based on age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.