Job
description
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 start-up NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, and
Burundi that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their
full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre invests in
farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a
“market bundle” that includes education, finance, seed and
fertilizer, and market access.
Our program is proven impactful – every year, we
weigh thousands of harvests and measure more than 100% average gain in farm
income per acre. We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the
people that we serve.
We are growing
quickly. In five years, we have grown to serve 135,000 farm families with more
than 1400 full-time field staff. In three more years, we will at least
quadruple in size, while adding several new countries. Our approach has won
widespread validation, winning grants from the highly competitive Echoing Green
and Skoll Foundations, and the global Financial Times/ IFC award for “basic
needs financing” in 2010 and 2011. Website: www.oneacrefund.org
Job
Description
As One Acre Fund
expands, a key part of our long-term goal to reach at least 1,500,000 farm
families this decade is to launch one new country per year, starting in 2012.
It is also important that we understand the landscape of potential countries as
soon as possible – so that we know how we may need to change our program model
to fit new areas.
We are seeking an
exceptionally talented professional with very strong independent
problem-solving skills, an ability to self-manage, and strong overall judgment.
This person should also have strong networking ability, and general stability/
ability to deal with traveling alone for a long stretch of time. The minimum
commitment to this job is 2 years.
The New Country
Scout will:
– Spend 3-6 months
training on the core One Acre Fund program model in Kenya or Rwanda
– Move to a new
country, where they will either begin a pilot from scratch, or expand an
existing pilot.
– Core operating
duties will include:
- Hiring
and training of 3-8 initial trial staff - Engaging
local government officials and sensitizing to our program - Handling
initial recruitment of 100-300 farmers
– External
networking will include:
- Purchase
of seed, fertilizer, and other farm inputs from local vendors - Making
contact with local horticultural support
– The new country
scout will also set up our initial office. This may include:
- Handling
legal registration - Finding/
hiring of office and housing - Initial
equipment purchases - Creation
of well-functioning finance and accounting operation with proper financial
controls
– The end goal will
be to validate the country as a possible area of operation for One Acre Fund.
If scouting is successful, the organization will proceed to grow our core
program there to a goal scale of 10,000+ farmers and 100+ staff within two
additional years. This would be staffed either by an experienced manager from
one of our existing countries, or possibly the new country scout can grow into
the role.
Qualifications
We are seeking
exceptional professionals with 2 to 5+ years of work experience, and a
demonstrated long-term passion for international development. They will serve
in a career-track position that combines both field and management experience.
We are looking for
truly extraordinary candidates that will help take our organization to the next
levels of impact and scale. 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. Examples include a demanding professional
work experience, or successful entrepreneurial experience (e.g. starting a
field program in a developing country, leading a conference, starting a
business, solid Peace Corps accomplishments) - Leadership
experience
at work, or outside of work - Top-performing
undergraduate background (please 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 rural
areas of Africa or Asia 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 is not a strict
requirement - Language:
English required and French desirable - Ability
to cook/ laugh – desirable
Preferred
Start date:
Flexible
Compensation: Starts very modest. However,
this is a career-track role with fast raises for performance, paying a
meaningful salary for long-term placement in developing nations.
Benefits: Health cover, immunizations,
flight, room and board.
Career
development:
Quarterly management consulting-style career reviews and constant feedback.
Your manager will invest significant time in your career development.
Sponsor
International Candidates:
Yes
How
to apply
To Apply:
Attach and email
cover letter and resume to jobs@oneacrefund.org
(Subject line: NCS Search + name of the site that referred you). RPCVs should also include a
copy of their DOS.
