Senior Regional Field Operations Manager at PULA

At Pula, we are radically restructuring agricultural insurance, using technology to insure the previously unbanked, uninsured, untapped market of 1.5 billion smallholders worldwide.

We work in over 14 countries across Africa and Asia, and by 2020, we have facilitated crop insurance cover to over 4.7 million farmers across Kenya, India, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Malawi. Since raising our Series A our operations have expanded globally including now Asia and Latin America.

Pula is fast-paced, constantly adapting to new opportunities and challenges. We are a high-performance, multi-cultural team. We expect our team to value performance, results and professionalism.

At Pula, our ways of working are informed by our Pula DNA, our culture. The Pula DNA is represented in four pillars as indicated below:

• Obsessed with results: We are responsible for our future and therefore we get things done!
• Connect the Dots: We continuously identify different customer needs & business problems and build solutions that deliver value.
• Have a Can do Attitude! We dare to do things differently to make things work.
• We have each others’ back: We look out for each other & we share high quality, timely feedback that makes us better.

Project Description

Every year, Pula runs Crop Cut Experiments (CCE) which is a survey designed to measure the yield of different crops. The data collected is used for insurance purposes. To this end, there is a need to test different CCE protocols before implementing them with different clients as well as carrying out different research, innovations, and technology testing. The Senior Regional Manager will be responsible for overseeing the trials and pilot project activities and managing the teams.

What you will be doing:

Senior Regional Manager Responsibilities

Reporting to the New Innovations and Piloting Lead, the Senior Regional Manager will execute the following responsibilities:

• Planning and Coordination: Planning project activities in collaboration with the New Innovation and Piloting Lead, Country Operations Lead, potential clients, government entities, and other stakeholders. Understanding the project requirement from the stakeholders and creating workable plans.
• Project Planning: With the guidance of the New Innovation and Piloting Lead, help in the initial project planning activities, supervise field operations, and offer technical support to the field teams.
• Team Management: Manage a team of enumerators and local stakeholders (the client, farmers, agriculture officials, and execution-focused staff) to enhance smooth project implementation through coordinated communication, training, and expectations-setting. Help in troubleshooting/problem-solving project issues.
• Protocol review: Contribute to the harvest measurement protocols to improve them.
• Reports writing: Writing detailed project progress and final reports (documenting all data and findings, including relevant qualitative data.) Propose improvements and new approaches based on field learnings from pilots
• Ensures that milestones and goals are met while adhering to an approved pilot budget and project timelines.
• Communication: Liaise with the supervisor on any communication that need to go to the field to avoid any communication conflicts.
• Data collection and data management: that is, refining the study design and survey instruments, overseeing and monitoring data collection exercises using the Business Intelligence dashboard and assisting with data quality queries.
• Performs other duties as assigned by your Supervisor.

Qualifications

• At least a BSc degree in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, agronomy, or any other agriculture-related field.
• At least five (5) years of proven experience in field agricultural extension work.
• Proven understanding and implementation of good agricultural practices for a variety of crops.
• Proven skills in working with clients, governments’ agricultural offices, project teams, farmers, field teams, and agro-dealers.
• Proven ability to write project/research reports.
• Experience in data collection and data management.
• Ability to work independently in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and multicultural environment.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Excellent skills in Google Suite and other technology-supported working tools.

Skills

• Fluent in English and Twi
• Adaptability to field-based work assignments.
• Skills to interact with clients, farmers, field teams, and agro-dealers.
• Work ‘on the go’ -Ability to join conference calls and share updates as promptly as it is possible.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills – both in-person and virtually

CLOSING DATE: Not Specified