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Chief of Staff
Why this is a great job
If you’re passionate about climate change and want to work for a global company that’s scaling quickly in a key role, look no further. Komaza has an exciting mission and strong investors, and the scope of this role is wide.
The nitty gritty
Company website: www.komaza.com
Location: Silicon Valley
Komaza is partnering with smallholder farmers across Africa to produce the most scalable carbon sequestration engine on the planet.
With deforestation on the rise and traditional plantation forestry constrained by high cost and land availability, Africa faces a $30 billion/yr wood supply deficit by 2030, with no sustainable options for servicing this growth. Komaza's core innovation is simple: using scalable ops systems, remote sensing, and digital intelligence, we partner with thousands of distributed farmers to collectively grow enough trees to run a vertically-integrated industrial wood business at 90% savings over plantations.
Komaza is now among the top 5 commercial forestry planters in Africa. We have planted over 6 million trees with 25,000 farmers in Kenya. Based on our success to date, Komaza has recently closed a $28M Series B financing round from top venture and climate investors and is gearing up for multi-site expansion across Africa. We’re supported by leading climate organizations including Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, and have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Environmental Finance Investment of the Year in 2020, and Forbes 30-under-30. We’re on track to raise significant additional growth financing this year and are hiring a number of senior leadership roles in Strategy, Product, Talent, and Business Development, with opportunities in both Kenya and California.
A key goal for Series B is increased professionalization and stakeholder coordination. In order to make effective use of meetings, it is essential that we increase the planning and preparation that we invest ahead of time. Komaza’s Chief of Staff will lead the facilitation of planning and reporting across departments. This role will also play a critical “set up” function as we establish our Growth Services office in CA.
Planning
Lead the executive team and other directors to develop and report progress on our annual plan.
Design, organize and facilitate all Executive Team meetings, and Quarterly Team reviews.
Plan and lead team building activities during in-person offsites
Reporting
Ensure timely reporting of value chain performance summaries into KPI dashboards
Identify and flag key challenges, structure challenges into outstanding key decisions and approvals
Lead the preparation of Board Packets
Schedule and attend all Board Meetings, take notes and get approvals
Structured Thinking
Gather and review all team submissions for meeting materials and give first round feedback
Lead oversight and when necessary, author internal memos to support challenge reporting, new initiatives, and budget approvals
Oversee resolution of any team related challenges regarding planning and execution
Back Office Services
Oversee the establishment all back office functions for our US office including workspace rental, IT, and supplies
Oversee logistics for the CEO and President including calendaring and travel
Executive Meetings. Design the blueprint, calendar, agenda, and preparation requirements for our Monthly ET Meetings according to global best practices for Growth Stage Companies.
Quarterly Summits. Design the blueprint, calendar, agenda, and preparation requirements for our Quarterly Leadership Summits according to global best practices for Growth Stage Companies.
Global Team Building. Design the budget and calendar of events for Global Team Building activities, including virtual and in-person activities.
Board Reporting. Set the structure and calendar for our future Board Preparation Packets to be circulated in advance of check-Ins and meetings.
November Board Summit. Plan and organize our Annual Board Summit in Kenya. ● Memo Structures. Develop templates and examples of internal memos for decision making.
CA Office Launch. Research and select our CA Growth office location. Support on all Finance, HR, and Admin duties until future exec leads have been onboarded