Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) - SPARK Schools network
SPARK Schools, South Africa
Job Description
Watch our Vision Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOU0TYnNsZo
Take a tour of our Website: https://sparkschools.co.za/
SPARK Schools is a social impact disruptor and is leading change in the education space through its network of affordable private schools. The SPARK Schools network provides transformational education innovation through Africa’s first blended learning model, which elevates student achievement and provides the tools teachers need to serve their students effectively.
The blended learning model, which combines classroom teaching and online instruction, allows teachers to anticipate student needs and equips schools to provide personalized education at an affordable cost. SPARK Schools is pioneering this transformative education model to ensure the accessibility of university and careers for all.
SPARK Schools is a high growth, mission and values-driven entrepreneurial organisation, operating 20 primary schools, 4 high schools and serving over 15,000 families in 2023. We are looking for dynamic people to join our team.
Purpose of Role:
The purpose of the CCO role is to lead all revenue generation activities including marketing, communications, sales and customer service by setting the strategy that delivers on SPARK’s customer acquisition and growth objectives in the short and long term. This takes the form of ensuring that all SPARK schools are fully enrolled and have a strong reputation in the market. This ensures that SPARK adequately serves its surrounding communities.
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Responsibilities:
- Definition of growth strategy across SPARK’s suite of products and services
- Go to market strategies for new products and services
- Definition of annual sales and marketing objectives to achieve organisational goals
- Definition of sales and marketing processes to support organisational growth
- Driving sales and marketing campaigns to achieve revenue targets
- Taking complete ownership of all strategic initiatives and execution at the Awareness, Exploration, Consideration/Evaluation, Sales and Aftersales steps of the customer journey
- Ensuring the correct selection, implementation and use of all tools and systems in these stages of the customer journey, e.g. SPARK Schools website, customer relationship management system, direct mail systems, telephone systems
- Designing an especially robust after-sales process to deliver strong customer loyalty and retention
- Driving the creation and maintenance of team performance dashboards, including all key team and individual KPIs
- Ensuring timely recognition and reward for top achievers in the teams and implementing performance management actions if/when required
- Building a high performing team by providing strong mentorship, coaching and guidance
- Leading and scaling the Sales and Marketing teams in line with the organisation’s growth, and customer experience objectives
- Operational planning and resource allocation to ensure that enrolment targets are exceeded
- Monitoring market trends, including competitor analyses, industry analyses and market analyses
- Applying research insights and learnings to the Sales and Marketing strategy and tactics
- Identifying and exploiting new sales and marketing opportunities
- Annual budgeting and budget tracking for the sales and marketing business units
- Monthly, quarterly and annual reporting to key stakeholders
- Building strong and collaborative relationships with other internal stakeholders
Requirements
Qualifications and Experience Criteria:
The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and criteria:
- A bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in Business Administration, Marketing, Advertising, Commerce or related field -
- Post Graduate/Master's Degree advantageous.
Competencies:
- 10+ years of experience building, scaling and leading high-performance sales and marketing teams - 5 of which must be at a senior or executive level
- Track record of demonstrable success in overseeing both the sales and marketing functions in a single organisation
- Previous Pamp;L responsibility
- Experience overseeing market research non-negotiable
Skills and Mindset:
- Strategic-thinker
- Strong closing skills
- Team player who thrives at helping team members succeed
- Excellent communication skills
- Exceptional analytical skills - ability to analyse real-time data and adjust marketing and sales efforts in response to that data
- Ability to keep