Hillary Makonge

Drove growth for a UK social care enterprise remotely from Nairobi by securing temporary staffing and supported living contracts. Managed Nairobi office operations, ensuring seamless service delivery for clients across England and Wales. Combined client engagement, team leadership, and operational oversight to provide exceptional care across the UK.

Key Responsibilities:

• Initiated outbound communications (telephone, email, social media) and arranged virtual or face-to-face meetings to assess client needs and tailor offerings for staffing and supported living services.
• Responded promptly to staffing demands from healthcare facilities across the UK, including hospitals, care homes, and home care services.
• Oversaw recruitment, induction, training, deployment, and ongoing support for nurses, support workers, and healthcare assistants.
• Coordinated booking processes and client service delivery, adapting to evolving demands.
• Conducted performance reviews with clients and staff to celebrate success, address improvement areas, and develop action plans.
• Supported business management tasks, including invoicing, payroll administration, credit management, and other operational duties.

Achievements:

• Efficient Staffing Solutions - Reduced staffing response time to under 10 minutes by streamlining training and compliance processes. Achieved this by consolidating staff quality checklist into one comprehensive solution, enabling staff to be booked across multiple services and confirming last-minute requests within 10 minutes, boosting client satisfaction.
• Effective Team Leadership - Recruited and trained four Business Development Managers (BDMs) between April and May 2023, resulting in four contracts signed within three months. With the Chief Operations Manager’s support, the team averaged 100 daily dials, 70 emails, and one virtual meeting, with the top performer securing four contracts.
• Strategic Business Growth: Expanded regional coverage by 50%, across England, and Wales. Secured at least one contract biweekly, achieving a 20% return on investment from hiring four additional BDMs. Succeeded in consistently aligning staffing demands with staff availability per company goals.
• Operational Efficiency - Implemented cost-effective SaaS systems, transitioning from Salesforce to Pipedrive CRM and Bullhorn to a custom ATS, while training two in-house staff for payroll and debt management. Reduced debt collection time from 35 to 30 days, maintaining an average outstanding balance of £1.4k monthly.

(February 2020 - April 2022: Took a break off work to take care of family upcountry. Helped with students academic writing)

Led the Nairobi office with a primary focus on turning around performance and driving growth on the insurance side of business. The role involved managing a diverse portfolio of General, Health, and Life insurance brokerage, crafting bespoke client solutions, and ensuring smooth operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversaw day-to-day operations across Nairobi and surrounding areas, ensuring seamless service delivery.
• Guided clients with bespoke insurance solutions, from motor and property to local and international medical and life covers.
• Recruited, trained, and inspired sales and support teams to consistently surpass targets.
• Provided regular updates to management through daily WhatsApp reports, weekly emails, and monthly meetings in Mombasa.
• Conducted market research to refine sales strategies, enhance lead generation, and stay ahead of competitors.
• Allocated resources efficiently, maintaining accountability and transparency.

Achievements:

• Grew new business revenue by KES half million through my existing network within my first month in office.
• Boosted annual sales KES 1.5 million higher, with strategic partnerships, strong client referrals, targeted marketing, and streamlined lead generation.
• Raised client retention with personalised follow-ups and a proactive retention plan, reducing churn 20%.
• Enhanced team efficiency by digitising onboarding processes, saving time and improving service.
• Managed a KES 9 million portfolio for 10+ corporate and 400+ individual clients, ensuring consistent performance across general and medical insurance lines.

Represented Aetna Global Benefits exclusively across 11 African countries and partnered with other IPMI providers such as Bupa, Allianz, and Cigna through MIC Global Risks. Collaborated with Unilife International in Mauritius on life insurance solutions. Advised clients on policy benefits, provided insurer comparisons, and ensured regulatory compliance and client satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities:

• Represented Aetna Global Benefits in 11 African countries, addressing the health insurance needs of corporates, expatriates, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Acted as a broker for MIC Global Risks and Unilife International, advising on IPMI and life insurance policies.
• Kept up to date with policy updates from providers such as Bupa, Aetna, NOW Health, Axa, Allianz, and Cigna, alongside Unilife Mauritius life insurance offerings and regional regulatory requirements.
• Guided HR teams and organisations in selecting suitable IPMI policies by comparing benefits and service propositions.
• Advised on Unilife International life cover and supported HR professionals in designing Executive Healthcare plans to retain and motivate staff.
• Addressed healthcare concerns of individuals, families, and clients with plans covering medical risks effectively.
• Provided timely updates to executives and employees on policy changes, network enhancements, and available options.
• Conducted market research on competitors, trends, and broker insights to support management decisions.
• Managed the sales pipeline, using prospecting techniques and closing sales, while delivering performance reports daily, weekly, monthly, and annually.

Achievements:

• Expanded client base across 11 African countries: Represented Aetna Global Benefits effectively, growing corporate and individual client base in key markets like Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda through strategic market research and competitor analysis, tracked via quarterly sales data.
• Improved client conversion rates: Boosted lead-to-client conversion by refining the sales pipeline and introducing structured follow-ups, ensuring consistent engagement with prospects, measured through sales performance reports.
• Enhanced HR decision-making: Supported 5 organisations annually in adopting IPMI plans by providing clear, comparative analyses of benefits in line with planned budgets, reducing decision-making time, increasing uptake in Executive Healthcare plans as reported by HR feedback.
• Enhanced Client Satisfaction with suitable Plans: Achieved a 90% client retention rate by delivering personalised insurance plans, policy change and provider network enhancement briefings, and proactive communication, as reflected in client feedback surveys.
• Grew life insurance portfolio: Increased Unilife International policy sales annually through cross selling by building trust with existing IPMI clients.

Managed sales of subdivided land (eighths) with agribusiness options like tomato and capsicum farming, delivering profit repatriation to clients. Developed sales strategies, engaged prospective buyers, and built corporate partnerships to drive growth.

Key Responsibilities:

• Grasped product benefits (land and agribusiness profits), developed and presented sales strategies to the company, and put them into action effectively.
• Maintained discipline, ethics, and a proactive approach in all tasks, staying motivated to tackle challenges.
• Identified potential customers and new market segments, targeting them to expand sales reach.
• Turned leads into sales, kept clients engaged, and encouraged referrals through clear communication, follow-ups, and a positive outlook.
• Took part in trade shows, exhibitions, and networking with associations and financial groups (Chamas) to showcase the product.
• Kept tabs on market trends, competitor innovations, and product updates to stay competitive.
• Arranged meetings with corporates for activations, fostering B2B sales and building a modern, professional client network.

Achievements:

• Grew sales pipeline by 30% in six months: Achieved this by researching untapped segments like young professionals and Chamas, then pitching the land-and-farming package as a practical investment with steady returns.
• Converted 60% of leads into buyers: Used consistent follow-ups, simple explanations of profit repatriation, and a friendly approach to build trust and close deals.
• Secured five corporate partnerships: Booked and ran activations with firms, highlighting how bulk land purchases could benefit their staff welfare schemes, leading to repeat B2B sales.
• Boosted referrals by 25%: Focused on keeping clients happy with regular updates on their farm profits, prompting them to recommend the product to others.
• Increased brand visibility at trade events: Represented the company at three major exhibitions, using live demos of agribusiness yields to draw prospects and generate leads.