KOMAZA Jobs in Kilifi Kenya

Who We AreKomaza is revolutionizing African forestry by unlocking the potential for small farmers to serve booming wood markets. With roots in San Francisco and headquarters in coastal Kenya, we have planted over 2 million trees with more than 6,000 farmers, making us Kenya’s largest commercial tree planter.
By leveraging farmers’ contribution of land and labor, Komaza can access effectively limitless land and establish a hectare of trees for far less than big plantations – a powerful disruption to the traditional forestry model.
We have been recognized with numerous awards and investments, including Forbes, Ashoka, Mulago Foundation, and Novastar Ventures. Having recently assembled a top group of investors for a significant growth financing round, we are now seeking driven, high-performance leaders to launch this exciting chapter of accelerated growth.
1. Director of Business Operations
About Business Operations
Komaza is building a new Biz Ops department as an internal consulting house to drive fast growth and performance improvement across the company. Working closely with other departments and senior executives, Biz Ops defines and implements initiatives that are both “high importance” and “high urgency” – the team will tackle diverse fast-paced product development and process improvement projects, with a particular focus on smart startup decision-making with critical cost-benefit analysis and lean R&D, plus developing and continuously optimizing robust and scalable operations systems.
Some Biz Ops individuals will stay for 1-2+ years, while others will come on shorter internships and fellowship; culturally, the team will embody fast, flexible thinkers from Kenya and around the world with backgrounds spanning management consulting, finance, research and operations who will do whatever it takes to help Komaza succeed.
About this Role
As Director of Biz Ops, you will be responsible for driving change both at a strategic level and deeply operational level. As the leader of this initiative, you will need to thrive on ambiguity, while possessing the drive and organizational rigor to design a repeatable process for tackling a rapid succession of urgent requests.
Most importantly, you must be a lifelong learner who is able to lead, coordinate and coach your team of bright consultants through diverse day-to-day challenges, including effectively and positively supporting other departments with a service mindset.
You are an open-minded, flexible, and determined thinker and operator that cares most about driving lasting impact by converting strategies into results, and loves developing and delivering solutions for an ever-changing and always-growing backlog of diverse startup challenges.
You will be exposed to every facet of Komaza’s organization, and must be able to balance long-term strategic thinking with near-term pragmatic problem solving and prioritization. You will report to Komaza’s Founder & CEO, and work very closely with other senior executives.
Responsibilities

Develop a dynamic, deep understanding of how Komaza works, and constantly think about how to improve every department and the connections to bind them.

Recruit and lead a team of management consultants, investment bankers, and operations gurus, while inspiring a culture of collaboration and accountability.

Build deep relationships from executives to frontline staff to identify, design and deliver opportunities to translate business strategies into real world results.

Develop tracking systems to prioritize ops challenges and strategic opportunities.

Design and implement core operations and management systems to ensure the business meets and outperforms growth targets.

Define company strategy, working closely with our Founder/CEO and others on our collaborative “Silicon Valley culture” senior team. Help build a management team committed to tenets of “JFDI” and “Go Big or Go Home.”Qualifications

8+ years’ relevant work experience, ideally 4+ management experience in top-tier management consulting, i-banking, or corporate strategy; MBA preferred.

Proven experience leading high-performing teams, especially in dynamic fast-growth environments, tackling a very diverse number of challenges.

Excellent communication skills with the aptitude to distill complex systems and detailed analysis into simple, structured processes with concrete action plans.

Data is your friend and Excel is your best friend. You also know how to thrive in uber-growth situations. You’ve worked and thrived at a rapidly scaling company.

Energetic & enthusiastic – willing to do whatever necessary to get the job done.

Very well-organized, with experience in project and change management.

Comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as patience and perseverance in the face of serious logistical, environmental, and human resource hurdles.

Proven success working and living in Africa preferred.Expectations
We need a Director of Biz Ops who wants to make a meaningful commitment to building and scaling this department for a minimum of 3-5+ years. While we will open a Nairobi office to support regional expansion in the near future, this role will be primarily based at our current headquarters in Kilifi, Kenya for the foreseeable future. The role offers competitive salary and benefits with potential for further career growth.
How to apply:
Please follow this LINK to apply. Closing date is 7th August 2016. For more information and job application details, see;Director of Business Operations

Chief Operating Officer
As COO, you will be at the helm of growing our team from 100 to 400+ staff over the next 3 years. This is a senior management role that requires innovative thinking and positive leadership in a highly-dynamic and demanding fast-growth environment; this is not a technical forestry role.
You will be doing hands-on coordination, coaching and problem-solving to lead a quickly-growing team and hit ambitious milestones. We need a true top-performer – someone with exceptional IQ, EQ, positive energy and experience to manage fast-paced, rapidly-changing and complex operations.
The COO will report to Komaza’s Founder & CEO and work closely with other senior executives.
Responsibilities

Lead a socially and environmentally driven business through years of ambitious growth, striving to transform Africa’s lagging forestry sector with a uniquely cost-competitive and high-impact business model.

Complete P&L accountability for the business’ core value chain, from seedling nurseries to sawmills and sales.

Lead 10X expansion of our operations in coastal Kenya over the next 5 years.

Concurrently, build systems to replicate into new geographies & markets – building an expansion team to launch a second site in 2018, third in 2020, thereafter annually – to establish one of Africa’s top-5 forestry assets by 2025.

Drive revenue growth by scaling up decentralized harvest operations, establishing value-adding processing facilities, and implementing scalable wood sales of diverse products into regional and export markets.

Define company strategy, working closely with our Founder/CEO and others on our collaborative “Silicon Valley culture” senior team. Help build a fun management team committed to the tenets of “JFDI” and “Go Big or Go Home.”

Define and influence company culture according to the principles of servant leadership, and continuous improvement in pursuit of excellence and impact.Qualifications

10+ years of relevant work experience, ideally with successful entrepreneurial experience or 4+ years as a senior leader in a rapidly growing start-up; MBA is preferred.

Proven experience leading high-performing teams, especially in dynamic, high-growth environments, tackling a very diverse number of challenges.

Insatiable hunger to learn and desire to continuously improve systems, people, operations to build and scale an innovative, high-impact business model.

Deep experience in project or operations management preferred.

Strong relationship-building skills and experience working closely across organizations from senior executives to field-level staff.

Excellent communication skills with the aptitude to distill complex systems and detailed analysis into simple, structured processes with concrete action plans.

Comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as patience and perseverance in the face of serious logistical and environmental hurdles.

Low ego attitude with a willingness to shift from high-level critical thinking to stepping in and helping drive implementation on the ground. This isn’t a top-down armchair role. To succeed, you must be very comfortable seeking and learning from “upward feedback” from your team, and combining strong leadership skills with openness, humility, and good humor.

Proven success living and working in Africa is preferred.Expectations
We need a COO who wants to make a meaningful commitment to leading dramatic scaling of our core operations for a minimum of 3-5+ years. While we will open a Nairobi office to support regional expansion in the near future, this role will be primarily based at our current headquarters in Kilifi, Kenya for the foreseeable future. The role offers competitive salary and benefits, plus equity participation.
How to apply:
For more information and job application details, see; Chief Operating Officer
Closing date is 14th August 2016.

3. Director of Farmer Relations
As Director of Farmer Relations and founder of this department, you will be responsible for driving growth at both strategic and operational levels. You will need to spend significant time in the field to develop a deep understanding of our farmers, while also managing growing operations from our HQ office.
This role calls for a skilled communications content creator, who is also a talented operations manager working to develop, coach and manage a growing team to deliver compelling content.
You are an open-minded, flexible, positive thinker and detail-oriented operator that cares most about driving lasting impact by getting everyone to work effectively together with a common culture of teamwork. You will report to Komaza’s COO, while working closely with the Founder & CEO, as well as other senior executives.
Responsibilities

Develop communication materials for: enrollment; planting; lifetime farmer engagement; harvesting; returning income; smart spending for impact.

Research and understand our farmers’ lives, both day-to-day and their Komaza experience. Develop communication strategies and materials to maximize communities’ positive perception of Komaza and our impact on farmers’ lives.

Design, develop and implement Komaza’s impact-measurement processes, with a comprehensive socio-economic baseline survey followed by post-harvest follow ups to deliver deep quantitative and qualitative insights into our actual impact.

Design and pilot innovative programs to increase farmer engagement & impact, including a savings and credit cooperative and rural “Komaza Farmer Shop” to sell discounted household goods to farmers and community ambassadors.

Design, develop and manage systems to collect and act on farmer feedback.

Recruit and lead our Farmer Relations team. Train Farmer Relations and Field Operations teams to effectively act on farmer feedback and to communicate the right content with a positive, compelling tone. Empower all staff to be positive, well-informed ambassadors for Komaza’s model, values and impact.Qualifications

8+ years’ relevant work experience, ideally with 4+ years working closely with small-scale farmers, plus experience developing and delivering communications or training materials; a Masters is preferred.

Excellent oral and written communication skills; some Swahili and a strong desire to learn is a serious plus; aptitude to distill complex messages into simple, structured communications with lots of relatable analogies.

Energetic and enthusiastic – willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. You’re well-organized with experience in project management.

Comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as patience and perseverance in the face of serious logistical, cultural and environmental hurdles.

Proven success working and living in Africa is strongly preferred.Expectations
We need a Director of Farmer Relations who wants to make a meaningful commitment to building and scaling this department for a minimum of 3-5+ years. While we will open a Nairobi office to support regional expansion in the near future, this role will be primarily based at our current headquarters in Kilifi, Kenya for the foreseeable future. The role offers competitive salary and benefits.
Application Deadline
Closing date is 7th August 2016.
How to apply:
For more information and job application details, see;Director of Farmer Relations

4. Director of Product Marketing & Sales
As Director of Product Marketing & Sales, you will be responsible for increasing sales from our current pilot level to $2 million annually in the next two years, while developing the strategy and capacity to grow to $10 million by 2020. All other Departments are cost centers; you will build Komaza’s core profit center.
This role calls for a proven Marketing & Sales professional, not a wood industry expert. As the founder of this initiative, you will be responsible for driving growth at both strategic and deeply operational levels, managing your team to consistently deliver results, while building strategies and systems for long-term success.
You are an open-minded, flexible, and determined thinker and operator who will do whatever necessary to sell Komaza’s growing harvest volumes for the best possible net return. You will report to Komaza’s COO, while working closely with the Founder & CEO, as well as other senior executives.
Responsibilities

Develop a deep understanding of Komaza’s available wood markets (TAM/SAM/SOM), leading primary research into qualitative and quantitative insights on demand, existing supply chains, prices, opportunities and challenges.

Design and implement Komaza’s Sales & Marketing Plan, with a clear strategy and operational plan for achieving ambitious sales targets.

Recruit and lead a lean team of high-performing researchers, marketers and salesmen, while developing a culture of collaboration, accountability, honesty, customer service, and relentless hustle to make the sale.

Build strong relationships with key customers, and coach and manage your team to build and maintain strong relationships with scores of potential customers from individual consumers to government tenders.

Design and manage detailed real-time data collection tools and dashboards for sales forecasting and reporting, aligned with marketing and sales strategies to deliver results.Qualifications

8+ years’ relevant work experience, ideally with 4+ years leading significant growth of a marketing & sales operation in East Africa; an MBA is preferred.

Proven experience leading high-performing sales teams, introducing new products to local retailers and consumers. You can thrive in dynamic, uber-growth situations.

You’ve worked and thrived at a rapidly scaling company.

Excellent communication skills with the aptitude to distill complex systems and detailed analysis into simple, structured processes with concrete action plans.

Energetic and enthusiastic – willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. You’re well-organized with experience in project and change management.

Comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as patience and perseverance in the face of serious logistical and environmental hurdles.

Proven success working and living in Africa is strongly preferred.Expectations
We need a Director of Marketing & Sales who wants to make a meaningful commitment to building and rapidly scaling this department for a minimum of 3-5+ years. While we will open a Nairobi office to support regional expansion in the near future, this role will be primarily based at our current headquarters in Kilifi, Kenya for the foreseeable future. The role offers competitive salary and benefits.
Application Deadline
Closing date is 7th August 2016.
How to apply:
For more information and job application details, see;Director of Product Marketing & Sales

5. Vice President of Operations Innovation
As Vice President of Operations Innovation, you are fundamentally tasked with designing the future of forestry in Africa, and will be responsible for driving change both at a strategic level and deeply operational level. As the founder of this initiative, you will need to thrive on ambiguity, and possess the ability to see, prioritize and manage simultaneous multi-year initiatives.
Most importantly, you must be a lifelong learner who is able to lead, coordinate and coach your team of bright consultants through the stages of designing, developing and delivering critical projects necessary for the long-term success and sustainability of the company.
You are an open-minded, flexible, and generative thinker and operator that cares most about driving lasting impact by converting excellent ideas into testable prototypes and proven reality. You will report to Komaza’s Founder & CEO, and work very closely with other senior executives.
Responsibilities

Develop a dynamic, deep understanding of how Komaza works – the connectivity between teams, systems, and on-the-ground realities of building a for-profit, impact-driven business – and constantly think about how to improve on it.

Recruit and lead a team of former innovation consultants, researchers, and operating experts, while inspiring a culture of collaboration and accountability.

Build deep relationships at all levels across the organization to serve as the eyes and ears on the ground attuned to critical organizational needs and opportunities.

Design and implement a rigorous methodology for inspiring, building, testing, and scaling blue-sky initiatives.

Define company strategy, working closely with our Founder/CEO and others on our collaborative “Silicon Valley culture” senior team. Help build a management team committed to tenets of “JFDI” and “Go Big or Go Home.”Qualifications

10+ years’ relevant work experience, ideally 4+ years program innovation consulting, or operations research and strategy from a leading company; qualitative and quantitative data are both your friends; an MBA is preferred.

Proven experience leading high-performing teams, especially in dynamic environments. You know how to thrive in uber-growth situations. You’ve worked and thrived at a rapidly scaling company.

Excellent communication skills with the aptitude to distill complex systems and detailed analysis into simple, structured processes with concrete action plans.

Energetic and enthusiastic – willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. You’re well-organized with experience in project and change management.

Comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as patience and perseverance in the face of serious logistical and environmental hurdles.

Proven success working and living in Africa is strongly preferred.Expectations
We need a VP of Ops Innovation who wants to make a meaningful commitment to building this department and delivering significant innovations for a minimum of 3-5+ years. While we will open a Nairobi office to support regional expansion in the near future, this role will be primarily based at our current headquarters in Kilifi, Kenya for the foreseeable future. The role offers competitive salary and benefits, plus equity
Application Deadline
Closing date is 14th August 2016.
How to apply:
For more information and job application details, see; Vice President of Operations Innovation