Commercial Manager at Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company Limited (ELDOWAS)

JOB REF:  ELDOWAS/2025/CM/04– 1 post

Reporting to: General Manager Commercial Services.

Department:  COMMERCIAL

Terms of Engagement: Permanent & Pensionable

Job Grade 10

Job Summary

To assist the General Manager Commercial Services in overseeing day-to-day commercial operations of the company and focusing on the long-term interests of the business while pursuing new business opportunities.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Managerial Roles and Responsibilities

• Commitment to assist in maintaining a constant awareness of trends and market conditions, in order to provide strategic advice to the head of department;
• Assist the head of department in developing and implementing commercial strategies, meeting company goals and objectives;
• Assist in conducting market research and analysis including creation of detailed business plans;
• Manage existing customer relationships and their requirements to ensure they are being met;
• Assist in looking for opportunities to grow the business, whether through partnerships or new initiatives and work to take advantage of those opportunities;
• Analyze metering, sales/billing, revenue collection, customer care and other reports that give insight into how the company can make adjustments to improve performance;
• Coordinate enforcement efforts to safeguard loss of water revenues and resources through illegal activities affecting water connections;
• Assess risks and make recommendations to the head of department based on a thorough analysis of all factors involved in a business situation;
• Assist in developing plans for business expansion and development;
• Assume a leading role in taking strategic risks, acting to acquire new customers and managing client relationships at the behest of the head of department;
• Focusing on strategies to accelerate growth;
• Collaborate with and co-ordinate diverse teams (customer recruitment, billing, marketing, sales, customer service, enforcement, etc;) and to act as a link between the head office and the area management offices;
• Develop metrics to monitor performance of all commercial activities and reporting results to the head of department;
• Assist in setting financial and operational targets, developing budgets and monitoring compliance;

Operational Roles and Responsibilities

• Keep track of commercial operation policies and procedures to make sure they stay relevant and make recommendations for necessary changes;
• Assist the head of department and work as a member of a cohesive team;
• Supervise subordinate staff’s work and other administrative matters;
• Review performance of subordinate staff;
• Identify training needs for subordinate staff;
• Participate in the recruitment of staff within the department;
• Work with Area Managers to ensure smooth flow of operations;
• Conduct internal checks and controls of area operational activities to ensure there are no gaps so as to ensure seamless operations of the department;
• Resolve issues with contracts and commercial operations;
• Communicate with parties in contracts so that all understand the terms, particularly a contract’s financial aspects;
• Assist in managing daily company operations within the department;
• Coach employees on best practices for managing customer issues and handling daily issues and tasks.

• Perform any other relevant duties that may be assigned.

Key Result Areas:

The jobholder’s accountability areas are as follows:

• Extensive understanding of business growth models and ability to foresee commercial opportunities;
• Excellent relational skills, working tirelessly to build and maintain beneficial partnerships with key stakeholders;
• Assisting in effective operational cost control of the department’s financial resources;
• Successful implementation of quality control standards for services offered by the department;
• Assisting in effective supervision of employees assigned to the department;
• Assisting in maximization of productivity in the department;
• Participating in continuous process improvement of services offered by the department;
• Assist in ensuring customer satisfaction for the consumers of the services offered by the department.

Knowledge and Skills Required:

The jobholder must possess:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Finance/Accounting/Management/Marketing or any other related field;
• Be a registered member of a relevant management/business/commerce oriented professional body of good standing;
• Professional qualifications such as CPA/ACCA will be an added advantage;
• A minimum of 8 years’ related work experience 3 of which should have been in middle level management;
• A Master’s degree in a relevant business related field will be an added advantage;
• Must have demonstrated ability to handle sectional budgets, resources, processes, projects and customer relationships;
• Should have thorough knowledge of the relevant industry/sector as well as knowledge of regulatory requirements affecting the relevant sector;
• Must have ability to plan, organize, implement and evaluate departmental goals;
• Must demonstrate ability to handle multiple and conflicting priorities, and work under strict deadlines;
• Should be numerate and must have strong analytical report-writing skills;
• Must be self-driven and results oriented;
• Must have a strong customer focus;
• Must have high standards of integrity and ethical practice;
• Must be capable of functioning effectively both as a team player and a team leader;
• Must have management and leadership skills;
• Must have ability to accurately plan work assignments, prioritize tasks and deliver deadlines;
• Should have problem solving and decision-making abilities;
• Should be an effective communicator with the ability to handle both internal and external communication;
• Should demonstrate ability to identify and respond to risk areas within the department;
• Should have effective people management and conflict resolution skills;
• Must have knowledge and experience in use of MS office packages.