Company Overview

Women’s Initiative for Delivering Clean Energy (WidEnergy) to Africa, founded in 2016, provides off-grid solar energy solutions to households and small businesses across Zambia. Through Solar Home Systems (SHS) and solar-powered freezers enabled by Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) technology, the company is expanding nationwide access to affordable, clean energy while building a commercially sustainable distribution platform.

Role Overview

The General Manager will lead the nationwide rollout of SHS PAYGO operations and oversee all day-to-day operational activities. The role involves building and managing a high-performing sales, service, and collections organization capable of delivering thousands of SHS sales per month. It requires a hands-on leader comfortable working in dynamic, field-driven environments and traveling regularly across Zambia.

Key Responsibilities;

Operational Leadership

• Lead nationwide SHS rollout and execution
• Establish and manage regional sales and service structures
• Ensure operational readiness of hubs and field teams
• Implement KPIs, reporting systems, and operational controls

Sales & Distribution

• Recruit, train, and manage regional coordinators and sales agents
• Drive achievement of monthly sales and activation targets
• Monitor agent productivity and regional performance
• Build a strong, performance-driven sales culture

Portfolio & Customer Performance

• Ensure effective customer onboarding
• Monitor repayment performance and early portfolio health
• Coordinate with finance and customer service teams to minimize defaults

Operations & Inventory

• Maintain accountability for inventory allocation and movement
• Enforce operational discipline across all locations
• Coordinate logistics and service delivery processes

Team Leadership & Culture

• Set clear performance expectations
• Enforce accountability and professionalism
• Develop leadership capacity within the organization

Candidate Profile;

Required Experience

• 5–8 years of operational leadership experience
• Experience managing field sales, distribution, or agent-based networks in PAYGO solar, telecommunications, FMCG, microfinance, or similar sectors
• Proven ability to manage decentralized teams
• Strong track record of delivering commercial targets

Preferred Experience

• Off-grid solar or PAYGO business models
• Building agent or distributor networks
• Working in rural or last-mile markets
• Managing rural micro-credit operations

Personal Attributes

• Highly execution-oriented and hands-on
• Strong leadership, accountability, and integrity
• comfortable in fast-changing environments
• Pofessional and results-driven

Reporting & Contract

• Reports directly to the Board of Directors
• Full day-to-day operational authority (no corporate signatory responsibility)
• Fixed-term, performance-based contract with competitive salary
• Clear pathway to potential future appointment as Managing Director

Diversity Commitment

In line with the company’s gender inclusion commitments, applications are open to female candidates only.

• Lead nationwide SHS rollout and execution
• Establish and manage regional sales and service structures
• Ensure operational readiness of hubs and field teams
• Implement KPIs, reporting systems, and operational controls
• Recruit, train, and manage regional coordinators and sales agents
• Drive achievement of monthly sales and activation targets
• Monitor agent productivity and regional performance
• Build a strong, performance-driven sales culture
• Ensure effective customer onboarding
• Monitor repayment performance and early portfolio health
• Coordinate with finance and customer service teams to minimize defaults
• Maintain accountability for inventory allocation and movement
• Enforce operational discipline across all locations
• Coordinate logistics and service delivery processes
• Set clear performance expectations
• Enforce accountability and professionalism
• Develop leadership capacity within the organization

• Operational leadership
• Sales management
• Distribution management
• Agent network management
• Performance monitoring
• Team leadership
• Inventory management
• Customer onboarding
• Portfolio management
• Logistics coordination
• Service delivery processes
• Accountability
• Professionalism

• 5–8 years of operational leadership experience
• Experience managing field sales, distribution, or agent-based networks in PAYGO solar, telecommunications, FMCG, microfinance, or similar sectors
• Proven ability to manage decentralized teams
• Strong track record of delivering commercial targets
• Off-grid solar or PAYGO business models experience (preferred)
• Experience building agent or distributor networks (preferred)
• Experience working in rural or last-mile markets (preferred)
• Experience managing rural micro-credit operations (preferred)
• Highly execution-oriented and hands-on
• Strong leadership, accountability, and integrity
• Comfortable in fast-changing environments
• Professional and results-driven