Chief Commercial Officer

About Pula

We are an insuretech firm that provides agriculture insurance design and execution services, specialising in index based insurance and are backed by top tier VC investors who have invested more than $25 million in the business. Since 2015 we have provided climate insurance to 15.4 million smallholder farmers, 41% of which were women across 19 markets in Africa and Asia who pay an average of $6.8 per season to insure their crops. So far we've unlocked over $2.22 billion of capital from local and international insurance markets for climate risks since we started in 2015 and paid out $40.8 million to our client farmers.

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. 

According to the UN’s InterGovernmental Panel for Climate Change more than 3.3 billion people globally live in hotspots with high vulnerability to climate change and are now already feeling the impact of climate change through increased temperatures and increasingly erratic rainfall. 
Insurance is a tool for vulnerable households in these affected regions to adapt to the effects that climate change is already having today on these households. It is a tool that enables for compensation payment for losses and damages that these households had no part in causing. Insurance compensation enables these households to make adjustments to their day to day livelihoods and practices and therefore allows for an equitable and just transition.

At Pula, we are building the systems that enable farmers worldwide to access insurance, using technology to insure this previously uninsured worldwide. We work in over 17 countries across Africa and Asia, and by 2021, have facilitated crop insurance cover to over 6 million farmers, 30% of which are women, across Kenya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. We are a for profit, and have raised over $10 million from leading venture and institutional investors as well as developed philanthropic relationships with private foundations and bilateral donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and German Insure Resilience Solutions Fund that have accelerated investments in our target markets.

Pula is proudly fast paced, constantly learning from the challenges we face and overcome. We are proudly culturally diverse but united in our ambition of continuous high-performance. By challenging ourselves we believe that we can overcome the hard problems we love solving. 

At Pula, our culture is defined by our: 

1.Obsessed with results: We are responsible for our future and therefore we get things done!

2. Ability to connect the Dots: We continuously identify different customer needs & business problems and build solutions that deliver value.

3. Our Can do Attitude! We dare to do things differently to make things work.

4. Ability to have each others’ back: We look out for each other & we share high quality, timely feedback that makes us better.

As the Chief Commercial Officer at Pula, you will lead all commercial efforts (mostly B2G), shaping strategy, systems, and structures that drive growth across markets and products. You will play a pivotal role on our leadership team, inspire and mentor the Commercial Team, building a high-performing, efficient sales force and fostering an environment that prioritizes innovation, strategic growth, and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

1. Develop and Lead a High-Performing Commercial Team (40%)

• Leadership Development: Provide strategic mentorship to Commercial Directors and VPs, guiding them to build commercial leadership skills and fostering their development as industry leaders.
• Commercial Operations and Training: Oversee commercial operations, establishing a strong learning and development framework that equips the team with essential skills and tools to succeed.
• Performance Accountability: Own the overall performance of the commercial team, ensuring high employee engagement, achieving ambitious revenue targets, and supporting talent progression across the team.
• Inspiration and Culture: Cultivate a culture that encourages team members to go above and beyond, maintaining a high-performance atmosphere focused on growth and excellence.

2. Build and Optimize Pula Systems for Scalability (25%)

• Commercial Toolkit Implementation: Create systems that embed and enhance Pula’s commercial toolkit across all levels, ensuring consistency and alignment with best practices.
• Performance and Efficiency Optimization: Design and implement structures that optimize team efficiency and operational performance, including revenue forecasting and deal tracking.
• Scalability Systems: Lead the development of scalable systems that support Pula’s growth trajectory, focusing on long-term sustainability and process excellence.
• Revenue Focus: Maintain a forward-looking approach to revenue generation, continuously assessing the pipeline, potential deals, and their probabilities to drive strategic decision-making.

3. Lead Commercial Strategy and Innovation (25%)

• Creative Problem Solving: Continuously seek new approaches to solve complex market challenges, fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability within the commercial team.
• Product and Market Innovation: Drive the development of new products and expansion into untapped markets, leading large-scale strategic projects that align with Pula’s vision.
• Strategic Direction: Own and communicate the overarching commercial strategy, ensuring internal alignment and positioning Pula as a leader across markets.
• Expansion Strategy: Spearhead new market entry, develop a strategic expansion roadmap, and lead Pula’s approach to engaging new client segments and revenue opportunities.

4. Stakeholder and Deal Management (10%)

• Pula Representative: Serve as a key representative of Pula at major events and engagements, alongside co-founders, enhancing Pula’s visibility and reputation in high-profile circles.
• High-Level Negotiation and Relationship Building: Manage and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders at the highest levels (e.g., presidents, government officials), negotiating effectively to support Pula’s commercial goals.
• Problem Solving and Communication: Act as the master communicator and strategic problem solver, unblocking complex challenges and guiding teams towards effective resolutions.
• Market Assessment: Use insights and market knowledge to evaluate deal progress and address underlying issues, providing the team with a clear, strategic perspective.

 

What makes a successful Pula Chief Commercial Officer?

Core Competencies

• Exceptional B2G Commercial Leadership: 15+ years of experience in senior commercial roles, with a history of building and leading high-performing, large-scale sales teams.
• Strategic Negotiation and Stakeholder Relations: Master negotiator with deep experience in managing high-level relationships, particularly with senior government and industry leaders.
• Visionary Problem Solver: Ability to provide big-picture solutions to complex challenges, ensuring alignment across teams and supporting effective deal progression.
• Systems and Process Builder: Skilled in designing scalable, efficient systems to support growth, with a focus on revenue tracking, performance optimization, and long-term sustainability.
• Revenue-Focused Decision Maker: Strategically driven to meet and exceed revenue goals, with a constant focus on understanding and anticipating future revenue streams.

Behavioral Attributes

• Inspiring Leadership: Instills a high-performance culture across the team, motivating others to go beyond expectations and strive for excellence.
• Strategic Visionary: Sees beyond immediate challenges to recognize and pursue long-term opportunities that position Pula for success.
• Accountable and Results-Driven: Holds high standards for team performance, committed to achieving ambitious targets and delivering results across commercial efforts.
• Resilient and Adaptable: Demonstrates tenacity in overcoming challenges, continuously seeking solutions and adapting strategies to achieve commercial goals.

 

What Pula will bring to the table

• Growth potential: At Pula, we are building the systems that enable farmers worldwide to access insurance, using technology to insure this previously uninsured worldwide. We work in over 19 countries across Africa and Asia, and by 2023, have facilitated crop insurance cover to over 5 million farmers, 40% of which are women. We are a for profit, and have raised over $25 million from leading venture and institutional investors as well as developed philanthropic relationships with private foundations and bilateral donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and German Insure Resilience Solutions Fund that have accelerated investments in our target markets.
• 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 an oversubscribed $20m series B funding despite the economic downturn.
  
   
• 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, 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.

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.