Business Development Officer– Alternative Distribution Channel (Saccos, MFIS & Aggregators)

Role Overview

You will take ownership of APA Life's alternative distribution strategy, building and scaling the combined channel that reaches individual life customers through SACCOs, microfinance institutions, and digital aggregator partners. Your day-to-day work involves recruiting and coaching a business development team, forging institutional and platform partnerships, embedding insurance into partner ecosystems, and driving sales performance to help the company grow its market presence in Kenya. This role matters because it directly shapes how the company reaches underserved customer segments through non-traditional intermediaries, with a clear path toward spinning the channel into standalone units as they mature.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute a comprehensive channel strategy for SACCOs, MFIs, and aggregators, including a phased roadmap that supports splitting the combined channel into separate dedicated teams once each sub-channel reaches sufficient scale.
• Recruit, train, and mentor Business Development staff across the channel, building leadership depth and a high-performance culture aligned with the company's objectives.
• Identify, negotiate, and onboard SACCO and MFI partners to distribute individual life insurance products, acting as the primary liaison between the insurer and partner institution leadership.
• Source and integrate aggregator partners such as comparison platforms, fintechs, and telcos, managing commercial agreements, API/system integrations, and embedded-insurance delivery within their platforms.
• Coordinate product and process training for all partner teams, monitor their sales and service performance against KPIs, and resolve service, integration, or underwriting issues promptly.
• Lead regular performance reviews with each partner, implement corrective action plans, and ensure service-level agreements, turnaround times, and quality benchmarks are consistently met.
• Prepare and present channel performance reports and business cases to management, covering production, profitability, risk, compliance, and market intelligence.
• Collaborate with marketing, product, and other internal teams to design targeted campaigns, improve policy persistence, and support cross-selling and up-selling opportunities across the channel.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Insurance, or a related discipline from a recognised institution.
• Professional insurance qualifications such as ACII, AIIK, LOMA, or COP are required.
• At least 7–8 years of experience in life insurance sales or business development, including a minimum of 4 years in a channel or partner management role.
• Proven experience managing at least two of the following distribution types: SACCOs/MFIs, bancassurance, or aggregator/embedded-distribution partnerships.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and grow a sales team, with a track record in pipeline building, performance management, and meeting production targets.
• Hands-on experience negotiating and managing institutional or aggregator partnership agreements, including familiarity with commercial terms and SLAs.
• Working knowledge of embedded insurance, platform/API-based distribution, or fintech partnership models is a strong added advantage.
• Deep understanding of underwriting processes, regulatory frameworks, compliance requirements, and data protection obligations relevant to intermediaries.
• Entrepreneurial and target-driven mindset with strong commercial acumen, able to interpret sales data, anticipate market trends, and make decisions that improve profitability.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication, and organisational skills, with the resilience and adaptability to thrive in a dynamic, changing environment.