Pula
About Pula
At Pula, we are radically restructuring agricultural insurance, using technology to insure the previously unbanked, uninsured, untapped market of 1.5 billion smallholders worldwide.
We work in over 17 countries across Africa and Asia, and by 2021, we have facilitated crop insurance cover to over 5.3 million farmers across Kenya, India, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Malawi. Since raising our Series A our operations have expanded globally including now Asia and Latin America.
Pula is a fast-paced space, constantly adapting to new opportunities and challenges and we are made up of a high-performance, multi-cultural team. We expect our team to value performance, results and professionalism.
At Pula, our values are:
- Obsessed with results: We are responsible for our future and therefore we get things done!
- Connect the Dots: We continuously identify different customer needs & business problems and build solutions that deliver value.
- Have a Can do Attitude! We dare to do things differently to make things work.
- We have each others’ back: We look out for each other & we share high quality, timely feedback that makes us better.
Who you are
The Field Manager will report to the Director of Field Operations, while also working closely with other departments to coordinate execution throughout the client journey.
- You understand that we are helping to protect the food security of nations.
- You have an intuitive understanding of rural life drawn from personal or professional experience
- You want to make a difference.
- You are resilient, proactive and have a problem-solvers mindset
- You are not afraid to roll up your sleeves to get things done.
- You are an effective communicator and a good planner
- You are a great team leader
What you will be doing
We go to the remotest of areas to measure yields as farmers harvest. From North Nigeria, southern Zambia, Northern Kenya; name it. We are there. We do not believe in hiding behind a desk to come up with fuzzy claim reports from black boxes that do not reflect the outcome on the ground. We want our payouts to reflect the farmers’ outcomes. We deeply care about that.
The Field Manager at Pula has an essential role of leading the teams that interact with farmers and partners on the ground. You will be responsible for collecting the most complete and accurate data possible on farmers and their harvests which will stand up to the most intense scrutiny. This entails recruiting and training effective teams and contractors as well as engaging clients, government officials, and other stakeholders with clear, timely communication to ensure smooth operations. All of this must be executed with the utmost efficiency to minimize the cost of insuring smallholder farmers, thus ensuring the greatest number of farmers can be covered.
- Client-Specific Deliverables
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- Collaborate with the commercial manager in client engagement, onboarding & contracting and providing recommendations
- Take lead in organizing for internal kick-off meetings in collaboration with Commercial Manager
- Collaborate with the commercial manager in organizing for external kick-off meetings
- Establish and maintain interpersonal relationships with key partners and stakeholders across the private and public sector to ensure smooth running of project operations.
- On a quarterly basis, participate in stakeholder fora and seek pitching opportunities
- Oversee nation wide sensitization campaigns while engaging with internal and external stakeholders through collaboration in sectoral activities e.g., policy formulation, project design etc.
- Coordinate with the commercial and insurance operations teams to provide monthly progress reports for all field operations activities
- Coordinate and deliver high level trainings and workshops to Pula’s partners and clients across different industries
- Provide strategic guidance to the field operations team through the Field Associate Manager
- Execution of data collection:
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- Recruit Field Associate Manager, Field Coordinators and Call Centre Coordinators while providing oversight on Field Agent recruitment
- Build a pipeline of candidates that have performed well in previous seasons for upcoming seasons
- Monitor data collection closely and action any flags through the use of available dashboards
- Provide strategic guidance on data collection issues, unusual events or significant farm losses, ensuring that they are meticulously and indisputably documented.
- Provide accurate timelines for project implementation and completion through collaboration with the commercial and insurance operations teams based on the uniqueness of clients
- Ensure meticulous completion – leave no farm behind.
- Evaluate efficiency of service delivery and operations using spending data, while actioning strategic initiatives to keep costs low for field operations and call center teams
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- Detailed assessment of real costs by location and responsibility
- Apply ingenuity to find savings wherever possible
- Ensure all expenses are reconciled within policy deadlines.
- Monitor budget vs spend closely
- Strategic Development and learning
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- Organize post-project team workshops to evaluate key learnings and improvements in the design, tools, and execution of the project
- Coordinating with the innovations and expansion teammates on launching new initiatives and pilots
- Other operational work
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- Design data collection tools and any other operational related tools where necessary.
- Write content for any stakeholders as asked (internal, clients, etc)
- Other assignments as tasked
The right applicant would have the following skillset:
- 7 years + experience working in agriculture/ social enterprises. Experience leading field operations or Monitoring and Evaluation department is a must have
- Experience working at national level in a fast moving environment/ startup is an added advantage
- Experience in managing teams remotely is an added advantage
- Deep commitment to the “art of management” and nuances of modern management practice
- Ability to work independently – highly self-motivated
- Creative problem-solving skills
- Highly collaborative, with an outgoing personality and clear and consistent communication
- Detail-oriented, meticulous, and attentive to accuracy
- Ability to grasp complex analytical concepts quickly and thoroughly
- Prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery
What Pula will bring to the table
- Growth potential: With an untapped market of 1.5 billion smallholders worldwide, on track to doubling the number of farmers insured in 2021 and Pula’s global leadership in Agriculture Insurance, the Commercial Director has a tremendous upside growth potential.
- Market Leader: Not only is the opportunity massive, but Pula is by far the market leader in it’s category with 5.3m farmers insured as at the end of 2021.
- Solid: Pula has been funded by leading venture capital investors (Omidyar Network, ACCION, MercyCorps) and global philanthropic institutions (MasterCard Foundation, CGAP/World Bank as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). Pula closed a $6m series A funding in December 2020 in the right in middle of the pandemic a clear testimony of the opportunity that Pula is going after.
- Respected: Winner of the Singapore FinTech Festival 2019, Winner of The InsureTech of the Award, Africa. Featured on TED talks, The New York Times, The Economist.
- Impact and creation: This is a high-impact role, reporting to the CEO and Co-Founder, that offers a unique opportunity to bring the company to the next level, whilst developing new strategies, approaches and ideas.
- Leadership: The founders & CEO foster a culture of transparency, respect, high performance, pragmatism, execution and personal development.
- Purpose: It is rare to find a professional opportunity that offers accelerated professional development and a life purpose. Pula is going through a second phase of accelerated growth that will naturally provide professional development, whilst contributing to the financial stability of small farmers in the emerging markets.
- Remuneration: Competitive base salary accordingly with seniority and experience, commission on closed sales and an employee share option plan that offers an attractive equity upside.
To learn more about Pula you can visit
- TED Talk: Crop Insurance, an Idea Worth Seeding
- New York Times: He Grew up on a Farm. Now, He Helps Protect Them
- The Economist: The Poor, Who Most Need Insurance, Are Least Likely to Have It
Method Of Application
Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English.
Cover letters are optional. You can add one if there is any additional information you would like to share about your interest in Pula, the role or your experience. We review applications on a rolling basis.
Pula’s mission is to provide farmer resilience. To achieve this, we put our small holder farmers that use our services and the employees that provide them at the heart of everything we do. For that purpose, Pula was created to be an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.