Operations Readiness Program Manager, Nigeria

AI summary

Zipline Nigeria is hiring an Operations Readiness Program Manager based in Lagos to lead new Long Range Platform drone-delivery site launches across Nigeria. The role owns country-level operational readiness for 3–6 concurrent launches, driving cross-functional alignment, go/no-go decisions, and launch KPIs to deliver critical medical and commercial goods faster and safely. The position requires strong multi-stakeholder launch experience, willingness to travel within Nigeria, and the ability to enforce acceptance standards under schedule pressure.

• Own end-to-end readiness for 3–6 concurrent drone-delivery site launches across Nigeria
• Lead cross-functional alignment across Recruiting, Engineering, Construction, Supply Chain, Safety, and Country Leadership
• Define and enforce go/no-go criteria, acceptance tests, and launch KPIs
• Travel within Nigeria approximately 20–30%, with higher intensity during launch windows
• Focus on safety, regulatory, staffing, and certification readiness before first flight

Original source description

Operations Readiness Program Manager, Nigeria at Zipline Nigeria ⏲ Aug 26, 2026, 1:08 PM ⋕ View all Transportation & Logistics jobs Zipline - Do you want to change the world? Zipline uses drones to deliver critical and life-saving medicine to thousands of hospitals serving millions of people in multiple countries. Our mission is to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies. Join Zipline and help us make this a reality for billions of people. We are recruiting to fill the position below: Job Title: Operations Readiness Program Manager, Nigeria Location : Lagos About You and The Role We are hiring an Operations Readiness Program Manager to lead new Long Range Platform launches across Nigeria. You will own country-level readiness for multiple concurrent site launches—making launch decisions, driving cross-functional alignment, and raising the operational bar so sites launch faster, safer, and scale reliably. This work directly enables Zipline’s mission to build an instant delivery system that delivers critical medical and commercial goods across hard-to-reach regions; your success reduces time-to-service, increases launch reliability, and ensures safe, certified flight operations in challenging field environments. What You'll Do Escalate unresolved safety, regulatory, or critical-path blockers promptly with recommended remediation and clear authority boundaries. Lead post-launch reviews and root-cause analysis, measure performance against launch targets (e.g., time-to-service, initial reliability), and convert findings into updated standards, playbooks, and training requirements. Own staffing and competency readiness: confirm role fills, onboarding, and on-site proficiency; own the decision that site teams can operate independently and safely at first flight. Coordinate regulatory and community-readiness actions required for launch; ensure permit/approval evidence and safety artifacts meet acceptance standards before launch. Lead the cross-functional readiness cadence and day-to-day decision rhythm, driving alignment between Recruiting, Academy, Engineering, Construction, Supply Chain, Safety/Regulatory, Partnerships, and Country Leadership; resolve conflicts and escalate issues with clear decision requests. Define and enforce clear go/no-go criteria and measurable acceptance standards for safety, staffing, training & certification, infrastructure, equipment, communications, power, charging systems, and first-flight procedures. Own end-to-end operational readiness for 3–6 concurrent Long Range Platform site launches across Nigeria, from planning through first flight and early stabilization; maintain an integrated program plan with milestones, dependencies, risks, and mitigation actions. Validate readiness through field verification: lead on-site checkouts, acceptance tests, and flight-readiness demonstrations; identify and close launch-critical gaps before first flight. Maintain and report against launch KPIs (e.g., staffing readiness %, certification completion %, equipment acceptance pass rate, launch go/no-go rate) and use those metrics to stop or green-light launches. What You'll Bring Proven track record managing multi-stakeholder launches or rollouts across field sites with measurable outcomes (examples: number of sites launched, % time-to-launch reduction, reduced safety incident rate); be prepared to cite specific metrics from past programs. Clear escalation judgment and stakeholder management: can resolve conflicts, escalate early, and present decision-ready summaries to country leadership. Willingness and ability to travel throughout Nigeria ~20–30% typically, with higher intensity during launch windows. Demonstrated ability to define go/no-go criteria, write acceptance tests, and enforce KPIs under schedule pressure; comfortable making and owning launch decisions. Hands-on experience: coordinating engineering, construction, supply chain, and training to achieve first operational use at field sites; experience: validating power, communications, charging systems, aircraft, and ground equipment preferred. Able to operate in high-intensity field conditions: willing to spend extended periods on-site during launches and to work irregular hours around critical milestones. 5+ years program management, field operations, or deployment experience: in technical, regulated, or aviation-adjacent environments; direct site launch or activation experience: required/preferred as documented in prior roles. Fluency in English and authorization to work in Nigeria. How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should: Click here to apply online View all Jobs in Nigeria Lagos State