Lawrence Juma

Experienced program and operations manager with a track record of success in the social impact sector. Skilled in people and change management, data-driven strategy, business operations, project management, and team leadership. Passionate about leveraging technology for social solutions. Entrepreneurial: successful projects include Kisii Smart Community and GiveDirectly. Able to build relationships with stakeholders, contributing to measurable impact. Eager to take on new challenges.

FIELD MANAGER, KISII SMART COMMUNITY (KISII) | MAR 2023 — PRESENT

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Align strategies with mission, conduct environmental scans, develop objectives, and monitor progress.
• Oversee operations, policies, systems, and compliance for smooth and efficient functioning.
• Manage finances, work with finance team on planning, expense tracking, and fund disbursement.
• Cultivate partnerships, represent the organization to donors, stakeholders, and government officials.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Led Strategy, R&D, and Risk & Compliance functions for the Smart Village Platform project.
• Designed performance management systems, innovation systems, and risk mitigation tools.
• Led/developed technology and productivity systems like Smart Battery Management, PAYGO, ERP system, and e-vehicle leasing
• Built a high-performing team culture, supported partner capacity building, and managed risks.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Established performance metrics and OKRs for continuous monitoring and learning.
• Developed technology systems to scale impactful interventions, including Smart Battery Management.
• Created and maintained high-performing team culture, supported partner onboarding.
• Led risk identification, management efforts, and team training on risk management.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Innovated marketing channels, supervised in-county marketing teams, and ensured farmer enrollment.
• Mitigated risks, coordinated marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic for uninterrupted enrollment.
• Collaborated with stakeholders, including government leaders, for successful marketing projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Led multi-country M&E teams, aligned tools with organization-wide Theory of Change.
• Managed M&E budget, developed structures, mechanisms, and systems for information collection and reporting.
• Collaborated with regional M&E teams, collected feedback, and implemented organizational learning.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Led multi-country M&E teams, developed data collection tools, training materials, and budget.
• Led the development/configuration of Business Intelligence tools, structures, and systems for information collection and program evolution.
• Led internal research and training to support ongoing learning, innovation and data-driven program management; reduced staff onboarding time by 10%.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Oversaw operations, created and revised new policies, systems, and oversaw compliance for smooth and efficient programming; distributed $30M in cash grants to 26,000 families, met targets and KPIs.
• Built government and stakeholder relationships; enrolled 99% of households within 2 months.
• Elevated employee satisfaction, expanded GiveDirectly footprint from 1 to 7 sub-counties.
• Improved employee satisfaction scores from 2.0 / 5.0 to an all-time high (4.0 / 5.0).

Bachelor of Science (Information Technology), KCA University | 2023

Diploma (Information Technology), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology | 2009