Sbu Head: Continental Strategic Business Unit

**Synopsis**

To provide strategic leadership for the newly established Continental Strategic Business Unit (SBU), ensuring the successful execution of IDC’s Continental Strategy across Africa. The Head: Continental will champion the development and implementation of high-impact industrial initiatives in priority sectors such as Critical Minerals, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Chemicals, and Infrastructure, driving sustainable growth, regional value chain integration, and cross-border investment.

This role is responsible for building an impactful and financially sound continental portfolio for the IDC by driving investments across the rest of the African continent. Success will require close collaboration with internal sectoral resources to leverage and develop the SBU’s skills base, as well as fostering strong partnerships with both internal and external stakeholders.

The Head: Continental SBU is accountable for building and leading a high-performing team, embedding a culture of innovation, collaboration, and operational excellence. The role ensures all activities are aligned with IDC’s development mandate, financial sustainability objectives, and organisational values, while proactively managing risks and navigating the complexities of diverse African markets.

Ultimately, the Head: Continental SBU will spearhead the origination and development of investment opportunities, identify and evaluate viable business cases utilising IDC’s due diligence processes, and ensure the SBU achieves long-term sustainability through strategic objectives and priorities: Development Impact Effectiveness, Financial Sustainability, Customer Centricity, and People.

**Financial / Shareholder Returns**

- Monitor and optimise the profit and loss of the SBU
- Maximise shareholder value in terms of industry development and development impact.
- Development and management of the budget.
- Ensure financial soundness of all decisions and in particular financial credibility and astuteness in transactions led by the team so as to drive IDC’s financial sustainability
- Ensure developmental optimisation of decisions led by the team

**Internal / Operational Processes**

- Define and implement strategic objectives and business plans of the unit.
- Develop and manage proactive business development and deal origination approach for priority sectors (Critical Minerals, Chemicals, Agriculture, Infrastructure).
- Conduct detailed market assessment: identifying, researching, filtering and prioritizing of new market opportunities to improve deal sourcing.
- Provide strategic leadership and guidance to staff and stakeholders in policy, strategic and operational matters.
- Lead change management initiatives to embed the Continental SBU within IDC, ensuring buy-in from internal and external stakeholders
- Foster strong collaboration with sectoral SBUs and support departments to ensure seamless execution of continental and domestic strategies.
- Proactively drive key business initiatives and sourcing of clients and deals.
- Contribute to industry policy decision-making.
- Develop and implement required information and reporting systems to track and manage the progress of strategy implementation.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate strategic and operational risks associated with continental investments and partnerships.
- Ensure that processes to manage the portfolio of the unit are in place.
- Provide well-written and motivated reports for financing.
- Present reports to the relevant Credit and other committees as required.
- Manage budget and allocate resources in line with strategic priorities.
- Provide management reports to the Chief Operations Officer and other stakeholders as required.

**_Customer Focus & Stakeholder Management _**

- Build and maintain influential relationships with strategic stakeholders (government, industry forums, clients etc.)
- Develop and maintain partnerships with DFIs, commercial banks, government entities, and regional organisations to enhance IDC’s continental presence.
- Optimise service delivery to address client needs and enhance IDC’s continental presence.
- Present strategic plans, priority objectives and operational plans to key decision-making stakeholders within IDC (Executive Committees, Shareholder, Board).
- Liaise, communicate, and promote the Continental SBU externally to position IDC as a leading DFI in Africa.
- Proactively identify and establish partnerships that will facilitate and enable the strategic direction and operational outcomes of the unit.
- Engage in formal partnerships through memoranda of understanding (MoU) and ensure delivery of expected outcomes from such MoUs.

**Qualification and Experience**
**JOB DESCRIPTION CONTINUED...**

**_ Learning, Leadership & People Growth _**

- Provide strategic leadership and management to ensure high performance
- Protect the interests and well-being of employees and establish suitable communication lines with them
- Oversee the implementation of tale