Global Director of Systems (Operations) at One Acre Fund

Duration

Minimum 2 years commitment, full-time job

Job Description

Our Global Director of Systems will be one of the most important people in the organization, and will quickly join the organization-wide leadership group. S/he will be a key deputy of the Global Director of Operations, and will lead all back-office, technology, and supply chain functions in our 5,500+ person organization, spanning several departments.

Building scalable operations in low-infrastructure rural areas is a massive challenge, which is why we are seeking an exceptional leader to help us grow one of the most innovative, flexible and reliable rural delivery networks in the world. Our team physically delivers tens of thousands of tons farm inputs annually, conducting more that 5,000 deliveries to remote and rural locations every year, with incredible accuracy and timeliness. Our software team builds flexible tools to manage innovative loan products in low-connectivity environments, and are currently building many of our core business processes into a tablet application. Our back-office client data team processes over ten million payments per year – many via mobile money networks – and uses an SMS receipting system to create a digital paper trail for our customers. We receive and process millions of unique and customized client orders each year in a narrow pre-planting order window, and provide unparalleled after sales service through our local call centers. Scaling this network to reach 5-10x as many clients in the next decade will require tremendous leadership, vision, and a laser-focus on execution.

Our long-term vision is to build the largest and most impactful rural distribution network in the world, delivering and financing affordable, life-changing products and services to the world’s most underserved farming communities. Our Global Systems Division is at the heart of this vision, and a cornerstone of our efforts to address rural hunger and poverty on a continent-wide scale.

The overarching goals for this role are to:

• Continue building best-in-class supply chain, client data management, customer service, and software/technology functions
• Grow our operations teams in an efficient and scalable manner to serve more clients across a larger geography
• Drive innovation across all operations teams to adapt to the needs of a changing program model, as well as new business units

Specific Responsibilities include:

Setting Vision & Strategy:

• Work with senior leaders to collaboratively set and execute on long-term vision for all operations functions, under the “Systems Division” umbrella
• Work with leadership on organizational design and change management, to help maintain a high-performing, motivated, and impactful team
• Build and maintain strong collaborative working relationships across several global departments, and amongst key leaders in all countries
• Identify and execute on key areas for strategic innovation

Building Team: Day-to-day management of multiple director-level staff, with a total team size of several dozen staff

• The following teams fall under the management of the Global Director of Systems:
  • Supply chain (rural distribution & input purchasing), Procurement, Client Data Management, Customer Service, Software Development, IT Operations
• Global Director of Systems will be responsible for rapidly growing the careers of the leaders of these departments through weekly check-ins and workshops, ongoing development feedback, and bi-annual career reviews.

Executing on Key Organizational Initiatives: Deliver results on key organizational initiatives related to all aspects of our operations, including:

• Supply chain
  • Drive down costs to the farmer through smart purchasing and supply chain efficiencies
  • Improve the controls environment to minimize input loss
  • Adapt supply chain to offer new products across a broader geography
• Technology
  • Build tools on tablets and mobile phones that improve field-force effectiveness, client impact, and operational efficiency
  • Implement mobile payment systems across all of our countries of operation
  • Maintain and improve upon our in-house, custom CRM system
• Data Systems
  • Improve data flows between key operational data systems to support analysis and decision making
• Customer Service and Protection
  • Scale the teams and systems required to receive inquires and feedback from hundreds of thousands of customers, and monitor and enforce our client protection principles
• Generally - design and implement innovative and impactful systems that can scale across several countries in E. Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia
• Note: Most work will be done through our incredible team of key deputies and department directors, but direct involvement in sketching, creating, and editing of key deliverables will be required.

Leading Innovation in Operations: Drive innovation across all operations functions, by thinking creatively and outside the box. Example focus areas include:

• Increase delivery network flexibility, allowing farmers to order goods more frequently and receive them with less lag time
• Identify opportunities to digitize data flows to improve operational efficiency
• Explore new client communication channels, such as two-way SMS, interactive voice, and call centers

Communication:

• Serve as the global voice for all operations-related issues, to the organization and top leadership.

Career Growth and Development

One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. Your manager and a global support team will commit significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about. Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions.

Qualifications

We are seeking exceptional candidates with 8-15+ years work experience as a general manager/ leader in a fast-growing organization, and a propensity for innovation – C-level executives or co-founders would be ideal candidates. Prior operations experience preferred but not required, if the candidate has held a senior-level position at an innovative organization. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encourage to apply:

• Passion for operations, building scalable and efficient systems, and solving problems in a difficult operating environment
• Proven ability to manage teams and develop leaders; experience in remote management a plus
• Strong data and analytical skills; advanced Excel a plus
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience working in a multi-cultural work place in a developing country a plus
• Creativity and strong problem solving skills
• Top-performing educational background; related Master’s Degree is an asset, but not strictly required
• We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service.
• A willingness to commit to living in East Africa for at least two years – this is a long-term, career-track role.
• Language: Fluent English required