Field Director

Education: No requirement
Location: Kilifi, Coast, Kenya
Posted by: KOMAZA
Job Category: Social Enterprise
Sector: Nonprofit
Last day to apply: November 1, 2010
Last updated: October 4, 2010
Type: Full time
Language(s): English, Swahili
Job posted on: October 4, 2010
Area of Focus: Economic Development, Environment and Ecology, Farming and Agriculture, Poverty and Hunger, Rural Issues
KOMAZA is a not-for-profit social enterprise working to permanently and sustainably end rural poverty by developing economic opportunities for smallholder farmers living in Africa’s infertile and drought-prone regions.

We are looking for an experienced, business professional with operational experience to lead field staff.

Industry: Social Business / International Development / Start-Up / Non-profit
Function: Operations
Commitment: 2 year minimum, more preferred
Location: Kilifi, Kenya
Compensation/Benefits: Commensurate with experience
Application Deadline: 1 November 2010
Start Date: 1 December 2010

THE ROLE
As Field Director, you will be responsible for the management and development of field operations.

• Manage all levels of field staff: coordinate and supervise all aspects of our field operations from social marketing to planting and maintenance with a current field staff of 60.
• Troubleshoot day-to-day operational challenges.
• Design systems to enable KOMAZA operations: work closely with both headquarters and field staff to design and implement procedures, processes and tools that will ensure smooth-running operations that can grow.
• Capture “on-the-ground” needs and best practices: understand field challenges and bottlenecks and communicate those needs to headquarters in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our field systems.

This role will be based out of the Kilifi town office, but will be relocated to Ganze toward the end of 2011 (1 hour from Kilifi town). This position will require significant amounts of field work (2-5 days per week) under difficult conditions and will require spending several nights per week in Ganze. While there will be some office and desk work, this role will only be suitable for people with experience and who enjoy the outdoors.

QUALIFICATIONS
• Fluent in Kiswahili and English: complete verbal and written mastery of both languages
• Education: top performer with a degree in forestry, agriculture, natural resource management or related areas
• Relevant work experience: work experience in the forestry or agriculture industries is strongly preferred.
• Experience in a field operations capacity is also looked upon favorably (utilities, construction, community mobilization, etc.) --
• Management experience: must have a minimum of 3 years (5+ preferred) managing staff in an operational capacity. Should have experience managing teams and setting clear expectations for performance and deadlines. Experience managing multiple levels of staff strongly preferred.
• Independent manager: self-managing - taking ownership over important, independent projects; capable of budgeting, prioritizing work loads, developing work plans, goals and self-deadlines
• Excellent and proactive communicator: personable yet persistent, building consensus and hearing all sides. Equal ability to communicate effectively with highly-educated international staff and minimally-educated local farmers and field staff.
• Extremely organized: clear ability to track personal responsibilities as well as ensure that all field staff is on track and have the resources they need for success.
• Fast-paced and energizing: experience getting groups of people to work hard, but most importantly to work smart, efficiently, and with a sense of purpose and accomplishment
• Patience and sense of humor: ability to adapt to changing situations and cope with the difficulty of working in remote, impoverished areas and the ability to laugh about it when things don’t work out as intended.
• Problem-solver: excellent problem-solving and analytical skills; ability to balance farmer and field staff concerns with sound business judgment. Ability to think “big picture” (e.g. how to meet milestones for planting with 1,000+ farmers) and dig into details (e.g. how to quickly get 100 barrels to farmers with no vehicles, poor road infrastructure)
• High-quality execution: proven experience executing projects/tasks and implementing recommendations with accuracy and great attention to detail.
• Preferred but not required:
- Competency in a Mijikenda language
- Driver’s license (automobile and motorcycle; willingness to obtain one and spend significant time driving is required)
- Work/living experience on Kenyan coast or in rural hardship areas

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
Compensation is dependent on experience and qualifications.

Please apply directly on our website at www.komaza.org/recruiting.

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