Head of Logistics, Africa at Zipline – Lagos

Zipline is recruiting a Head of Logistics, Africa in Lagos. The regional leader will manage inbound transport and customs clearance for operating and build sites, ensuring that spare parts, batteries, site hardware and materials arrive on time with predictable landed costs.

Supply chain and import management

• Own inbound freight, port handling, customs clearance, country-level spare parts warehousing and deliveries of batteries, site hardware and construction materials.
• Establish repeatable customs controls for each country, including standing customs dossiers, harmonised tariff classifications and properly documented exemptions.
• Coordinate customs and government-related processes with Country Directors, ensuring clear valuation and import documentation.
• Set two-way service level agreements with site operations and deployments teams using published internal transfer prices and transparent treatment of delivery failures.
• Use suitable buffer stock to reduce dependence on emergency air freight.
• Act as the central contact for Zipline’s global supply chain and production teams in South San Francisco, maintaining a coordinated procurement line into Africa.
• Lead, coach and coordinate in-country logistics analysts across Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.
• Maintain accurate customs values, supplier and freight forwarder records, and rigorous checks on invoices and reconciliations.

Measures of success

• High on-time-in-full delivery performance for operating and new build sites.
• Predictable, efficient customs clearance and landed costs that meet financial plans.
• Reduced emergency air freight costs.
• Well-defined, measurable service-level agreements and transparent follow-up on delivery exceptions.

Qualifications and experience

• Ten to fifteen years’ experience managing African cross-border supply chains in freight forwarding, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, telecoms, humanitarian logistics or a comparable large-scale environment.
• Practical experience in customs handling, freight corridors and import valuation across West and East Africa.
• Demonstrated ability to establish priced internal logistics service agreements and reduce emergency freight dependence.
• Strong controls, ethics and vendor-management practices.
• Programme and project leadership skills, including delivery across teams without direct reporting authority.