About the Role
The Zonal Training Manager will own all learning and capability development across the assigned Zone to ensure that all Area Business Managers, Field Sales Agents, and Technicians can pitch correctly, demonstrate Sun King product functionality, and educate and assist Solar Home Systems and Inverter customers. You will convert product strategy into frontline revenue by building a high-performance sales team through training, coaching, and continuous certification.
Key Responsibilities
Zonal Training Strategy & Execution
- Own the zone's annual training plan, aligned to zonal sales targets, product launches, seasonality, and country-level training priorities.
- Set zone-wide standards for onboarding, refresher training, demo quality, pitch, load calculation, and objection handling.
- Deploy blended learning across the zone: classroom, field coaching, WhatsApp microlearning, and LMS content.
- Ensure consistent execution of train-the-trainer cycles across all Regional Mentors in the zone.
Sales Performance Enablement
- Partner with Zonal Business Managers (ZBMs), Regional Business Managers (RBMs), and Area Business Managers (ABMs) to diagnose skill gaps that are constraining revenue.
- Design targeted interventions for underperforming states/teams on prospect conversion and sale closure.
- Steer "License to Sell" certification for Area Business Managers during promotional engagements.
- Run quarterly Zonal Sales Clinics on high-value topics: market intelligence and commercial inverter sales.
Content & Curriculum Management
- Translate Country and HQ training assets into zone-relevant content focusing on customer income levels, grid reliability, local objections, and industry landscape.
- Create zone-specific job aids such as demo scripts, load calculation sheets, and typical objection answers.
- Feed field insights back to Country and HQ Product and Marketing teams regarding customer confusion points, market shifts, and product feedback.
- Localize training content to zone languages, customer segments, and local industry landscapes.
Learning Evaluation & Reporting
- Own zonal training KPIs: zonal Collection Score contribution from trained cohorts, zonal 30-day activation rate, weighted-unit productivity uplift, Time-to-First-Sale, Demo Pass Rate, and % Certified CFSES.
- Interpret and act on zone-level reports covering Sales Productivity, Repayment Performance, Customer Retention, and Agent Attrition Trends.
- Submit a monthly zonal training dashboard to the Country Training Manager.
- Correlate training cohorts to business outcomes: sales uplift, Collection Score improvement, lower returns, and higher customer NPS.
- Conduct quarterly Training Needs evaluation using sales data, ABM feedback, and customer complaints.
Team Development
- Recruit, onboard, and performance-manage Regional Mentors (Trainers) in your zone.
- Run monthly train-the-trainer sessions to upskill your team on facilitation, product knowledge, and coaching.
- Maintain high engagement and calibration across all trainers.
Requirements
- Experience: 5+ years in sales training, L&D, or sales management, with 2+ years guiding trainers or field teams in solar, electronics, telecoms, FMCG, or any agent-led distribution business.
- Track Record: Proven record of building training programmes that moved sales metrics, not just attendance.
- Technical Skills: Strong technical comprehension of Solar Home Systems and inverter systems; ability to demo and troubleshoot basics live.
- Management: Experienced managing remote teams across multiple regions, clusters, or counties.
- Languages: Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required; proficiency in relevant local languages is an added advantage based on customer engagement needs within the assigned zone.
- Education: Bachelor's degree (BA/BSc/HND); certifications in training, facilitation, or instructional design are a strong plus.
- Travel: Willingness to travel 70%+ across the assigned zone.
