Associate Manager, Operations

What you will be expected to do:

• Contribute to the design, implementation and continuous improvement of the end-to-end Ethiopia Operations model covering planning & forecasting, imports, customs, warehousing, inventory, fulfilment, distribution and reverse logistics.
• Develop and maintain operational SOPs, process flows, controls, trackers and management reports in line with Sun King standards.
• Monitor operational KPIs, identify gaps and implement sustainable solutions to improve service, efficiency and cost.
• Ensure accurate and timely ERP/CRM transactions and operational data.
• Facilitate cross-functional coordination across Commercial, Finance, Procurement, Customer Experience and Operations.

• Coordinate import planning, shipment readiness and documentation with Commercial, Finance, suppliers and logistics partners.
• Manage day-to-day coordination with clearing agents and freight partners to facilitate timely customs clearance and cargo release.
• Maintain accurate HS Code/classification records and coordinate assessment of duties, taxes, permits, certifications and other regulatory requirements.
• Monitor clearance timelines, storage/demurrage exposure and shipment exceptions, ensuring documentation is complete and audit-ready.
• Participate in sourcing and onboarding of clearing agents, freight forwarders and other import-related service providers.

• Contribute to warehouse establishment and readiness, including layouts, processes, controls and operating standards.
• Monitor inventory across warehouses, retail points and field locations, ensuring availability, accuracy and traceability.
• Oversee stock movements, inventory in transit, aging, stock-outs, slow-moving/dead stock and inventory reconciliation.
• Establish and monitor cycle counts, stock takes and inventory controls, including serial-number traceability and ERP/CRM alignment.
• Monitor warehouse/3PL performance and work closely with the Warehouse Associate on inventory, dispatch and operational priorities.

• Facilitate operational procurement in line with Sun King policies, approval matrices and delegated authorities.
• Maintain an up-to-date database of approved operational vendors and service providers.
• Participate in sourcing, evaluation and onboarding of 3PLs, clearing agents, transporters, warehouse providers, security firms and other operational suppliers.
• Establish effective supplier relationships and participate in commercial reviews, negotiations and performance improvement.
• Monitor supplier compliance with defined contractual requirements, KPIs and service levels.

• Coordinate inbound logistics from port/entry point through customs clearance and warehouse receipt, as well as outbound distribution to retail, field and customer locations.
• Manage 3PL, transportation and distribution partners, including establishment and monitoring of SLAs and KPIs.
• Monitor delivery performance, delays, losses, damages and claims, with corrective action where required.
• Coordinate last-mile and reverse logistics, including returns, damaged/defective inventory and inventory disposition.
• Contribute to inventory planning and forecasting, logistics/warehousing cost management, operational reporting and identification of cost and process improvement opportunities.

You might be a strong candidate if you have:

• A degree qualification from a recognized institution, preferably in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Procurement and Logistics, Distribution and/or an equivalent field.
• 4+ years' progressive experience in Supply Chain, Logistics or Operations.
• Experience in FMCG, consumer electronics, solar/energy, telecommunications or another high-volume distribution environment is preferred.
• Practical experience in import/export, customs clearance, transport, warehousing, inventory management and distribution.
• Experience managing 3PLs, clearing agents, transporters and other operational service providers.
• Experience with ERP/CRM systems and strong data skills using Excel/Google Sheets.
• Demonstrated knowledge of relevant Ethiopian legislation and regulatory requirements relating to importation, customs, transport and warehousing.
• Experience developing or improving operational processes, SOPs, controls and performance reporting.

What Sun King offers:

• Professional growth in a dynamic, rapidly expanding, high-social-impact industry
• An open-minded, collaborative culture made up of enthusiastic colleagues who are driven by the challenge of innovation towards profound impact on people and the planet.
• A truly multicultural experience: you will have the chance to work with and learn from people from different geographies, nationalities, and backgrounds.
• Structured, tailored learning and development programs that help you become a better leader, manager, and professional through the Sun Center for Leadership.

About
Sun King is the world’s leading off-grid solar energy company, combining cutting-edge product design, fintech, and field operations to deliver energy access for the 1.8 billion people who live without an affordable and reliable electric-grid connection.Sun King has built a new kind of energy utility: distributed, green, customer-centric, and affordable. We bring clean, reliable, decentralized energy directly into people’s lives — from solar kits that provide first-time energy access to multi-kilowatt systems that serve both off-grid users and grid-connected customers powering larger homes, schools, hospitals, farms, offices, and light manufacturing.Already, 25 million homes and businesses rely on Sun King for electricity supply and the appliances and services it enables: lighting, televisions, fans, refrigeration, and smartphones. Sun King combines energy generation, energy-efficient appliances, installation, and financing into one seamless offering. Think of it as a distributed utility, designed for wherever energy is needed and designed to scale with its users as incomes and energy needs grow.Sun King makes solar products affordable to low-income households and businesses via ‘pay-as-you-go’ (PAYG) purchase financing. Sun King installs solar after customers pay a small deposit. Customers then make small, manageable payments of as little as US $0.14 a day via mobile money or cash.Instead of paying for expensive, polluting, and health-damaging kerosene for lighting or diesel for power, customers unlock savings through accessing solar power and after one to two years of payments, customers own their solar equipment outright.Sun King collects payments digitally through mobile money systems and its 35,000 field agents — over 1 million payments each day. To date, Sun King has extended more than $1.4 billion in PAYG loans to customers.Sun King began by powering homes and businesses with solar systems delivered through PAYG financing. Now, we’re using the same model to make smartphones and clean cooking equipment affordable: helping households connect to the digital economy and transition from wood-based fuels to modern, sustainable alternatives.Sun King employs 3,500 full-time staff in 14 countries, with specialties spanning product design, data science, logistics, customer service, sales, software, operations, and more — all with a passion to serve off-grid families. Sun King is committed to gender diversity in the workplace. Women represent 42% of Sun King’s workforce.