Global Partnerships Manager

Do you have experience in landing clients & partners across a range of industries? Are you a self-starting initiative taker who loves to break new ground? Do you get excited about the prospect of helping drive improvements and outcomes for ALX and its learners through helping to land significant new partner deals? Are you intrigued by the possibility of helping see more young Africans trained and in employment? If so, then this might just be the role for you!

ABOUT ALX AFRICA

ALX Africa, a non-profit organisation under the ALX Foundation, is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Africa's digital future. Formerly part of Sand Tech Holdings, we've embarked on an independent journey to provide world-class tech skills training and career acceleration programmes. Our mission is to bridge the digital divide, upskill and reskill talent, and create a generation of innovative leaders. By 2030, we aim to empower 2 million Africans to secure sustainable tech careers.

With hubs in 8 cities across Africa and counting, we provide safe access to quality learning and a dedicated network of expert instructors. Our innovative programmes equip learners with the practical skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today's rapidly evolving tech industry. Through a combination of rigorous coursework, industry partnerships, and hands-on projects, we prepare our students for in-demand roles in software engineering, data science, and cybersecurity.

We achieve this by:

• Providing young professionals with access to the most in-demand tech skills that will power the future.
• Empowering the next generation of technology innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders through challenging, real-world coursework.
• Building a lifelong, impactful community of tech professionals that support them at all stages of their career journey. 

 Visit our website www.alxafrica.com to learn more about our digital revolution.

ABOUT THE ROLE

ALX Global Partnerships is responsible for forming partnerships across Africa (and wider) that will help drive more learners into our programmes and improve our ecosystem. Such partners could include:

• Volume partners who have access to pools of talented young Africans who they could send to join our programmes 
• Brand partners with whom we would like to be associated (think brands young people resonate with). These partners would boost the attractiveness and credibility of ALX which would help drive greater enrollment and/or lower our acquisition costs.
• Ecosystem partners that improve our overall ALX offering. For example, banks offering discounted products or access to credit, tech providers giving access to discounted devices, partners with physical space where we don’t have hubs, etc. 

As a Partnerships Manager with a growth mandate, you will play a key role in driving ALX’s growth by establishing and managing strategic partnerships across Africa and globally. This role will focus on large-scale, cross-border partnerships rather than country-specific deals.

The successful candidate would be responsible for strategic lead generation, setting up meetings with prospects, helping to refine our “go to market proposition,” contracting, execution of new partnerships (with other ALX stakeholders where necessary), working with the Cities to expand local partnerships to become more global ones, and assisting the rewards team to optimise their mix of partners. This person would be based in Africa, would work remotely but would need to travel from time to time to conclude negotiations with prospects.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Market Analysis & Strategy:
  • Continuously analyse market trends to identify new potential partners across the continent, focusing on potential partnerships that align with business strategic priorities
  • Sync regularly with Head of Partnerships & other Functional Heads to align on evolving business needs and priorities
  • Stay abreast of developments in relevant industries, such as education technology, financial services, co-working spaces, rewards, retail, travel, and others, to assess their potential impact on the business
  • Use market insights to guide business development strategies and advise on competitive positioning, bringing forward potential partnership opportunities to the Head of Partnerships when they align with organisational objectives or present unique opportunities for organisational growth
• Lead Generation & Prospecting:
  • Collaborate with various internal stakeholders to identify priority partnership targets that align with strategic goals
  • Source and research Pan-African partners across sectors aligned with business priorities
  • Work closely with Entrepreneurship & Cities teams to generate high-potential Pan-African leads informed by local and sector-specific insights
  • Coordinate with Marketing to develop a compelling “Go To Market” partnerships proposition that is mutually attractive to both sets of parties across the range of potential partner categories
  • Build and manage a pipeline of strategic partners
• Partnership Development:
  • Initiate contact with decision-makers in target companies and organisations
  • Lead exploratory discussions to assess partnership opportunities, ensuring alignment with ALX’s business objectives
• Contract Negotiation & Execution:
  • Negotiate and secure agreements on commercial and operational terms, ensuring alignment with ALX’s strategic and financial goals. This includes establishing performance metrics tied to commercial terms, in collaboration with the Head of Partnerships.
  • Finalise favourable partnership contracts with support from the legal team, covering key commercial and operational terms that align with ALX objectives
  • Ensure all deals are executed efficiently, leveraging off operational & delivery resources in the business to drive projects to completion
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Collaborate with City GMs & City Partnerships Managers in individual countries to ensure that large-scale partnerships integrate well with local initiatives and strategies, where appropriate
  • Regularly sync with local partnership managers to unearth local partners that could be nurtured into wider pan-African or global partners
  • Engage with finance and legal teams to ensure financial terms and compliance are properly managed
• Post-Sales Partnership Management:
  • Act as the main point of contact for key partners after the contract is signed
  • Manage the ongoing relationship, ensuring partner satisfaction and driving value for both parties, and, where possible, continuing to expand the partnership scope over time
  • Develop and execute plans to scale successful partnerships and explore additional opportunities for collaboration
• KPIs & Reporting:
  • Set clear performance metrics for partnership growth and ensure regular reporting on progress, aligned to team OKRs
  • Track the success of each partnership, including volume-driven, brand visibility, revenue impact, and other key metrics, using our CRM
  • Provide reports and updates to the leadership team on sales activities, key wins, and any potential risks or issues

SKILL REQUIREMENTS - ESSENTIAL

• Consultative selling: Ability to understand client needs and identify how these intersect with ALX’s strategic priorities, working collaboratively to discover opportunities that deliver mutual business value.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in sales or partnership development, preferably in the education or technology sectors
• Experience with negotiating MSAs, MoUs and other contracts
• Demonstrated success in meeting or surpassing sales goals and objectives
• Confident & articulate, but also humble and willing to learn
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with partners/clients
• Strong analytical approach to sales
• Ability to travel to meet partners and attend industry events
• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field

SKILL REQUIREMENTS - PREFERABLE

• A passion for education & technology would be an asset

PERSON SPECIFICATION/ATTRIBUTES

• Courage: Willingness to speak up, challenge the status quo, and embrace new challenges.
• Humility: Openness to learning, seeking help when needed, and a focus on serving others.
• Adventure: A passion for setting ambitious goals, tackling difficult tasks, and finding joy in the journey.
• Initiative: Proactive problem-solving, a sense of ownership, and a willingness to go above and beyond.
• Resilience: The ability to bounce back from setbacks, persevere through challenges, and emerge stronger.