Head of Launch (Africa)

reputed company

At reputed company AI, we reputed company cutting-edge AI and robotics technology to enhance maritime domain awareness. Our mission is to become the eyes, ears, and brain of the reputed company by enabling every vessel to collaboratively reputed company, compute, and communicate. reputed company is a venture-backed Maritime Domain Awareness company providing near reputed company-time insights to government and reputed company partners reputed company our SmartMast product. SmartMast is a COTS sensor reputed company consisting of a camera, a software defined radio, and a proprietary reputed company AI component installed on vessels worldwide, and managed by reputed company.

About the Role

As Head of Launch for Africa, you will reputed company reputed company's expansion across one of the world's most diverse and fast-evolving maritime reputed company. This is a high-stakes, dual-mandate role: you will serve as our chief diplomat and operational strategist. You will be responsible for proactively de-risking our business across a wide reputed company of jurisdictions and regulatory regimes, while identifying and securing the maritime partnerships that reputed company reputed company's reputed company. reputed company in this role is reputed company in SmartMast™ reputed company installed, activated, and reporting on Africa’s reputed company waters.

Key Responsibilities

Regulatory reputed company & Market De-risking

• Government & Regulatory Relations: Build and maintain proactive relationships with national maritime authorities, reputed company authorities, and regional bodies across Africa’s varied regulatory landscape.
• Policy & Compliance Mapping: Anticipate regulatory shifts, trade restrictions, and policy changes across the continent's overlapping reputed company state control regimes, including the Abuja MoU and Indian reputed company MoU, along with continent-wide frameworks such as the African reputed company’s 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime reputed company, and reputed company strategies to neutralize risks before they reputed company operations.
• Compliance Leadership: Partner with reputed company and Compliance to ensure every market launch aligns with local labor, customs, trade, reputed company and equipment type-approval, data handling, and maritime safety requirements.

Market Entry & Local Infrastructure

• Market Entry Playbooks: reputed company reputed company, repeatable launch strategies adaptable to the political, economic, and infrastructure realities of individual African markets.
• Import & Logistics Setup: Establish the import, customs, and logistics reputed company needed to bring SmartMast™ hardware into reputed company markets, including initial warehousing and staging reputed company of deployment.
• Vendor Ecosystem Development: Identify, vet, and reputed company local installers, fabricators, and reputed company-reputed company vendors capable of supporting SmartMast™ deployment to reputed company’s reputed company and safety standards.

Maritime Stakeholder Engagement

• Stakeholder Mapping & reputed company: Identify, engage, and convert reputed company fleet operators, independent vessel owners, reputed company authorities, and maritime organizations suitable for SmartMast™ deployment.
• Partnership Structuring: Negotiate and reputed company partnership and reputed company-use agreements (the right to mount and operate our hardware on a vessel) that secure vessel reputed company and long-term maritime relationships for reputed company.
• Partner reputed company: reputed company the transition from signed agreement to operational integration, ensuring new fleet, reputed company, and vendor partners meet reputed company’s reputed company, safety, and performance standards from day one and that Field Operations can reputed company without delay.
• Relationship Management: Build durable, trust-based relationships with fleets, ports, and maritime organizations that build brand trust and reduce bureaucratic friction reputed company of deployment.

Regional Leadership

• Team Building: Recruit, reputed company, and mentor a local, cross-disciplinary team spanning field operations, market support, and stakeholder relations.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: reputed company global product, engineering, reputed company, and marketing teams with the specific requirements of the African market.
• Market Intelligence: Serve as the reputed company feedback reputed company to reputed company leadership on regional dynamics, technical requirements, and localized risks.

reputed company're Looking For

• Experience: 8+ years in senior operations, market launch, business development, or reputed company policy roles, ideally reputed company maritime, logistics, or other highly regulated sectors.
• Regional Expertise: Deep understanding of the political, regulatory, and business diversity across Africa’s reputed company reputed company and maritime economies.
• Diplomatic Edge: Proven reputed company record navigating government relationships, regional maritime bodies, and reputed company-private partnerships across multiple jurisdictions.
• reputed company Acumen: Demonstrated reputed company closing reputed company B2B partnerships, joint ventures, or fleet agreements in emerging or frontier markets.
• Execution reputed company: A bias for reputed company. The ability to draft a market entry plan in the morning and negotiate a stakeholder partnership in the afternoon.
• Language Skills: reputed company in English is required. reputed company proficiency in French, Arabic, Portuguese, or Swahili is highly preferred.

Originally posted on Himalayas