- We are seeking a highly analytical, commercially minded and execution-oriented Venture Builder / Chairman's Specialist to work directly with the Executive Chairman on new ventures, strategic initiatives and capital allocation.
- The role will take new business opportunities from initial idea through market research, commercial validation, financial modelling, pilot development and, where appropriate, launch.
- The successful candidate will work across opportunities spanning managed offices, workspace products, manufacturing and supply chain, new markets, strategic partnerships and other adjacent businesses.
- This is a hands-on venture-building role requiring the ability to move comfortably between analysis, strategic thinking and execution, while operating independently in highly ambiguous situations.
Responsibilities
New Venture Development:
- Evaluate new business and investment opportunities identified by the Executive Chairman.
- Develop business cases covering market opportunity, customer demand, competitive landscape, business model, unit economics, capital requirements and expected returns.
- Conduct market sizing, customer research and competitive analysis to assess commercial viability.
- Design and execute low-cost experiments and pilots to validate key business assumptions.
- Develop go-to-market and commercialization strategies for validated opportunities.
- Support new ventures through early-stage development and launch before transitioning them to dedicated operating leadership.
- Assess whether opportunities should be pursued, modified or discontinued based on evidence and commercial viability.
Strategic & Commercial Analysis:
- Build financial models covering unit economics, cash flow, working capital, ROIC and scenario analysis.
- Evaluate strategic alternatives including build, buy, partner, lease and manufacture options.
- Conduct industry benchmarking and commercial analysis to identify growth opportunities and risks.
- Prepare concise investment recommendations and decision materials for Chairman-level review.
- Conduct pre-mortems and identify key commercial, operational and financial risks.
- Translate complex analysis into clear, actionable recommendations.
Capital Allocation & Investment:
- Support the evaluation of major uses of Group capital across existing businesses, new ventures and strategic investments.
- Develop investment cases comparing opportunities based on expected returns, capital requirements, cash generation, scalability and risk.
- Track approved investments against their original investment thesis, milestones and expected outcomes.
- Monitor the performance of strategic investments and recommend whether additional capital should be deployed, an initiative modified or an investment discontinued.
- Take ownership of high-priority strategic projects from definition through completion.
- Develop project plans, milestones, deliverables and measurable outcomes.
- Coordinate internal and external stakeholders required to execute approved initiatives.
- Identify and resolve execution roadblocks independently, escalating only matters requiring senior-level decisions.
- Monitor project performance and provide concise progress updates to the Executive Chairman.
- Ensure agreed decisions and strategic initiatives are translated into timely execution.
Partnerships & Business Development:
- Identify potential strategic partners, suppliers, manufacturers, investors and other relevant counterparties.
- Develop partnership structures, commercial proposals and business cases.
- Support commercial negotiations, due diligence and partnership execution.
- Build and maintain relationships with relevant external stakeholders.
- Support Chairman-level business development activities relating to strategic ventures and partnerships.
Chairman Decision Support:
- Research and structure complex strategic questions for the Executive Chairman.
- Prepare concise decision memos covering recommendations, supporting evidence, economics, risks and alternatives.
- Maintain visibility across the Chairman's portfolio of strategic initiatives.
- Follow through on Chairman-level decisions to ensure agreed actions are executed.
- Challenge assumptions and provide independent, evidence-based recommendations rather than simply validating existing views.
Initial Areas of Focus:
The role will initially support initiatives across areas such as:
- Managed Offices / Workspace: Developing and scaling recurring managed-office and workspace models.
- Workspace Products: Commercialization, manufacturing strategy, economics and scaling of new workspace products.
- Vertical Integration: Evaluating manufacturing, procurement, sourcing and other opportunities to strengthen the value chain.
- New Markets: Assessing expansion opportunities across Nigeria, Africa and selected international markets.
- Strategic Investments: Evaluating opportunities to deploy Group and shareholder capital into new growth engines.
The portfolio will evolve as opportunities are validated, launched, modified or discontinued.
Requirements
Experience & Qualifications
- 6 - 10 years of relevant professional experience.
- Experience in one or more of the following areas is preferred:
- Venture building
- Management consulting
- Private equity or venture capital
- Investment banking
- Corporate strategy
- Product management
- Startup operations
- Real estate investment/development
- Entrepreneurship
- Demonstrated experience taking ambiguous business problems from analysis through execution.
- Proven experience developing financial models and commercial business cases.
- Experience managing cross-functional projects, launching new initiatives or developing new business opportunities.
- Strong undergraduate degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Engineering or a related discipline.
- MBA, finance qualification or relevant postgraduate degree is an advantage but not mandatory.
- This is not an Executive Assistant, administrative or routine project-coordination role.
- The role does not involve managing the Executive Chairman's calendar, travel or routine administration.
- The role does not replace the Managing Director or assume responsibility for the day-to-day operations and P&L of the existing Projects business.
- The primary focus is on new ventures, strategic investments, capital allocation and Chairman-level strategic initiatives.