KOMAZA is an award-winning social enterprise working to end
rural poverty through economic opportunities for smallholder farmers living in
Africa’s arid and semi-arid regions.
Operations Associate
Overview
Wanted: Early-career agricultural or business professional to develop the short term crops program, while providing ongoing support for the field operations team of a young, international social business working in the agroforestry field
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Wanted: Early-career agricultural or business professional to develop the short term crops program, while providing ongoing support for the field operations team of a young, international social business working in the agroforestry field
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Employer: KOMAZA
Department: Operations
Location: Kilifi County, Kenya
Reports to: Director of Operations
Comp/Benefits: Competitive, commensurate
with experience
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Start Date: As soon as available
About the Role
Collaborating closely with KOMAZA managers and field staff, the Operations Associate will be responsible for researching, designing, and implementing agro-forestry programs and systems that enable KOMAZA to grow and scale effectively.
About the Role
Collaborating closely with KOMAZA managers and field staff, the Operations Associate will be responsible for researching, designing, and implementing agro-forestry programs and systems that enable KOMAZA to grow and scale effectively.
The Operations Associate is given significant responsibility and
must be able to deliver high quality projects in a demanding and sometimes challenging
environment.
Responsibilities of the Operations Associate
Develop Short Term Crops program
- Improve
and expand the short term crops program to complement tree planting
operations and provide economic returns to farmers
- Research
most suitable and economically viable short term crops to compliment the
tree planting initiative in the KOMAZA farmer package
- Identify
local, regional and domestic markets to absorb tens to hundreds of tonnes
of agricultural products
- Develop
and implement quality control measures for agricultural products, along
the entire supply chain
- Implement
efficient transportation and logistics systems to connect small-scale
rural farmers to profitable markets
- Leverage
resource availability to maximize returns on agricultural products, for
instance developing storage facilities and capitalizing on low-season
market price peaks
- Understand
and improve the agricultural value chain to maximize efficiencies and
provide highest possible economic returns to farmers
- Develop
create solutions to challenges emerging from serving rural, resource-poor
farmers including innovative payment schemes for agricultural products
Support of Operations Team and Field Extension Network
- Provide
on-going back-office support for operations field team, including development
of technical materials, farmer recruitment and social marketing materials,
and other relevant documents
- Be
responsible for knowledge management of KOMAZA’s operations department,
keeping the Wiki knowledge management system up to date and most current
materials readily available on the organization’s network share drive
- Ability
to work effectively in challenging field conditions
- Any
other work assigned by supervisor
Qualifications
- 2-4+
years’ experience in agriculture or small-business development
- Degree
in forestry, agriculture, or business management; or equivalent background
and experience
- Self-managing;
taking ownership over independent projects; developing and meeting work
plan objectives and deadlines
- Excellent
problem-solving skills and business judgment; ability to think “big
picture” as well as dig into details
- Ability
to execute projects/tasks and implement recommendations with strong
attention to detail; ability to create backup plans and be flexible in
sometimes logistically challenging environments
- Excellent
spoken and written English with the ability to develop detailed and
high-quality written materials; proficiency in Kiswahili preferred
Position: Project Manager - Operations
Department: Operations
Location: Kilifi County, Kenya
Reports to: Operations Director
Supervises: Project Analyst(s), Technical Analyst(s)
Comp/Benefits: Competitive, commensurate
with experience
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Start Date: As soon as available
About KOMAZA
KOMAZA is a young social enterprise which works to lift rural families out of poverty by increasing income and generating permanent wealth through agro-forestry social business. Rural African families living on dry, semi-arid land are among the poorest, hardest-to-serve people on Earth. Low, erratic rainfall coupled with degraded, infertile land presents near-insurmountable challenges to families who try to survive as subsistence farmers.
About KOMAZA
KOMAZA is a young social enterprise which works to lift rural families out of poverty by increasing income and generating permanent wealth through agro-forestry social business. Rural African families living on dry, semi-arid land are among the poorest, hardest-to-serve people on Earth. Low, erratic rainfall coupled with degraded, infertile land presents near-insurmountable challenges to families who try to survive as subsistence farmers.
But in these dry lands of seemingly insoluble problems, there is
a wealth of opportunity. An opportunity to turn unproductive land into
income-generating farms would break the vicious cycle of poverty and enable
vast opportunities for prosperity. KOMAZA has realized this solution in the
form of intensive agro-forestry.
We provide farmers with appropriate farm inputs and tools on credit,
on-farm training and support, and complete vertically-integrated value capture
services so that our rural families can transform their barren, infertile land
into highly-profitable cash-crop farms.
By increasing family income and wealth, we work to get families
permanently out of extreme poverty and on the road to continued prosperity. To
build a truly scalable organization, we structure our not-for-profit
intervention as a profitable social business.
Upon selling our farmers’ products, we recover our costs and a
profit from each farmer we work with. By achieving per-farm profitability,
KOMAZA is a self-sustaining, permanent partner for development with the
communities we serve.
Furthermore, by reinvesting program-generated profits in program
expansion, KOMAZA will become self-scaling—effectively creating a profitable
end to rural poverty.
Since launching full-time operations in 2008, KOMAZA has
successfully planted with over 4,000 families in Kenya’s Kilifi county and has
established two industry-leading experimental farms to further refine the
agricultural best-practices for our semi-arid farmers.
These activities have demonstrated the viability of crop
production in semi-arid environments while helping us develop the experience
and systems necessary to scale our model to serve thousands of farmers.
We are now working to expand to 12,000 farmers by 2013 as proof
of scaling for our delivery model.
Project Manager - Operations
Job Objective
Take responsibility for the overall direction, coordination, implementation, execution, control and completion of specific projects ensuring consistency with KOMAZA strategy, commitments and goals.
Job Objective
Take responsibility for the overall direction, coordination, implementation, execution, control and completion of specific projects ensuring consistency with KOMAZA strategy, commitments and goals.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead
the planning and implementation of projects approved by the Country
Director and management team
- Facilitate
the definition of project scope, goals and deliverables
- Define
project tasks and resource requirements
- Develop
full scale project plans
- Assemble
and coordinate project teams
- Manage
project budget and resource allocation
- Plan
and schedule project timelines
- Track
project deliverables using appropriate tools
- Provide
direction and support to project
- Quality
assurance
- Continuously
monitor and report on progress of the project to all internal stakeholders
- Present
reports to the Country director defining project progress, problems and
solutions
- Implement
and manage project changes and interventions to achieve project outputs
- Project
evaluations and assessment of results
Qualifications & Experience
The candidate should possess the following qualifications and
experience:
- Graduate
level qualifications with good certifications and qualifications in
project management or equivalent
- Knowledge
of practical aspects of project management in forestry or agriculture
sector
- Direct
work experience working with farmers in dry land areas within a social
enterprise setting
- Proven
experience in people management, strategic planning, risk management,
change management
- Proficient
in MS Project Professional 2010 and other relevant software
Competencies
- Critical
thinking and problem solving skills
- Good
planning and organizing skills
- Capable
at decision-making and implementing their decisions
- Good
communication skills
- Able
at influencing and leading diverse teams of both employees and farmers
- A
proactive team member who understands and appreciates team work
- The
person should be competent at conflict management
- Adaptability
to diversity in the work environment
- Stress
tolerance
Research & Development Director
Overview
Wanted: Mid-late career professional to lead research and development department for a fast-growing, international forestry company
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Wanted: Mid-late career professional to lead research and development department for a fast-growing, international forestry company
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Employer: KOMAZA
Department: Research and Development
{creation of a new department}
Location: Kilifi County, Kenya
Reports to: Country Director for Kenya
Supervises: Technical Analyst(s), Project Manager(s)
Comp/Benefits: Competitive, commensurate
with experience
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Start Date: As soon as available
About KOMAZA
Founded in 2006, KOMAZA is a social enterprise creating sustainable economic opportunities for farmers living in Africa’s semi-arid regions.
About KOMAZA
Founded in 2006, KOMAZA is a social enterprise creating sustainable economic opportunities for farmers living in Africa’s semi-arid regions.
Working through a network of field staff, we partner with rural
families and help them plant and maintain small-scale, income-generating tree
farms.
Using this model, KOMAZA will grow to serve thousands of farmers
across East Africa and beyond in the coming years.
Research & Development Director
Job Objective
KOMAZA seeks a Research and Development Director who will build and manage a team to generate technical knowledge for a large-scale forestry operation.
Job Objective
KOMAZA seeks a Research and Development Director who will build and manage a team to generate technical knowledge for a large-scale forestry operation.
The director will be responsible for advising on tree species
diversification, silvicultural disease mitigation and treatment, and best
silvicultural practices.
The director will also be responsible for developing a Forestry
Management plan, as well as incorporating the plan into operations to prepare
the organization for FSC certification.
The director may also conduct research in the area of
agriculture, especially specifically related to alleleopathic effects of
intercropping crops with trees.
The ability to creatively establish and manage research projects
from scratch to fill technical knowledge gaps will be key to success in this
position.
We are on the verge of dramatic expansion in Coast Province and
beyond; this is a great opportunity for someone excited to take on ambitious
goals and be a critical component of KOMAZA’s growth.
Key Responsibilities
Silviculture Advising & Research
Silviculture Advising & Research
- Advise
on forestry disease mitigation and treatment upon outbreaks
- Develop
a Disease Mitigation and Outbreak Emergency Plan
- Advise
on tree species diversification for varying environmental and farm
conditions
- Develop
and implement a Forestry Management plan that will align with FSC
certification requirements
- Implement
operational measures to align KOMAZA with FSC principles
Agricultural Research
- Identify
crops that are suitable in KOMAZA’s areas of operations to compliment the
farmer tree planting program
- Design
and implement experiments with short term crops in harsh environmental
conditions and varying farm conditions
- Identify
and advise on best agricultural practices, including crop storage and
processing
Employee Development
- Build
and manage a new department, including a team of Technical Analyst(s) and
Project Manager(s) to improve and expand KOMAZA’s forestry operations
- Set
objectives and targets for direct report(s); anticipate human resource
hiring and training needs and coordinate with Human Resources to meet
those needs
- Offer
and deliver the coaching, counselling, advice, support, motivation or
information direct report(s) need to help them meet their objectives
- Monitor
progress toward objectives to ensure employees are self-aware of
performance
Qualifications
- Degree
in Forestry, Agriculture, or another relevant hard science background
- Minimum
of 10 years’ experience in R&D, specifically in forestry and/or
agriculture would be preferred
- An
expert level of knowledge in silvicultural practices with specific
experience in forestry pathology and identifying appropriate tree species
for specific environmental conditions
- Creative
problem-solver; this position will require significant independence and
someone who can accomplish tasks creatively with minimal oversight
- Experience
with managing and developing employees to achieve high performance
- Must
be able to manage competing demands, accept constructive feedback, and
meet targets while being efficient, flexible, and of good judgment
- Ability
to independently develop departmental budgets, and observe spending
practices that effectively and efficiently manage resources
- Excellent
written and oral communication skills are required in both English and
Kiswahili
- Computer
competency that allows for regular email communication, report writing,
and record keeping
Finance & Administration Director
Overview
Wanted: Mid-late career professional to lead research and development department for a fast-growing, international forestry company
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Wanted: Mid-late career professional to lead research and development department for a fast-growing, international forestry company
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Employer: KOMAZA
Position: Finance and Administration Director
Department: Finance
Location: Kilifi County, Kenya
Reports to: Country Director, Kenya
Supervises: Technical Analyst(s), Project Manager(s)
Comp/Benefits: Competitive, commensurate
with experience
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Start Date: As soon as available
About KOMAZA
Founded in 2006, KOMAZA is a social enterprise creating sustainable economic opportunities for farmers living in Africa’s semi-arid regions.
About KOMAZA
Founded in 2006, KOMAZA is a social enterprise creating sustainable economic opportunities for farmers living in Africa’s semi-arid regions.
Working through a network of field staff, we partner with rural
families and help them plant and maintain small-scale, income-generating tree
farms. Using this model, KOMAZA will grow to serve thousands of farmers across
East Africa and beyond in the coming years.
Director - Finance and Administration
Job Objective
As a member of the Senior Management Team and reporting to the Country Director, The Director - Finance and Administration will share in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office and is specifically responsible for the development and implementation of sound financial and administrative policies that ensure KOMAZA attains its mission and objectives, in line with its strategic direction.
The overall job summary
Provide leadership, guidance, coordination and direction to Finance, Administration, Legal and Human Resources functions of KOMAZA and ensure that the organization delivers quality service to both its staff and Farmers and satisfy all stakeholder interests
Job Objective
As a member of the Senior Management Team and reporting to the Country Director, The Director - Finance and Administration will share in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office and is specifically responsible for the development and implementation of sound financial and administrative policies that ensure KOMAZA attains its mission and objectives, in line with its strategic direction.
The overall job summary
Provide leadership, guidance, coordination and direction to Finance, Administration, Legal and Human Resources functions of KOMAZA and ensure that the organization delivers quality service to both its staff and Farmers and satisfy all stakeholder interests
Key Responsibilities
Governance and Leadership
Governance and Leadership
- Develop
and implement all fiscal administrative policies and appropriate
procedures to ensure common understanding in the performance of duties and
responsibilities that support overall organization strategies towards realization
of KOMAZA’s mission.
- Ensure
adherence to the KOMAZA’s policies and procedures as outlined in relevant
policies and procedures manuals; accounting standards; and statutory
requirement.
Back Office Functions
- Advise
the Country Director on financial matters of KOMAZA
- Oversee
all financial operations and direct corporate financial planning and
structure
- Coordinate,
analyze and report the financial performance to the Country (financial
performance, projections and other special projects as required)
- Prepare
short and long-term financial forecasts of financial performance for use
with internal management and external parties
- Prepare
short and long-term financial forecasts of financial performance for use
with internal management and external parties
- Oversee
audit and tax functions, coordinate activities with outside audit firms
and review firms performance
- Develop,
implement and maintain accounting and administrative policies and
procedures for a wide-ranging set of activities including financial accounting
and reporting, employee relations (hiring / terminating policies) and
other corporate policies.
- Proficiency
in all aspects of accounting in a social enterprise setting
- Responsible
for all corporate and human resource activities including employee benefits,
retirement plans, corporate insurance and related activities. This
includes the coordination of these activities with all satellite offices
as well.
- Provide
oversight and direction to all other back office support functions that
contribute to the smooth running of field operations.
Qualifications & Experience
The candidate should possess the following qualifications and
experience:
- At
least a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline
- Professional
accounting qualification such as CPA(K), ACCA or other international
qualification will have an advantage
- Substantial
experience as the top manager in finance and administration
- Deep
Knowledge of operations in an organization similar to KOMAZA
- Experience
in a social enterprise organization
Competencies
- Strong
team leadership skills
- Competency
in Accounting and Financial Management
- Excellent
communication and interpersonal skills
- Strong
organizational and negotiating skills
- High
level of integrity and professionalism
- Proven
ability to effectively coordinate Administration and Finance functions
- Demonstrate
knowledge of strategic planning
- Knowledge
of national laws and policies on labor and education
- Competency
in MS office applications, accounting software, etc.
- Demonstrable
capability for supervision and monitoring of subordinated units
Director of Operations
Overview
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up
Employer: KOMAZA
Position: Director of Operations
Department: Operations
Location: Kilifi County, Kenya
Reports to: Country Director, Kenya
Supervises: Field Directors, Field Managers, Field
Extension Network
Comp/Benefits: Competitive, commensurate
with experience
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Start Date: As soon as available
About KOMAZA
KOMAZA is a young social enterprise which works to lift rural families out of poverty by increasing income and generating permanent wealth through agro-forestry social business.
About KOMAZA
KOMAZA is a young social enterprise which works to lift rural families out of poverty by increasing income and generating permanent wealth through agro-forestry social business.
Rural African families living on dry, semi-arid land are among
the poorest, hardest-to-serve people on Earth. Low, erratic rainfall coupled
with degraded, infertile land presents near-insurmountable challenges to
families who try to survive as subsistence farmers. But in these dry lands of
seemingly insoluble problems, there is a wealth of opportunity. An opportunity
to turn unproductive land into income-generating farms would break the vicious
cycle of poverty and enable vast opportunities for prosperity.
KOMAZA has realized this solution in the form of intensive
agro-forestry. We provide farmers with appropriate farm inputs and tools on
credit, on-farm training and support, and complete vertically-integrated value
capture services so that our rural families can transform their barren,
infertile land into highly-profitable cash-crop farms. By increasing family
income and wealth, we work to get families permanently out of extreme poverty
and on the road to continued prosperity.
To build a truly scalable organization, we structure our
not-for-profit intervention as a profitable social business. Upon selling our
farmers’ products, we recover our costs and a profit from each farmer we work
with. By achieving per-farm profitability, KOMAZA is a self-sustaining,
permanent partner for development with the communities we serve.
Furthermore, by reinvesting program-generated profits in program
expansion, KOMAZA will become self-scaling—effectively creating a profitable
end to rural poverty.
Since launching full-time operations in 2008, KOMAZA has
successfully planted with over 4,000 families in Kenya’s Kilifi county and has
established two industry-leading experimental farms to further refine the
agricultural best-practices for our semi-arid farmers.
These activities have demonstrated the viability of crop
production in semi-arid environments while helping us develop the experience
and systems necessary to scale our model to serve thousands of farmers.
We are now working to expand to 12,000 farmers by 2013 as proof
of scaling for our delivery model.
Director of Operations
Job Objective
Take responsibility for the overall development / design, direction, coordination, implementation, execution, control and completion of the strategic operations expansion and implementation plans ensuring consistency with KOMAZA strategy, commitments and goals.
Job Objective
Take responsibility for the overall development / design, direction, coordination, implementation, execution, control and completion of the strategic operations expansion and implementation plans ensuring consistency with KOMAZA strategy, commitments and goals.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee
and manage all field operations, from head office planning and
organization to farmer recruitment and tree planting
- Manage
all staff in Operations department including all Field Extension Network
staff, Operations Associates, KOMAZA farms and nurseries and any other
staff involved in field operations activities
- Oversee
use and maintenance of all KOMAZA field operations facilities and
equipment including farms, storage and vehicles
- Conduct
regular reviews of all field operations systems and processes to ensure
that they are meeting expectations for scalability
- Monitor
all operations systems and processes and make continuous improvements to
make them more effective, efficient and scalable
- Adapt
and develop systems always with an eye toward scalability and serving tens
of thousands of farmers and beyond
- Build
support systems (procurement, bookkeeping, admin, etc) for Rural Cells to
operate semi-autonomously from headquarters
- Engage
team members with mentorship and support; develop a "hands-on"
culture that permeates from office to farmer
- Coach
teams in personal accountability, giving and receiving feedback, root
cause analysis, problem solving, decision making, trade-off analysis,
interpersonal communications and external interactions
- Working
with senior management, make recommendations for and aid in the
development of operational strategy
- Make
regular reports to Country Director and senior management on operational
outcomes and developments
Qualifications & Experience
The candidate should possess the following qualifications and
experience:
- Graduate
level qualifications with good certifications and qualifications in
Operations planning and management or equivalent. Masters level education
is a distinct advantage
- Knowledge
of practical aspects of operations management in forestry or agriculture
sector
- Direct
work experience working with farmers in dry land areas within a social
enterprise setting
- At-least
five years proven experience in operations management, people management,
strategic planning, risk and change management
- Proficient
in relevant software
Competencies
- Critical
thinking and problem solving skills
- Good
planning and organizing skills
- Capable
at decision-making and implementing their decisions
- Good
communication skills
- Able
at influencing and leading diverse teams of both employees and farmers
- A
proactive team member who understands and appreciates team work
- The
person should be competent at conflict management
- Adaptability
to diversity in the work environment
- Stress
tolerance
To Apply
To apply please send your CV and cover letter to recruiting@komaza.org.
To apply please send your CV and cover letter to recruiting@komaza.org.
Application deadline: Monday 17th October
2012
