Impact Division Manager / Chief of Staff

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. Our 8,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across eight core countries in Africa, we help farmers succeed by providing quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. This work is bolstered by an agroforestry program with over 2,500 rural nurseries run by local entrepreneurs.

To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here blog for more information.

About the Role

The Impact Division supports all One Acre Fund programs to generate more impact, wherever we work. We help the organization keep three core aspects of impact at the forefront of our work:

1. Improve farmer livelihoods and profitability in the short-term
2. Ensure long-term viability through sustainable agricultural practices ( e.g. soil health, crop diversity)
3. Address non-agricultural needs of farming households (e.g. energy, nutrition.)

The Impact Division comprises several teams including our central Agricultural Research team and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning team. We also directly lead specific cross-team initiatives like agricultural insurance, payments for ecosystem services, behavioral studies, and nutrition and health.

The role of the Impact Division Manager is to make the entire team more effective at generating impact. You will report to the Impact Director

Responsibilities

You will improve Impact Division Communication & Coordination:

• Help set and track progress against global and program-specific impact goals
• Manage historical impact knowledge and ensure quality of study results
• Set agendas and facilitate monthly Working Group meetings

You will lead strategic research or projects. Specific projects will depend on your background and interests, organizational priorities, bandwidth of implicated teams, and timing, but might include:

• Innovation Research – Research opportunities for expansion areas or for radically new/improved services
• Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) – refine our CCA strategy, identify areas where we need increased investment or research, and guide progress
• Impact Communication – with our communications team, increase the visibility of and inspiration around our impact work.
• ESG (Environmental and Social Governance)- review our ESG practices, make actionable recommendations for improvement, and support implementation
• Partnerships – Research or develop new partnerships that could unlock greater impact

You will increase the reach of Impact leadership:

• Represent division leadership, internally or externally
• Take on direct management responsibilities from division leadership

Career Growth and Development

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You’ll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You’ll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

Qualifications

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:

• A university degree in Agriculture or a related field (e.g. Ecology, Environmental Science). An advanced degree is a bonus.
• Experience in written and verbal communication, across a range of audiences – from non-technically-trained colleagues to external experts.
• Experience building trust and understanding the motivations of different individuals and teams from diverse contexts to bring them together to collaborate**.**
• Demonstrated research skills and ability to independently conduct study design and analytics.
• Demonstrated ownership and leadership
• Experience keeping projects on a critical path, while managing multiple diverse tasks.
• English required. Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, or French preferred.
• Willingness to travel within our countries of operation

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kigali, Rwanda (flexible within our countries of operation depending on work authorization)

Benefits

Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Eligibility

This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of our countries of operation (Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia)

Application Deadline

24 January 2024

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here ([email protected]), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization’s mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.