Business Development Associate

About Spindle Design
Spindle is an innovation, design, and strategy firm working across Africa. We're passionate about using human-centred design to create value and drive innovation across multiple sectors. We believe in the power of market research and design to catalyse innovation in Africa. We are a multidisciplinary team of designers, researchers, developers, and business strategists working collaboratively with companies to create new products, services, and businesses.

Why you'll love this role

• Direct Impact: Your success directly translates to company growth
• Impact at Scale: Shape projects that touch millions—across health, finance, agriculture, and more.
• Freedom to Innovate: Craft your own sector strategies and experiment with new outreach channels.
• Collaborative Culture: Work alongside designers, researchers, and technologists who value your ideas.

About the role

Spindle Design seeks an experienced Business Development Lead to join our Partnerships team. This role requires a strategic thinker who can identify new opportunities and pursue partnerships to support our design team in creating impactful solutions for our clients. As the Partnerships Lead, you will develop and execute a strategy that builds and enhances our relationships with existing and potential clients, partners, and stakeholders across our portfolio. Ultimately, you will be crucial in driving new business development and implementing sustainable growth plans for our organisation.
The ideal candidate for this role is an excellent communicator, storyteller, strategic thinker, and creative problem solver. We encourage you to apply if you are passionate about connecting with people, creating innovative solutions and making a positive impact through design, technology and partnerships.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Business Development
   • Lead end-to-end business development from opportunity identification & research to proposal development to contract negotiation on opportunities in alignment with Spindle Design.
   • Develop targeted sector strategies aligned with Spindle's capabilities and growth priorities.
   • Actively prospect, qualify leads, and build a pipeline to support the company's growth objectives.
   • Leverage digital tools, industry events, and direct outreach to generate a continuous flow of qualified leads.
   • Build and cultivate relationships with senior decision-makers across corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors that support business development goals.
   • Attend industry events, conferences, and forums to represent Spindle Design, expanding the company's visibility and connections.
     
     
2. Pipeline Development & Systems Management:
   • Implement & manage structured active pipeline management processes from lead generation through closing
   • Build and maintain a robust CRM system that provides visibility into our business development funnel to track interactions, follow-ups, and progress.
   • Establish metrics for monitoring the effectiveness of business development activities.

Strategic Planning & Execution:

• Work closely with internal teams to align business development strategies with company objectives.
• Develop and execute business development plans, reporting on performance metrics and identifying areas for improvement.
  

Market Intelligence:

• Stay informed about industry trends, competitor activities, and potential market shifts to identify new growth opportunities.
• Collaborate on building external content.

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, or a related field.
• Additional certifications in Sales, Marketing, or Business Development would be advantageous.
• Deep understanding of African markets, funding landscapes and business culture across multiple countries
• Strong network or demonstrated success building relationships
• Experience working with startups, NGOs, development organisations, or impact-driven companies
  

Key Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional relationship-building abilities and executive presence
• Strategic thinking, research and business acumen
• Compelling verbal and written communication skills
  
  
• Self-motivated with entrepreneurial drive
• Passion for human-centered design and its transformative potential
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt to different cultural contexts
• Curious & self-driven learner

How to Apply

If that's you, we want to hear from you. Submit your application through the link here →

We review applications on a rolling basis.