One Acre Fund Government Services Manager Job

Wanted
Exceptional professional with 3-7+ years of work experience and a passion for collaborating with government.

Job Location
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, Rubengera, Rwanda, or Zomba, Malawi (other rural postings possible).

Duration
Minimum 2 years commitment, full-time job.

Organization Description
Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a growing social enterprise in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "service bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market facilitation. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure 50-100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

Job Description
Managers will have the opportunity to affect the livelihoods of huge populations of people as we explore opportunities to work together with the Ministries of Agriculture and related agencies in the countries where we operate. We believe there are two key steps to improve yields and livelihoods for farm families in partnership with governments – (i) develop effective policies; and (ii) lead effective implementation in the field. Managers will have the opportunity to work with key officials to make sure policies are designed to benefit the people who need the most help, and they will play a large role in directly managing and leading large scale field operations to ensure that these ideas work for farmers in the field.
We currently have early-stage operational partnerships with three African governments, and are exploring additional partnership opportunities in several other countries. We are seeking exceptional individuals to join this early-stage team, manage regionwide or nationwide products and services, and for top performers, become leaders of this team as we rapidly expand this work to support more farmers in new markets. This person will:

• Manage a large product or service at a regional or national level. Example projects include:
  • Model Farmer Program – we are supporting extension services across multiple countries. In one country, a manager established a relationship with Ministry officials, identified operational inefficiencies with the structure of nationwide model farmer program, designed trials, and scald up improvements across the country.
  • New Planting Method – in one country, we are working with multiple government agencies to identify the optimal planting method for a key staple crop. For this opportunity, a manager experimented with multiple iterations of the new planting method, coordinate early stage trials with 5,000 farmers and a field team of 50, and is now planning to scale up the trial to 30,000+ farmers.
  • Private Seed Producer Support – use of high quality seeds for many staple crops can double yields for small scale farmers. Unfortunately, the supply of high quality seeds is very limited in certain markets. In one country, a manager created a loan product for producers to help spur supply. The manager is also exploring other operational improvements to significantly increase supply for future seasons.
• Manage relationships with Ministry level officials or related government officials.
• Build, develop, and manage a team support implementation of projects.
• Lead and support design of country level strategy.

Career Growth and Development
One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about.  Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications
We are seeking an exceptional professional with 3-7+ years of work experience. We are looking for truly extraordinary candidates that have a passion for collaborating with government. This is a competitive posting for a career-track role with minimum initial commitment of two years. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Strong work experiences. We are looking for a professional who fits one or more of the following backgrounds:
  • Managing consulting background with heavy implementation experience
  • Experience forming operational partnerships with governments
  • Field operations experience in a development organization, with a passion for government work
• Astute relationship manager.
• Leadership experience at work, or outside of work.
• Top-performing undergraduate background (include GPA and test scores on your resume).
• Humility and personal stability. We have a fantastic and likeable team. We are looking for passionate professionals that combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service.
• A willingness to commit to living in East Africa for at least two years - this is a long-term, career-track role. The ideal candidate will have at least one year demonstrated experience working in the developing world, although this may be relaxed in the case of an exceptional candidate.
• Professional/technical skills. Very high levels of proficiency with PowerPoint, Excel, and other software programs.
• Language: English required, French highly desirable for certain opportunities.

Preferred Start Date
Flexible

Compensation
Commensurate with experience.

Benefits
Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.

Sponsor International Candidates
Yes

To Apply
Complete this form. You will be prompted to submit your CV and cover letter. You may also be asked to submit work samples for some positions. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), please submit a copy of your Description of Service (DOS) in the appropriate section.

East Africans are strongly encouraged to apply.