About Pula

Pula is an insurtech company that designs and delivers agricultural and climate-risk solutions for smallholder farmers, governments, financial institutions and agricultural value chains. We combine product design, data, field operations and insurance-market relationships to make protection work at scale across Africa and other emerging markets.

Since 2015, Pula has helped millions of farmers access climate insurance and mobilised substantial insurance capacity for risks that conventional markets often struggle to serve. We are expanding beyond individual insurance programmes into wider climate-risk solutions, including disaster-risk financing, fund management, risk layering and data-led products.

Learn more at pula.io. Pula has also been featured by TED, The New York Times and The Economist for its work expanding access to agricultural insurance.

The role

The Project Manager will be responsible for the end-to-end planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and delivery of the programme, ensuring that project activities are executed effectively, within agreed timelines and budgets, and in accordance with contractual obligations, client requirements and programme objectives.

The role will serve as the primary operational link between the project team, client, implementing partners, field teams, community representatives and other stakeholders.

A key responsibility will be translating project strategies and commitments into practical field-level implementation, ensuring effective stakeholder coordination, public education and awareness, community engagement, issue resolution and reporting. The Project Manager will ensure that the programme achieves meaningful ground-level reach, stakeholder alignment and measurable implementation outcomes.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

A. Project Planning and Delivery

• Develop and maintain project implementation plans, work plans, schedules, milestones and deliverables.
• Translate project objectives and contractual commitments into actionable workstreams, responsibilities and timelines.
• Coordinate internal teams, implementing partners and service providers to ensure timely delivery.
• Monitor progress against targets, identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions.
• Maintain project documentation, activity trackers, risk registers, issue logs and decision records.
• Ensure deliverables meet agreed quality standards and timelines.

B. Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Act as the day-to-day operational focal point for designated clients, departments, agencies and public institutions.
• Build productive relationships with government officials at national, county, sub-county and ward levels, as applicable.
• Coordinate project meetings, workstreams, reviews, planning sessions and progress updates.
• Prepare agendas, presentations, briefing notes, minutes and action trackers.
• Follow up on commitments, approvals, dependencies and implementation decisions.
• Manage client expectations, communicate progress and address concerns or escalations.
• Keep activities aligned with priorities, approved policies, institutional procedures and programme objectives.

C. Field Operations and Implementation

• Plan, coordinate and oversee field activities across project locations in line with approved work plans.
• Organise field visits, community meetings, training sessions, public forums and other implementation activities.
• Coordinate field officers, trainers, local partners and other field personnel.
• Ensure field teams have the necessary resources, logistics, materials, transport and guidance.
• Conduct field visits to assess progress, validate reported activities and identify operational challenges.
• Monitor field performance, attendance, participation, service delivery and adherence to protocols.
• Ensure accurate collection, validation and submission of field data and supporting documents.
• Resolve operational issues promptly and escalate material risks, delays or resource constraints.

D. Public Education, Awareness and Community Engagement

• Develop and coordinate public education and awareness activities to support programme understanding, participation and adoption.
• Work with communications teams, community leaders, local county offices and other stakeholders to facilitate outreach.
• Coordinate communication materials, including brochures, presentations, FAQs, community notices, radio messages and digital content, as relevant.
• Organise community sensitisation meetings, public barazas, workshops, demonstrations and awareness campaigns.
• Ensure programme information is clear, accurate and accessible in appropriate languages and formats.
• Promote inclusive outreach that considers gender, disability, language, geographic accessibility and other barriers.
• Track outreach coverage, participation, awareness, feedback and other engagement indicators.

E. Stakeholder Coordination and Partnership Management

• Map key stakeholders and develop an engagement plan covering roles, interests, responsibilities and frequency.
• Coordinate contributions from government agencies, development partners, private-sector organisations, community-based organisations and other partners.
• Facilitate collaboration across technical, operational, communications, finance, monitoring and evaluation teams.
• Establish clear communication channels and escalation procedures.
• Manage partner dependencies and follow up on agreed responsibilities and deliverables.
• Support resolution of stakeholder disagreements, implementation challenges and coordination gaps.
• Maintain an up-to-date stakeholder register and record key engagements, commitments and outstanding actions.

F. Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning

• Maintain project performance trackers, dashboards and monitoring tools with the monitoring and evaluation team.
• Track outputs, outcomes, milestones, field coverage and performance against agreed indicators.
• Prepare weekly, monthly, quarterly and ad hoc progress reports for management, government clients and authorised stakeholders.
• Consolidate field reports, validate implementation evidence and ensure reported results are accurate and consistent.
• Identify implementation gaps, emerging risks and lessons learned, and recommend corrective measures.
• Support baseline assessments, beneficiary or participant feedback, project reviews and end-of-pilot evaluations.
• Document lessons learned and recommend programme improvements, institutionalisation and scale-up.

G. Budget, Procurement and Resource Management

• Support preparation and monitoring of project budgets, forecasts and activity-based cost estimates.
• Track expenditure against approved budgets and identify potential overruns or resource shortfalls.
• Coordinate procurement requests, travel, venues, materials and field activity logistics.
• Ensure expenditure and procurement follow organisational and contractual procedures.
• Monitor resource utilisation and recommend cost-efficient approaches.
• Verify supporting documents for field activities, training, stakeholder meetings and other project expenditure.

H. Risk Management, Compliance and Quality Assurance

• Identify and maintain a register of operational, delivery, stakeholder, reputational, safeguarding and other project risks.
• Develop mitigation measures and monitor implementation.
• Ensure activities comply with applicable laws, government protocols, contractual requirements and organisational policies.
• Promote ethical conduct, data confidentiality, responsible beneficiary engagement and appropriate complaint handling.
• Ensure community engagement and field activities are conducted safely and professionally.
• Escalate material incidents, compliance concerns, delays and risks through established channels.
• Maintain audit-ready records of activities, decisions, approvals and deliverables.

I. Team Leadership and Capacity Building

• Supervise and coordinate project officers, field coordinators, consultants and other assigned personnel.
• Set clear priorities, responsibilities, performance expectations and reporting timelines.
• Guide and coach field teams to strengthen implementation quality and stakeholder management.
• Coordinate training and capacity building for implementing partners and field personnel, where required.
• Promote accountability, teamwork, problem-solving and results-oriented delivery.
• Hold regular team meetings and performance reviews to monitor progress and address challenges.

Key Deliverables

The Project Manager will be accountable for the timely preparation, coordination or delivery of:

1. Approved project implementation plan, detailed work plans and milestone tracker.
2. Stakeholder mapping, engagement plan and client coordination schedule.
3. Field implementation plans, logistics arrangements and activity reports.
4. Public education, awareness and community engagement plan, including outreach materials and records.
5. Regular client progress updates, meeting minutes and action trackers.
6. Project monitoring dashboard and validated implementation data.
7. Project budget tracker, resource utilisation updates and supporting expenditure documentation.
8. Project risk register, issue log and corrective action plan.
9. Final project completion report documenting achievements, challenges, outcomes and outstanding actions.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Public Administration, Development Studies, Social Sciences or a related field.
• A postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline is an advantage.
• Professional project management certification, such as PMI, PRINCE2 or equivalent, is desirable.

Experience

• At least 8–12 years of relevant experience in project or programme management, implementation or delivery.
• Demonstrated experience managing government projects, public-sector programmes or donor-funded initiatives.
• Proven experience coordinating field operations across multiple geographic locations.
• Experience engaging senior officials, institutional clients, implementation partners and community stakeholders.
• Experience planning and executing public awareness, community mobilisation, sensitisation or behaviour-change initiatives.
• Experience managing budgets, work plans, reporting requirements and implementation risks.
• Experience supervising field teams, consultants, contractors or implementing partners.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Project management: Strong planning, coordination, execution, prioritisation and problem-solving skills.
• Government relations: Ability to work effectively within client structures and manage institutional relationships professionally.
• Field operations: Practical understanding of field logistics, community mobilisation, activity supervision and implementation monitoring.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, facilitation and report-writing skills.
• Stakeholder management: Ability to align diverse stakeholders, manage expectations and secure follow-through.
• Public engagement: Ability to communicate complex programme concepts in simple, accessible and culturally appropriate language.
• Leadership: Strong team coordination, delegation, coaching and accountability skills.
• Data and reporting: Ability to interpret project data, track KPIs and prepare evidence-based reports.
• Budget management: Understanding of activity-based budgeting, expenditure monitoring and resource allocation.
• Digital proficiency: Competence in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, project management tools and digital reporting platforms. Field data collection tools experience is desirable.
• Adaptability: Ability to work in dynamic field environments, manage competing priorities and respond to changing requirements.
• Integrity and professionalism: High standards of accountability, confidentiality, ethical conduct and responsible stakeholder engagement.
  

Working Conditions

• Frequent travel to project sites and implementation areas.
• Occasional work outside normal business hours to accommodate field activities, stakeholder meetings and public engagement events.
• Regular coordination with geographically dispersed teams and stakeholders.
• Ability to operate in field environments and manage multiple activities under tight deadlines.