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Lori Systems
Chief of Staff
Why this is a great job
A super interesting startup in a massive industry. According to the founder, this person will be instrumental in helping the company grow rapidly after their recent round. They are “actively seeking someone to step in to help us get to this next stage!” Note: this role is based in Nairobi, but they’re interested in candidates from the U.S., too.
The nitty gritty
Lori is building the cutting-edge logistics infrastructure for trucking in Africa. The startup is using advanced technology and operational systems to tackle a massive issue - $180 billion is spent annually on haulage across Africa, which means that up to 75% of a product’s cost is due to logistics (compared to 6% in the US).
Lori’s tech-enabled logistics optimization system is driving a new-age supply chain management system and has already realized significantly improved flexibility, reliability, and significant cost savings (savings upwards of 15%, which reduces the prices of goods for consumers).
The market demand for Lori’s platform is increasing exponentially and the company has achieved a 30% month over month growth since system launch in May. To continue driving this pace of growth, Lori has raised capital from institutional and strategic investors from the continent/world. The company recently won TechCrunch’s Battlefield Africa.
The team is led by a team of nerds obsessed with revolutionizing logistics in Africa and executing on their vision:
Gichini Ngaruiya, CTO: Y Combinator, co-founder/CTO of E la Carte (raised $50mm+), MIT CS, Kenyan native
Josh Sandler, CEO: industrialization + logistics work, Harvard MBA/MPA-ID, South African native
Fredrik Johansson, COO: former COO of $80mm Swedish supply chain co, Masters in Eng (thesis in Tanzania)
The position
Lori is seeking a Chief of Staff who will support the execution of the CEO’s vision. You will drive strategic initiatives and organization across a rapidly growing start up. You will also consolidate and prioritize critical issues and required information for the CEO to facilitate efficient decision making. As Chief of Staff, you will have deep exposure to many aspects of the business and will need to be able work cross-functionally. The role requires a broad skill-set and a flexibility to work intelligently on ad-hoc projects. Speed and communication is vital. Crucial to this role is an ability to deal with ambiguity, and transition between in-the-weeds execution and systems/structure building. The person must have persistence and a commitment to the goals of building the logistics infrastructure system of the future.
What you will do
Execute on CEO’s strategic vision and support CEO on day to day
Coordinate cross-functional teams
Manage teams as needed
Lead communication across org (including leadership team meetings)
Create investor updates / fundraising pitch decks
Develop and track Quarterly Roadmap (status updates)
Drive strategic projects (ex. partnerships, M&A diligence, product-focused exploration)
Build systems to optimize processes & resources
Fully own and solve day-to-day complexities
What you bring to the table
Deep commitment to the vision of Lori
An ability to prioritize, while multitasking
Entrepreneurial passion
Obsession with detail
Trustworthiness
Efficiency with limited resources
Confidence in managing up
Flexibility in working across all business units
No ego
Excitement to work in an intense environment
Curiosity
Sound business judgement
Excellent communication skills
Bachelor’s degree in business
2+ years of work experience at top investment bank or consulting firm
Preferred experience
Experience as Chief of Staff
Graduate degree in a relevant field
East African
Fluency in Swahili
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