JOB DESCRIPTION

The Tanzania program is currently transitioning from a start-up environment to a more mature operation. In our 6th year of operations, we are targeting to serve 50,000 farm families with our Core Program, employing more than 400 full-time staff. In three more years, we will more than double in size and add several new regions - striving to create >15 million $ of Impact. Our Head of Systems is a person that can demonstrate strong operations management abilities to help us build the team and operational systems we need to deliver impact to farmers efficiently at scale.  

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

• The Head of Systems is ultimately responsible for management, controls and results of three departments. You will constantly measure progress against their goals, regularly report on progress, constantly reassess your team’s priorities and strategically allocate budgeted resources accordingly and you hold each team accountable for delivering results:
• Business Operations - Department responsible for all client data (orders and repayments), customer hotline and field audit. We drive towards timely and accurate data to inform decision and strategies as well as excellent customer service through timely resolving questions and issues raised by farmers through our Customer Hotline.  
• Logistics - Department responsible for timely ordering of inputs, inputs storing, overseeing the quality control process and ultimately for delivering inputs to our farmers. We drive towards timely and efficient input distributions to farmers - constantly lowering our $/MT delivered and minimizing redistributions as well as inventory shrink.
• Procurement - Department responsible for all purchases across departments in Tanzania. We drive towards establishing long-term buyer partnerships through contracting and negotiations, aiming to drive significant savings for all departments through bulk purchasing and secure timely delivery of all orders.  

• The Head of System is also playing a key role in the Country Program Management via:

• Managing the Country Coordination Meeting to ensure all teams are aligned on project timelines and working together throughout the season  
• Own the overall TZ Core Program Calendar, ensuring that key activities such as client enrollment and input delivery take place on time and that dependencies across teams are properly managed in all regions/across all AG calendars
• Bring a ruthless focus on cross-team communication to ensure that major new initiatives/trials are implemented fully across all teams and even if not initiated by the Systems Division, have a strong grounding in Systems basics
• You will support your team to break down our Country 5 Year Plan and long term Vision into prioritized and measurable annual Objectives and Key Results for the Country and for the Systems Division. You will coach your team to create annual bottom up budgets that reflects these strategies and targets. You are ultimately responsible for reaching these goals as well as keeping your departments within 2% of their annual budgets targets
• You are a member of the Tanzanian Steering Committee, representing the System Division whilst also acting as a leader of the Country Program striving to maximize farmer impact. Together with other key leaders, you will continue to build up the Steering Committee to an efficient decision making body of the organization, focused on creating great long-term program strategy
• Lastly, you are the Tanzanian representative in our Global Systems Team, ensuring that Tanzania's achievements and challenges are heard and understood and you push the Tanzania agenda at the global level. You help to influence global strategy within the Systems Division

Lead Transformation & Innovation

• You are directly, or via your key deputies, tasked with recommending efficiency plays and identifying areas for cost savings and program improvements - guide the transformation of our Systems Division into a leaner, more efficient, and less complex model which focus on providing excellent customer service.
• In each department this could look like:
  • Completing our mobile money roll out in collaboration with the Field Innovation team and by working closely with Mobile Network Operators to reduce barriers in the field
  • Support the Systems side of Enrollment on Tablets which will enable us to operate with real time data
  • Working with the Tech team to make program data more readily available to the Field Team and find better ways to utilize the Customer Engagement team in assisting farmers and improve our Customer Satisfaction
  • Working with the tech team to make better use of data to enable route optimization for trucks  
  • Working to reduce the cost per square meter of warehouse space to reduce our cost per metric tonne stored
• Business Operations - You and your Biz Ops team will lead the transformation to “paperless” through:
• Logistics - You and your Logistics team will unlock future growth opportunities through reduced cost by:
• Procurement -  You and your Procurement team will first and foremost focus your energy to build up our expertise and systems around bulk procurement, contracting and tendering as well as best in class controls.
• You will provide regular and actionable feedback on trial ideas and practical support to our innovations teams as they work to integrate new products and new program design ideas into our core operations.
• You will guide your team through a phase of expansion and actively review and improve existing communication structures and venues to facilitate operability as well as the culture of a growingly disparate team across a large country operation.
• You are detail-oriented and will continuously find new ways to streamline documentation processing and knowledge management for an operation that is rapidly growing - by yourself or through your team.

Lead People

The Head of Systems is at the head of three divisions (Business Operations, Logistics and Procurement), working in four different offices and comprising around 30 staff. Our expectations are that:  

• You will establish and cultivate strong relationships to ensure that all staff on the Systems teams can maximize their career performance and job satisfaction as part of the One Acre Fund team
• You have a dynamic and ‘live’ organizational chart for your Division as well as Job Descriptions for your full team which ensures you have owners responsible/accountable for delivering against the key goals/targets highlighted above  
• You develop and maintain processes ensuring that everyone—from your deputies directly reporting to you to the newest Warehouse Assistant or Purchasing Officer in our program—is continually mentored, challenged, and supported by the organization
• This can include, but is not limited to, the following deliverables:
• Bi-annual performance/salary reviews which includes 360 feedback and a self review.
• Bi-annual ‘coffee chats’ which aims to understand and support each individual’s long term career aspirations.  
• All staff at JG3+ level always has a development/promotion and a succession plan - reviewed on a monthly basis.
• Weekly check-ins with ongoing actionable and constructive feedback in specific areas of development  
• You’ll lead the team through change, guide the team in troubleshooting challenges and provide strategic focus and direction.
• You will take responsibility to drive against our Diversity & Inclusion targets by ruthless focus on hiring talent from Tanzania into all open positions and by maintaining and updating succession plans for every JG3+ position  
• Systems Division staff performance is your top priority and you foster collaboration between your team and HR in order to explore powerful strategies/ tactics to step change Systems Division staff’s performance - striving towards an ‘excellent customer experience’ for our farmers and our direct customers - the Field-facing teams
• You continuously develop a strong set of deputies in your departments - who have the capability to be future leaders of the organization. You are responsible for guiding their development and putting them in a position to succeed in that ambition

QUALIFICATIONS

As the Head of Systems, you  must be are a talented professional with solid experience in leading large teams and executing at scale. Most importantly, you have should have strategic thinking skills, as well as enjoy problem-solving and working in a fast-paced and high-stakes environment. In addition, you must have a solid track record of developing talent and fostering professional growth in others. Other criteria:

• You are a mission-driven individual that can align 100% with OAF’s values in putting farmers first.
• You have 6+ years of professional experience. Relevant experience includes:
• International development/NGO work - preferably in East Africa.
• Lead One Acre Fund Systems Departments in another country.
• Private sector business, start-up or government work in a developing country, specifically in Logistics, Procurement or Data Management.  
• Any roles which involves heavy focus on driving operational efficiency, rapid expansion and/or project management.
• You have at minimum 3 years direct management experience with strong examples of people development.
• Strong general management skills and ability to manage a wide range of topics across different teams.
• Ability to lead a team in setting a vision, annual strategy and goals and hold everyone accountable to it.
• You are humble and you combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service.
• Language: English required. Swahili desired.
• A willingness to commit to living in rural areas of East Africa for at least two years, minimum.