Assistant Field Coordinator at Pula Advisors (Pula)

Job Description

About Pula

Pula is an insurtech firm that provides agricultural insurance design and execution services, specializing in index-based insurance, and is backed by top-tier VC investors. Since 2015, we have provided climate insurance to 11M+ smallholder farmers, 31% of whom are women across 19 markets in Africa and Asia. So far we’ve protected agricultural investments over $1.7B from climate risks.

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.

What you will be doing

Project Description

Every year, Pula runs a series of operational activities including farmer sensitization campaigns, training of clients and crop cut experiments (a survey designed to measure the yield of different crops).

What you will be doing

Under the direct supervision of the Field Associate Manager, the Field Coordinator shall provide full support to the field team with all necessary project activities to ensure maximum efficiency on the ground. The ideal candidate learns quickly, is resourceful and has experience managing teams and running a field project.

Locations

North-Western, Western, Northern, Copperbelt, Lusaka, Luapula, Muchinga, Eastern, Central, Southern.

Job Description

The Assistant Field Coordinator shall provide the services detailed below. Pula expects the Field Coordinator to conduct following tasks including and beyond:

Conducting Field Agent Training
Help set project budgets, record keeping for expenses and reconciliation against the budget for each project
Farmer sensitization –
- set work plan with FAM and conduct farmer trainings
- Organize and conduct Training-of-trainer sessions with local counterparts and/or client staff
- Submit reports within 5 working days on training outcomes, including photos and participant feedback
- Manage training budget and provide proof of activities and expenditures
- Collect participant data which is accurate and complete
- Evaluate end of season performance of field agents

Field management support for crop cut exercise.
- Field Agent audits: 4x per week visit and audit report.
- Review submitted data on Mavuno web app daily to check received reports performance and verify correct data is submitted (no missing data, incorrect photos, misreported yields).
- Lead weekly data review and work planning meetings with field agents
- Weekly performance review against work plans and review data collected by field agents for quality; audit and retrain field agents with flagged data or missed work plans.
- Investigate any anomalies in inconsistencies in Field Agent data.
- Handling and resolving customer complaints from farmers and stakeholders as needed
- Report to supervisor (Field [associate] Manager) weekly on progress, wins and blockers
- Coordination with client field staff and insurance auditors to facilitate visits
- Report all incidents (localized risk ex. Fire, flooding, pests; client or farmer coordination issues; etc) using the appropriate form with supporting information in 5 working days or less.
- Conduct refresher training when needed on topics identified as unclear to s and for Field Agents who are struggling
- Support Pula mobile app installation and troubleshooting.
- Resolve any queries from the data or payout team on data points within 48 hours.
- Evaluate end of season performance of Field Agents
Clear and consistent communication up and down the reporting lines.
Be available during working hours to respond to queries by whatsapp
Other
- Assist organization and attend local payout events on request
- Assisting in product launches when required

Help with internal data audits when required
Any other duties as requested by management

What you will need to be successful

Located in one of the one of the provinces listed in the location section above
A diploma in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Business/project management or related field.
Be a member of the Agricultural Institute of Zambia (AIZ) and possess a practicing license as per mandatory requirement.
Experience with (2 years) and proven skills in working with clients, project teams, farmers, field teams and agro dealers.
Experience in data collection and data management.
Skills to interact with clients, farmers, field teams and agro dealers.
Ability to work independently in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and multicultural environment
Excellent communication and organizational skills
Intermediate Excel skills is an added advantage

Additional expectations.:

Our team is deeply field based. We hire from the areas that we are working, rather than focusing on hiring only from capital cities or major metropolitan areas.

Everyone needs to be able to work “on the go”: staff are expected to call into conference calls multiple times a week, and to submit communications on email and other mediums throughout the week. While it is difficult to keep a phone and other devices charged while working in rural areas, the best employees plan their movements well enough to ensure being in contact at the right times.

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, our new staffers have 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 11m farmers insured as of 2023.
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 the 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

How to apply

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.