Business Strategist

Responsibilities:

Business Model & Commercial Design:

• Design and stress-test business models for new revenue lines — owned event IP, venue and asset management, technical production services, content and media rights, sponsorship representation, ticketing and data products.
• Build the unit economics for each initiative: cost structure, margin architecture, break-even volumes, contribution analysis and cash cycle.
• Develop pricing and packaging strategy across service lines and markets, including sponsorship tiering, rate cards, retainer versus project structures, and revenue-share models.
• Design commercial structures for partnerships, joint ventures, licensing and local representation arrangements — risk allocation, revenue splits, performance triggers, exit terms.

Strategic Initiative Execution:

• Own delivery of assigned strategic initiatives end-to-end: define scope, build the plan, secure internal resourcing, drive milestones, unblock obstacles and report progress.
• Serve as commercial lead on new market launches, working with the Research & Strategy Manager's market intelligence to convert entry plans into operating businesses.
• Build the commercial case for investment decisions capex requests, new hires, venue commitments, event acquisitions — with clear ROI logic and risk framing.
• Run post-initiative reviews: what the numbers actually delivered versus the case made, and what that means for the next one.

Deal Support & Revenue Enablement:

• Partner with Business Development on high-value pursuits: shape the commercial proposition, build the pricing, model the deal, and pressure-test the bid before it goes out.
• Structure and negotiate commercial terms on strategic deals alongside Commercial and Legal; prepare negotiation positions, walk-away points and concession ladders.
• Build the commercial architecture behind major client and sponsor relationships — multi-year frameworks, portfolio deals, first-right arrangements.
• Develop proposal and pitch frameworks that raise the commercial quality of the company's outbound work across the board.

Performance, Planning & Insight:

• Build and maintain financial models for strategic initiatives, including scenario and sensitivity analysis under FX, cost inflation and demand variability.
• Define the commercial KPIs for each initiative and track them; surface underperformance early with a recommended course of action, not just a variance.
• Contribute to annual planning and budgeting: revenue targets by line and market, resource requirements, investment sequencing.
• Produce executive and Board-facing material on initiative performance and commercial recommendations.

Cross-functional Leadership:

• Act as connective tissue between strategy, commercial and operations — ensuring what is sold can be delivered, and what is delivered is priced correctly.
• Bring operational and finance colleagues into commercial design early, so models reflect real delivery cost rather than assumption.
• Coach and review the work of analysts or junior team members as the function grows.

Requirements:

• 5–7 years in strategy, corporate development, commercial management, management consulting, investment banking, transaction advisory or business development with a strategic remit.
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Marketing or a related field.
• MBA, ACA/ACCA, CFA or a relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Demonstrable experience taking a commercial initiative from concept to revenue — the candidate should be able to name the initiative, the model they designed, and what it earned.
• Strong financial modelling capability; able to build a business model from scratch in Excel and defend every assumption in it.
• Exposure to events, experiential marketing, media, entertainment, hospitality, FMCG, telecoms or another sponsorship-adjacent sector is a strong advantage.
• Multi-market or cross-border African commercial experience is an advantage.