[Hiring] Country Lead - Philippines @Mitti Labs

Role Description

The Philippines is home to over 2.8 million rice-farming households and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) — the world’s foremost rice science institution. Yet Filipino rice farmers remain among the most climate-vulnerable agricultural communities on earth, facing intensifying typhoons, water stress, and yield stagnation.

The Country Lead – Philippines is a founding role. You will design, launch, and scale Mitti Labs’ initial projects in the Philippines. You will lead the team from our first pilot cohort of farmers to multi-province, high-impact programs. You will wear strategy and operations hat and build a capable team from scratch.

• Market Entry
  • Design and own Philippines' operations roadmap: regional feasibility, budget planning, and building partnerships.
  • Develop localized farmer onboarding strategies that reflect regional value chains, community power structures, last-mile realities, and seasonal farming calendars.
  • Navigate Philippines' carbon regulatory landscape: DENR carbon registry, Republic Act 9513 (RE Law), PCAF, and emerging voluntary carbon market pathways.
• On-Ground Operations
  • Design and manage district specific operational playbooks - SOPs, training manuals, QA/QC frameworks.
  • Build genuine trust with farming communities at the grassroots level — understanding local power dynamics, working with village heads, FPO leaders, and community mobilizers.
• Team Building & Leadership
  • Hire and develop a high-performing in-country team.
  • Build a culture that reflects Mitti’s ethos.
  • Manage external implementation partners and field agent networks.

Qualifications

• +8 years in operations, agriculture, or rural development with clear evidence of building programs from scratch and scaling.
• Direct experience managing agricultural field operations in the Philippines - preferably rice.
• Track record with government department and related NGO relationships is a bonus.
• Experience in agri-input distribution or farmer community leadership is strongly preferred.
• You speak Filipino/Tagalog fluently. English proficiency is essential for internal collaboration.
• Willingness to travel 40–60% across provinces and in remote farming areas.

Benefits

• Build projects that matter: a first-of-its-kind climate and food-security program in one of the world’s most important agricultural nations.
• Founding role: genuine ownership, genuine impact. You will be Mitti Labs in the Philippines.
• Work with a world-class team combining the best of science, product, business, and operations — with a culture of openness, direct collaboration, and unbiased decision-making.
• Backed by leading climate investors with the resources to build for the long term.
• Direct relationship with founders and leadership in a fast-scaling, mission-driven organization.