Wanted Exceptional professional to work on
projects that are of strategic importance to One Acre Fund as a whole.
Job Location
Rural Kenya (other countries
possible).
Duration
Minimum 2 years commitment,
full-time job.
Organization Description
Most of the world’s poor are
f
armers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the
world. One Acre Fund is a growing NGO 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
“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 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
We are seeking an exceptional
professional to work on projects that are of strategic importance to One Acre
Fund as a whole. The goal of this role is to work across One Acre Fund’s
various departments and geographies to initiate and execute on projects that
open up new operational or strategic opportunities for the organization. The
role presents a unique chance to work on strategic priorities with the access
and vantage point provided by working closely with One Acre Fund’s field teams.
The role will divide roughly
evenly, into three parts:
- Long-running, cross-department or cross-country
initiatives: As One Acre Fund grows, there are an increasing number of
projects that do not fall cleanly into an existing department, and we need
to execute cleanly across multiple silos. These projects would last at
least several months, tackling questions of strategic importance to the
organization. - Example: Investigate a new strategic
idea of potentially incorporating family planning products into our
product portfolio, and perform the initial field research and piloting to
learn more. Conduct focus groups with farmers, do desk research to
understand the policy landscape, then build the foundation for a One Acre
Fund-provided service. Again, start in one country and then gradually
expand across One Acre Fund network. - Example: Training modules for new
managers at One Acre Fund. Coordinating with our leadership team, put
together a dozen training modules and self-publish them into a booklet
for our budding managers. Supplement interviews on management best
practices from our field leadership with secondary research. - Example: Create a “remote field
visit” department that allows management to have eyes on the field
operation in remote places every day. Hire a team 3-10 videographers and
develop a procedure for them to collect, package, and translate video on
ground-level field operations to be used for One Acre Fund’s staff
training and quality control. Start in one country and then gradually
export this across all countries where One Acre Fund operates. - Example: US tech consulting. Working
together with our People Operations team, One Acre Fund is working on a
project to streamline the processing of over 10,000 applications per
year. Scope out the necessary requirements (including lack of solid
internet bandwidth in rural Africa), create a job description, recruit a
software developer, and then manage the implementation of a new candidate
processing system. - One-off, fast analyses and tasks: These are analyses and
tasks of one week or shorter duration, typically exploring a new strategic
direction for the organization. - Example: Write an exploratory
research memo on the current state of research on sorghum and millet in
East Africa. - Example: Attend a particular
microfinance or agriculture industry conference, perhaps in a speaking
role – with the goal of networking and identifying new opportunities for
the organization. - Communication with key stakeholders: The last batch of
work would be to communicate with key stakeholders of the organization, as
opportunities arose. This would most often involve creating Powerpoint
decks, conducting phone calls, and preparing financial statement
summaries. - Example: Prepare a keynote
presentation for One Acre Fund’s executive director to deliver at an
industry conference.
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 exceptional
professionals with 2 to 5+ years of work 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 a two-year minimum. Candidates who fit the following criteria are
strongly encouraged to apply:
- Strong work experiences. We are looking for a former
management consultant (or similar skill–set). Entrepreneurial and
unstructured work experiences are also helpful. - Strong verbal and written communicator.
- Leadership experiences at work, or outside of work.
- Top–performing undergraduate background (please include
GPA and test scores on your resume). - Humility and personal stability. 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 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 is not a strict
requirement. - Professional/technical skills – very high levels of
proficiency with PowerPoint, Excel and other software programs. - Ability to cook/laugh – desirable.
- Language: English required.
Preferred Start Date
Flexible
Compensation
Starts 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 insurance, immunizations,
flight, room and board.
Sponsor International
Candidates
Yes
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