Chief Operating Officer (COO) / General Manager

Responsibilities:

Company-Wide Leadership and Management:

• Oversee the day-to-day running of the entire company and ensure all departments function effectively.
• Serve as the primary executive authority for staff, departmental heads and team leads.
• Establish clear reporting lines, responsibilities, performance expectations and accountability across the organisation.
• Conduct regular management meetings and ensure departments collaborate rather than operate in silos.
• Translate the CEO's strategic direction into annual business plans, departmental targets and execution roadmaps.
• Identify operational weaknesses, resolve bottlenecks and implement processes that improve productivity.
• Provide the CEO with concise, accurate and regular reports on business performance, challenges, risks and opportunities.

Commercial Growth and Revenue Generation:

• Own the company's commercial performance, revenue growth and profitability objectives.
• Develop and execute sales and business development strategies across Univasa's products and services.
• Lead the development of new revenue channels, distribution partnerships, corporate accounts and strategic commercial opportunities.
• Drive sales of travel eSIMs, physical SIM products, connectivity services and other existing or approved business lines.
• Develop commercial opportunities across airlines, airports, travel agencies, hospitality, enterprise customers, telecom operators and other relevant partners.
• Establish sales targets, sales pipelines, conversion metrics, account management processes and revenue forecasts.
• Oversee pricing, promotions, channel performance, customer acquisition and retention strategies in collaboration with relevant teams.
• Ensure commercial agreements translate into actual revenue, collections and sustainable margins.
• Identify new markets and business opportunities and prepare business cases for management approval.

Business Operations and Service Delivery:

• Ensure reliable delivery of Univasa's products and services to customers and business partners.
• Oversee customer support, fulfilment, partner coordination, service quality and issue resolution.
• Ensure that operational processes are documented, measurable and scalable.
• Monitor customer complaints, service interruptions, refunds, fulfilment delays and other operational issues.
• Work with the technology and product teams to ensure systems and platforms support commercial objectives and operational efficiency.
• Coordinate vendor relationships, service providers and third-party partners within approved commercial and procurement policies.
• Implement standard operating procedures and service-level expectations across departments.

Staff Management and Human Resources:

• Provide overall management and supervision of the company's workforce.
• Ensure every employee has clear responsibilities, measurable targets and an accountable reporting manager.
• Lead recruitment planning, onboarding, staff development, performance reviews and workforce planning.
• Set departmental KPIs and conduct regular performance assessments.
• Address underperformance and recommend appropriate corrective actions in line with company policy and applicable employment law.
• Build a performance-driven culture that rewards execution, ownership, collaboration and results.
• Identify staffing gaps and recommend organisational changes to improve efficiency.
• Ensure staff attendance, discipline, internal communication and workplace policies are properly managed.

Financial and Business Performance Management

• Work with the Finance function to prepare budgets, operating forecasts and departmental expenditure plans.
• Monitor revenue, gross margins, operating expenses, cash flow, receivables and overall business performance.
• Ensure effective cost control and efficient use of company resources.
• Review the profitability of products, channels, partnerships and business units.
• Monitor collections and ensure commercial teams follow up on outstanding payments.
• Ensure spending remains within approved budgets and escalate material variances to the CEO.
• Produce monthly management reports showing actual performance against budget and targets.
• Recommend corrective actions whenever the business falls short of its financial objectives.

Business Development and Partnerships:

• Build and manage the commercial pipeline across corporate, institutional and distribution partners.
• Coordinate the execution of approved partnerships and commercial agreements.
• Ensure that partnership opportunities have clear owners, timelines, deliverables and revenue objectives.
• Track partnership performance and recommend changes where commercial results are below expectations.
• Support the CEO on major negotiations, high-value accounts and strategic partnerships when required.
• Represent the company at business meetings and industry engagements within the authority delegated by the CEO.

Strategy Execution and Business Expansion:

• Convert the CEO's strategic priorities into actionable plans with clear deadlines and responsible owners.
• Coordinate the launch and commercialisation of new products and services.
• Evaluate new business opportunities, prepare implementation plans and oversee approved launches.
• Establish scalable operating models for new markets, business units and distribution channels.
• Track execution of strategic initiatives and promptly escalate significant delays or obstacles.
• Ensure the company is organised to support growth without unnecessary increases in overhead.

Compliance, Risk and Corporate Governance:

• Ensure departments comply with applicable laws, licences, contractual obligations, company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate with the relevant compliance, legal and regulatory advisers.
• Maintain appropriate internal controls, approval processes, operational records and risk registers.
• Escalate material legal, regulatory, financial, reputational and operational risks to the CEO.
• Ensure staff do not make unauthorised commitments on behalf of the company.

Authority and Decision-Making:

• The COO / General Manager will have delegated executive authority to manage day-to-day business activities, supervise staff, implement approved plans, allocate resources within approved budgets and make operational decisions within company policy.
• Direct the work of all departments and employees.
• Set and monitor departmental targets in line with approved company objectives.
• Approve routine operational activities and expenditure within delegated limits.
• Coordinate recruitment and staff performance management within the approved organisational structure.
• Negotiate and manage routine commercial arrangements within approved pricing, contractual and financial parameters.
• Require departmental reports, performance updates and corrective action plans.

Reporting Structure:

• The COO / General Manager will be the primary reporting point for the company's staff.
• All departments and employees will report through the COO / General Manager, either directly or through their designated departmental managers.
• The CEO will ordinarily receive consolidated reports and escalations from the COO / General Manager rather than managing individual employees or departments directly.
• Direct communication between the CEO and other employees may occur where necessary for strategic discussions, sensitive matters, specialist input or urgent business requirements. Such communication will not change the established management structure unless the CEO directs otherwise.
• The COO / General Manager will report directly to the CEO and will be accountable for overall execution and business performance.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, management, finance, economics, engineering or a related discipline.
• An MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• At least 8–12 years of relevant professional experience, including substantial leadership responsibility.
• At least 5 years in senior management, general management, commercial leadership or business operations, with experience managing teams across multiple functions.
• Demonstrable experience owning revenue targets, business performance and operational execution.
• Experience managing sales teams, commercial partnerships, budgets and departmental performance.
• A track record of building systems, improving processes and holding teams accountable for results.
• Experience in telecommunications, technology, digital services, fintech, travel, e-commerce or another fast-moving, commercially driven industry is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with regulated businesses, enterprise customers, distributors and third-party service providers is an advantage.

Required Competencies and Personal Attributes:

• Commercially minded, with a strong focus on revenue, profitability and execution.
• A decisive leader who can command respect across different teams and levels of seniority.
• Highly organised, analytical and comfortable managing multiple business functions.
• Results-oriented, proactive and capable of working with limited supervision.
• Skilled in negotiation, problem-solving, conflict resolution and performance management.
• Financially literate and capable of understanding management accounts, budgets and unit economics.
• An effective communicator who can report concisely to the CEO and hold staff accountable.
• Comfortable working in a growing business where processes may need to be built or improved.
• Ethical, discreet and trustworthy, with sound commercial judgement.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Revenue growth and achievement of commercial targets.
• Gross margin and operating profitability.
• New corporate accounts, distribution channels and productive partnerships.
• Sales pipeline conversion and customer acquisition.
• Customer retention, satisfaction and service delivery.
• Budget adherence, cost efficiency and cash collection performance.
  
• Achievement of departmental targets and individual staff KPIs.
• Execution of approved product launches and strategic initiatives.
• Reduction of operational bottlenecks and recurring service issues.
• Quality and timeliness of management reporting.
• Compliance with company policies and applicable regulatory obligations.
• Specific numerical targets will be agreed with the CEO following an assessment of the company's current baseline, resources and business plan.

The following matters will remain subject to the CEO's approval unless expressly delegated in writing:

• Corporate strategy and material changes to the business model.
• Annual budgets and expenditure outside approved limits.
• Material borrowing, investments, capital commitments or asset disposals.
• Appointment or dismissal of senior executives.
• Material contracts, long-term commitments and transactions outside delegated authority.
• Equity transactions, acquisitions, major restructurings and entry into significant new markets.
• Regulatory or legal commitments carrying material exposure.
• Other reserved matters determined by the CEO or the company's board.

First 90-Day Expectations:

First 30 days: Assess and understand

• Review the business, team structure, revenue streams, commercial pipeline, costs and operational processes.
• Meet staff, review departmental responsibilities and identify immediate performance gaps.
• Present a concise assessment of the company's current operating position and priority issues.

Days 31–60: Establish control and priorities:

• Introduce a management reporting rhythm and departmental KPI framework.
• Establish clear ownership of sales targets, operational deliverables and staff performance.
• Present a prioritised commercial growth plan and operational improvement roadmap.

Days 61–90: Execute and demonstrate results:

• Begin executing agreed revenue growth and operational improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrate improved management visibility, accountability and coordination across departments.
• Present the CEO with a 90-day performance report, next-quarter priorities and measurable targets.

What Success Looks Like:

• The successful candidate will enable the CEO to focus primarily on corporate strategy, major partnerships, expansion and high-level decision-making, with confidence that the company's day-to-day operations, commercial activities and staff are being managed effectively.
• The COO / General Manager must ultimately take ownership of execution and ensure that the company operates as one coordinated organisation, with clear accountability and measurable results.

Location: Nigeria, with responsibility for the company's wider business and expansion activities