Hiring: Director of Information Technology
Wanted: A prolific technology wizard to lead strategy, development & implementation of IT solutions to improve core operations performance. This key role combines systems management, front/back-end optimization, data analysis, and team leadership.
Location: Kilifi, Kenya: a growing coastal town, one hour from Mombasa, Kenya’s 2nd largest city
Languages: English required, Swahili a plus.
Start Date: As soon as possible.
Duration: Minimum 3 years, for individuals seeking a serious career opportunity. We need a leader to build and leverage IT capacity to take our operations to the next level.
Wanted: A prolific technology wizard to lead strategy, development & implementation of IT solutions to improve core operations performance. This key role combines systems management, front/back-end optimization, data analysis, and team leadership.
Location: Kilifi, Kenya: a growing coastal town, one hour from Mombasa, Kenya’s 2nd largest city
Languages: English required, Swahili a plus.
Start Date: As soon as possible.
Duration: Minimum 3 years, for individuals seeking a serious career opportunity. We need a leader to build and leverage IT capacity to take our operations to the next level.
Company: Planting millions of trees with poor farmers to sell as high-value wood products.
Komaza is a social business working to generate life-changing income for poor farmers by growing trees for sale as diverse wood products. Since 2008, we have planted 3,000 acres with over 5,000 farmers in coastal Kenya; we continue to plant more each season, with plans to accelerate. We see “micro-forestry” as the disruptive solution to meet East Africa’s growing wood deficit – with strong projected profitability, we aim to grow into one of East Africa’s leading forestry and wood product companies over the next decade, generating income for many thousands of farmers. Komaza has earned many awards for our innovative business model, plus recent articles in Forbes and Fast Company.
The Role: Manage, develop & apply technology solutions to improve core operational outcomes.
Our current Tech Manager led us from a legacy database to a functioning, virtual platform over the last two years, and we are beginning to appreciate the power of data. As he goes to graduate school in Q3 2015, we seek a Technology Director to take our IT up yet another level, from good to truly great. Our primary focus improving performance of Komaza’s agro-forestry operations with farmers, with our field extension staff using smartphones and tablets to enter key performance data into our Salesforce database (tree survival & growth, case management, work progress, etc.). Ultimately, the goal is to continue designing, developing and implementing the business management information systems that will allow company management to make smarter decisions, and helping our frontline field staff and farmers do the same.
· Database Design & Management:Continue development and optimization of our Salesforce database; develop database functions by designing and coding utilities and analysis dashboards; maintain database performance with high quality standards and necessary updates.
· Mobile App Development:Develop software for field staff to enter data through smartphones and tablets; continue use and development of current TaroWorks frontend, with an eye towards designing and building custom applications in the future (with developers as needed).
· End-User Design, Training & Support:Most users have little prior exposure to smartphones, so all frontend applications and trainings must be iteratively designed, tested and re-designed to ultimately ensure staff and farmers can use their smartphones to effectively report key data.
· KPI Dashboards & Maps: Develop the interfaces to intelligently display key data with clear tables, charts and maps, enabling management to make smarter decisions.
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About the Job: The Director of Technology & Data must show excellence in the following areas:
· Strategic Planning: Work closely with company leadership and the operations team to develop and refine our IT strategic vision for the next 3-5 years; prioritize activities to achieve this vision.
· Team Leadership: Lead all IT department staff – currently 2 (Database Administrator + IT Associate), growing to 6+ FTEs in 2015, including an internal field audit team. Engage direct reports daily to delegate tasks, ensure quality output, make decisions, and help solve problems.
· Project Management:Strong planning and implementation of projects, managing direct reports through detailed work planning, high-quality execution and iterative improvement.
· Capacity Building: Develop the people and systems within the IT Department, and work with other managers to build org-wide technology capacity for improved performance.
· Misc. Tech Support: We need you to focus >90% on high-value work, but also to solve occasional tech problems, from website maintenance to computer repair. Everyone has a little busy work.
Essential Skills: We need an experienced technologist with deep proficiency in the following skills:
· System Design & Admin:Data structures, process flows, software engineering, analysis & reports
· IT Fundamentals: FTP, File Systems, Networks, Computer Hardware & Peripherals
· MS Office Literate:Word, Excel, PowerPoint
· Computer Languages & Protocols: html, Java, Visual Basic, with an understanding of APIs
· Database Administration:Salesforce, SQL, MySQL
· UI/UX design:Some inclination towards human-computer interaction; ability to develop interfaces on feature phones, smartphones and tablets for users with very little tech experience.
Requirements: We need a talented technology generalist who can get things done:
· Self-starter: Strong initiative, focus, project management, hands-on execution, perseverance.
· Excellent “hard skills”: Deeply proficient with critical systems thinking, problem solving, quantitative analysis, MS Office, etc. Interest to quickly learn new skills.
· Excellent “soft skills”: Our small cross-cultural team is looking for other good communicators with high emotional intelligence, a positive attitude, and respect for others. Humor also helps.
· High energy & standards, plus persistence:We need someone to pour significant energy and enthusiasm into building and leveraging an awesome IT platform to improve core operations.
· Developing-world passion: We seek someone who has ideally worked at least 1 year in the developing world (preferably East Africa), who is excited to work in Kenya for at least 3 years.
· Good education: Strong undergraduate performance in Computer Science/Engineering (include GPA and test scores on CV). A Master’s is preferred, but we most value real world experience.
Compensation & Benefits:Salary will start at reasonable level for good quality of life in Kilifi, with opportunities for raises and bonuses with strong performance. Health insurance, immunizations, and two return flights to home country per year are included. Possibility for future equity participation after demonstrated strong performance and a long-term commitment.
HOW TO APPLY:
To Apply: Please apply through Komaza’s website: www.komaza.org/recruiting/, where you can submit your CV and a brief cover letter explaining why this opportunity inspires you, why you are confident you can build a powerful business intelligence platform, and your top three questions for us.
