• Organization: Komaza
  • Posted: February 4 2010
  • Location: Kilifi, KE

The Area:

Crop Production is where it all begins - without trees, we have no products and no revenue for our farmers. The Crop Production team's goal is to grow as many high-quality trees as possible with tens of thousands of poor farmer families, and to do so cost-effectively. In KOMAZA's first two years we have planted with ~500 farmers. Within the next year the number of farmers will triple, and in the following years will grow exponentially. With that comes a huge logistical and planning challenge. Joining the team now means that you will drive the design of this business for years - decades - to come.

The Crop Production team's objectives are to:

  1. Grow operations: Coordinate all planning to plant with 1,000 farmers in 2010 and prepare for 2,500 new farmers in 2011, and continued aggressive growth thereafter (including sourcing and procurement, staff recruitment, logistics planning)
  2. Complete build-out of first Rural Cell: A "Rural Cell" is essentially an area of operations that can be replicated in other parts of Kenya and within greater East Africa. This includes everything: infrastructure (e.g. new operations office), systems, tools, and processes
  3. Refine profitability: Review and recommend planting and maintenance practices to achieve best cost/benefit tradeoff for optimal product development
  4. Pursue diversification: Research other crops that fit in with KOMAZA's mission, business model, environmental commitments and core competencies and markets; these can diversify revenue streams and significantly contribute to farmer income
  5. Enable field staff: Develop staff training and development curricula, workshops and comprehensive testing to increase effectiveness and efficiency of field staff
  6. Conduct operations in an environmentally sound manner: Continue promoting KOMAZA's commitment to sustainable forestry management

The Roles:

The roles within this area are (please see www.komaza.org/recruiting for role details):

  •  
    • Operations Analyst
    • Operations Associate
    • Crop Production R&D Associate
    • Field Learning & Development Associate
    • GIS mapping Associate 

These roles are operational in nature. While based in the Kilifi town office, all but the Procurement & Logistics Officer have a significant field component - which can be challenging but highly rewarding.  This can mean public transportation, basic facilities, work in areas far from infrastructure, and hours spent outside in the equatorial sun and heat. KOMAZA will soon commence construction on its first dedicated field operations office in the heart of our area of operations (Ganze), which will facilitate any field work.

Analysts commit to a minimum 3 months; associates commit to a minimum of one year; directors commit to a minimum of two years.

Qualifications:

Specific qualifications vary according to each role - please see www.recruiting.org/recruiting for details.

Irrespective of the role, KOMAZA seeks applicants with the following qualifications:

  • Education: top-performing undergraduate background
  • Independent manager: ability to work effectively in a highly independent capacity - self-managing, taking ownership of goals, developing work plan, and setting self-deadlines
  • Problem-solver - at a high- and granular- level: excellent problem-solving and analytical skills and impeccable business judgment; ability to think "big picture" and dig into details
  • Strong and proactive communicator: being personable yet persistent; synthesizing and communicating findings to supervisor to improve operations - by developing detailed and high-quality written materials; adapting to local cultural norms and communication styles given close collaboration with local staff
  • High-quality execution: executing projects/tasks and implement recommendations -  quickly and with flawless accuracy, with great systematic attention to detail
  • Patience and a sense of humor: please see KOMAZA recruiting website for a more detailed description of important "fit" criteria
  • Preferred:
    • Kiswahili
    • Work/volunteer experience in a developing country 

For more information:

Please see www.komaza/recruiting for details on positions, qualifications, compensation/benefits, and to apply.