Commercial Manager

Pula is an innovative company dedicated to transforming the lives of millions of smallholder farmers by providing agriculture insurance and related services, working with various stakeholders from governments to development agencies.

This Commercial Manager role at Pula is a mission-driven position, distinct from traditional sales, requiring a deep passion for transforming the lives of millions of smallholder farmers through agriculture insurance. The successful candidate will evangelize the importance of this insurance to various stakeholders, including political elites, government systems, and development agencies. The role emphasizes building extensive networks and deeply entrenched relationships to understand client needs, gather market intelligence, and develop a credible pipeline of opportunities. Key responsibilities include effectively communicating Pula's value propositions through presentations and proposals, acting as a regional spokesperson, and identifying unique selling propositions by understanding market dynamics and competitors. The role is structured around business development and revenue growth, strategic relationship management, market development and positioning, customer success, and commercial planning.

1. Expand Pula's networks and influence within the region.
2. Build and maintain strong relationships to understand client needs and gather market intelligence.
3. Effectively communicate Pula's value propositions through presentations and proposals.
4. Act as Pula's official spokesperson in the region.
5. Identify and develop unique selling propositions and differentiators based on market and competitor knowledge.
6. Define and own commercial objective key results for the assigned region.
7. Research, prepare, and execute sales plans to deliver new and recurring revenues through partnerships with agro-input companies, the public sector, and development organizations.
8. Develop and qualify a pipeline of opportunities to increase Pula’s market share and achieve sales targets across insurance, data services, and consulting offerings.
9. Generate and qualify new leads, prioritizing opportunities for maximum impact.
10. Progress prospects through the sales process to contracting and implementation.
11. Manage and nurture existing client relationships with various stakeholders, including commodity associations, farmer aggregators, insurers, and government bodies.
12. Oversee the handover of new customers to the operations team for solution implementation.
13. Develop and execute the regional commercial strategy, manage the sales pipeline, secure new partnerships, negotiate contracts, and achieve revenue targets (40% of role).
14. Build and strengthen trusted relationships with governments, development partners, insurers, and agribusinesses to expand Pula’s influence (25% of role).
15. Represent Pula in the market, identify opportunities, gather competitive intelligence, and strengthen the company’s brand (15% of role).
16. Ensure effective client transitions to operations, maintain executive-level customer relationships, and support program implementation (10% of role).
17. Set and monitor regional commercial objectives, maintain CRM accuracy, analyze market data, forecast opportunities, and report on performance (10% of role).

1. Proven experience in strong demonstrable sales to development agencies, governments, and/or financial institutions.
2. Demonstrable success in achieving sales quota targets.
3. Experience working with development agencies and/or government officials at all levels, including navigating government structures.
4. Strong critical thinking skills, including the ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
5. Self-directed, results-oriented, and capable of working independently or in a team, with a willingness to continuously learn and expand technical and product knowledge.
6. Knowledge and understanding of engaging with C-suite executives, possessing excellent communication and presentation skills, integrity, and professionalism.
7. Understanding of, or strong interest in, digital public infrastructure for farmers (e.g., farmer registries, digital identity, data platforms) and their use by governments and development partners.
8. Sales or consulting experience in the agriculture sector (seed/fertilizer/agrochemical industry or related) is a significant advantage.
9. Experience and knowledge in the insurance industry is an advantage.
10. Ability to use data and KPIs for management decisions.
11. Proficiency with sales CRM platforms and Google Drive applications (e.g., Google Sheets, Google Docs).
12. Bachelor's Degree.
13. Minimum 3 years of experience.