Director of Supply Chain Operations

About the company

All children have immense potential, but hundreds of millions don’t have access to the learning they need. The company believes that every child should be empowered with the basic right to literacy and numeracy. We provide an innovative education technology solution and implementation model to the global literacy/numeracy learning crisis using the onebillion application and various toolkits and systems to support implementation. Our model is massively scalable, evidence-based, and can deliver foundational learning to millions of the most marginalized children.

The company partners with governments, organizations, and communities to provide child-directed, tablet-based learning that is accessible, effective, and affordable. We are incorporated in California (United States) as a nonprofit organization, but operate in Sub-Saharan Africa through locally-registered entities in Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. Learn more on our website .

Role Overview

The Director of Supply Chain Operations will play a critical role in carrying out the company’s mission to scale tablet-based learning solutions that enable children to become literate and numerate. They will join a highly committed and collaborative team that is working together to empower every child everywhere to achieve their full potential.

They will lead the design and optimisation of our in-country supply chain architecture in the low-resource contexts in which Imagine works, ensuring that devices don’t just arrive in-country — they reach learners, stay operational, and last as long as possible. This role requires deep collaboration and partnership with country logistics teams to architect and operationalise contextually relevant in-country supply chains to reliably conduct forward and reverse logistics for devices and materials in real-world field conditions. This role provides thought leadership and tools for inventory and stock management, route planning and last‑mile distribution, forward logistics (deployment to schools), reverse logistics (returns, redeployment, end‑of‑life), repairs and refurbishment strategy, and local logistics partner management.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Supply Chain Architecture

• In collaboration with country teams, develop in-country supply chain architectures across portfolio countries with the goal of ensuring that learning is not disrupted by downtime or asset loss.

• Lead geospatial mapping and analysis to build digital maps of the terrain,road networks, road infrastructure, and key points of interest to inform route planning and placement of warehouses and service centers.

• Based on geospatial data analysis, develop the strategy for  the strategic placement of warehouses and service repair centres.

• Based on geospatial data analysis, determine routes and vehicles for distribution and replacement of assets.

• Drive research and cost-benefit analyses to develop robust strategies for last-mile distribution in each country (e.g,  in-house, outsource, CSR partnerships, etc).

Distribution, repairs, and maintenance logistics

• Develop cost-efficient strategies for forward and reverse logistics to support the deployment, returns, and end-of-life processes.

• Develop multiple strategies for repairs, maintenance, and replacement operations that evolve with the scale of the program, are sustainable in the long-term including after full handover to government, extend device lifespan, and minimize turnaround time.

• Determine the strategy and tools to enable data-driven route planning for ongoing maintenance / service visits. Ensure this is based on geospatial data, has context-specific understanding of road conditions, and can be continuously updated as weather patterns and local conditions change.

• Advise country teams on strategies to manage spare parts flows and turnaround times.

Inventory tracking, safety, and risk management

• Research health and safety regulations, in local markets as well as global standards, to establish minimum safety and security standards for asset storage and distribution.

• Develop and implement strategies to mitigate risk of theft or loss of assets during storage, transit, and repairs services.

• Research and recommend suitable asset tracking solutions (e.g. NFC tags, tracking applications, GPS, RFID, etc.).

• Collaborate with relevant colleagues to implement improvements to the inventory management process, reports, and system that enhance safety and tracking of assets.

• Source and manage experts to assess and mitigate risks for fire, electrical shocks and any potential dangers to learners, educators, partners and staff.

Local capacity for repairs and e-waste management

• Research, document, and disseminate global standards for sustainable use, repair, recycling, and disposal of electronic products.

• Adapt global standards to local infrastructure, regulatory, and operational contexts.

• In collaboration with government and country teams, develop strategies to cultivate technical repair skills and e-waste management companies in each country.

• Support each country to identify, select, and manage potential partners from both public and private sectors to activate repairs and e-waste management resources.

• Develop global standards and frameworks to guide partnership agreements (e.g.,mandatory terms for SLAs).

• In collaboration with government, partners, and country teams, develop a certification processes to

• Accredit technicians to repair equipment used in our programs while maintaining specific standards of quality and output.

• Accredit companies or organizations to dispose of electronic products in compliance with global and country-specific regulations.

Data-driven leadership and capacity building

• Use data to improve visibility, accountability, and performance of supply chain operations.

• Enable county teams to implement the global strategies and processes by providing documentation, SOPs, templates, and training.

• Build a strong data culture and develop data fluency across the country supply chain value chain.

• Drive the uptake and utilisation of dashboards and data resources by upskilling teams, and embedding the use of data in standardised ways of working, and raising delivery excellence.

• Champion a culture of collaboration, continuous learning and optimisation.

Requirements

The successful candidate will possess the following competencies, experiences, and qualities:

• Honours Degree or Post Graduate Diploma in supply chain management, supply chain architecture, logistics, field operations, or related fields. Master's Degree qualification preferred.

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in logistics, supply chain operations, or asset-heavy field operations, of which 5 years must have been at a senior level with demonstrated experience in supply chain architecture.

• Proven experience managing inventory, distribution, and reverse logistics with bias toward practical, durable solutions that work on the ground.

• Strong understanding of asset lifecycle management and repairs.

• Experience operating in low-resource, high-complexity environments.

• Experience with building a data-driven culture in an organization to support better decision-making.

• Experience working with remote or hybrid teams across multiple countries.

• Experience working in the non-profit or social sector is an advantage.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Location

The Director of Supply Chain Operations must be based in Africa.The Director will frequently collaborate and coordinate with operations teams across Africa, the US, and the UK. This is a full-time remote position; the role can be based anywhere in Africa with reliable internet access and alignment with core working hours across time zones. The role is primarily home-based, with at least quarterly international travel for in-person team meetings, field support, or training. Must be comfortable working independently in a virtual environment and managing communication across global teams.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis

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The company is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.