National Operations Lead - Ethiopia

About Pula Pula is an agricultural technology and insurance enterprise dedicated to empowering smallholder farmers across Africa. Through innovative agricultural insurance and digital solutions, we help farmers manage risk, improve resilience, and increase their agricultural productivity. We build and manage critical digital infrastructure that supports agricultural development across the continent. Our work includes developing comprehensive farmer registries that serve hundreds of thousands of farmers in individual countries and support governments in delivering agricultural subsidies, issuing national farmer IDs, and verifying compliance with agricultural policies. Because these systems serve as critical public infrastructure, we uphold rigorous standards of data accuracy, integrity, and trust. About the Role Pula is supporting the Government of Ethiopia, through the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), to develop a comprehensive national farmer registry with the ambition of registering millions of farmers across the country. We are seeking an experienced National Operations Lead to lead the field execution of this large-scale initiative, driving farmer mobilization, registration delivery, data quality, and operational efficiency across Ethiopia's diverse rural communities. Reporting to the Director of Field Operations, you will translate national targets into effective regional and local execution plans, working closely with government institutions, community stakeholders, and internal teams to overcome logistical challenges and maximize farmer participation. You will directly manage over 100 Field Coordinators and provide operational leadership to more than 2,000 Field Agents, with accountability for delivering 10,000 registrations per day while maintaining high data quality and operating within budget. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong field execution, large-scale team management, and data-driven performance management. What You Will Be Doing 1. Lead National-Scale Farmer Registration - Own end-to-end field execution, from mobilization and deployment to registration and verification. - Translate national targets into regional, woreda, kebele, and daily plans, driving toward 10,000 registrations per day. - Monitor performance, resolve operational bottlenecks, and ensure delivery against agreed timelines, methodologies, and budgets. 2. Drive Farmer Mobilization - Design and execute locally adapted mobilization strategies that ensure farmers are aware, willing, and able to register. - Coordinate with local authorities, extension services, community leaders, and cooperatives to maximize participation. - Monitor turnout and registration conversion, addressing barriers and adapting strategies to improve results. 3. Build and Manage High-Performing Teams - Recruit, train, deploy, and manage a field organization of 2,000+ Field Agents and Field Coordinators - Directly manage Field Coordinators, ensuring effective oversight of Field Agents. - Set clear performance targets, monitor daily results, address underperformance, and build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. 4. Own Operational Delivery and Budgets - Develop operational plans and budgets, monitor expenditure, and reconcile costs against approved budgets. - Track productivity, registration targets, and delivery risks, taking timely corrective action to maintain performance and cost efficiency. - Support field audits, insurance payout events, operational pilots, and product launches as required. 5. Ensure Data Quality and Operational Excellence - Oversee data collection tools, including Mavuno, and ensure teams follow agreed registration and verification procedures. - Monitor data quality through dashboards, audits, automated checks, and call-backs. - Work with Data Services, Data Quality, and Technology teams to resolve quality concerns within 48 hours and prevent recurring errors. 6. Manage Clients and External Stakeholders - Serve as a senior operational contact for assigned clients, providing transparent updates on delivery, risks, and data quality. - Coordinate with government institutions and local authorities to facilitate registration and resolve operational challenges. - Align delivery commitments and scope changes with relevant internal stakeholders before communicating them to clients. 7. Drive Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work with Data Services, Technology, Commercial, and Finance to ensure effective project execution. - Use operational data and field feedback to improve workflows, productivity, technology, and delivery processes. - Share best practices and develop scalable approaches for future programs. What You Will Bring National-scale operations - At least 10 years of professional experience, including a minimum of 4 years of relevant experience in large-scale field operations, rural market sales and distribution, data collection, farmer registration, census implementation, or comparable programmes in Ethiopia. - Proven experience delivering large-scale data collection programmes involving at least 500,000 records, or achieving the sales and distribution of products or services to at least 500,000 rural farmers. - Familiarity with farmer registries, land documentation, farmer identification (Fadyda), or extension systems is an added advantage. Rural population mobilization - At least four years of experience designing and executing mobilization campaigns that drive awareness, and participation of rural communities. - Proven ability to work with local stakeholders (Regional, Zonal, Woreda level stakeholders) and translate mobilization into measurable registration results. Field-team leadership - Experience recruiting, training, deploying, and managing large, geographically dispersed field teams. - A strong track record of setting daily targets, monitoring performance, and holding teams accountable for volume and quality. Operational and analytical skills - Experience managing field logistics, work plans, budgets, and delivery against targets. - Strong problem-solving skills and proficiency in Microsoft Excel and digital reporting tools. Stakeholder management and communication - Experience working with government institutions, local authorities including regional, zonal, woreda level stakeholders, and community stakeholders. - Strong written and spoken English and professional fluency in at least one relevant Ethiopian language. What Success Looks Like - Registration delivery: Consistent progress toward 10,000 completed registrations per day. - Farmer mobilization: Strong participation and conversion into completed registrations. - Team performance: A well-managed field organization with clear accountability at every level. - Data quality: Compliance with agreed quality standards, with concerns addressed within 48 hours. - Cost efficiency: Delivery within budget while improving productivity and cost per registration. - Stakeholder confidence: Transparent communication, proactive risk management, and reliable delivery. - Continuous improvement: Fewer recurring errors and measurable improvements in field performance.