Agricultural Systems Change Lead

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 six core countries in Africa, we make farmers more prosperous by providing quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. On average, the farmers we serve harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund. 

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

About the Role

In 2022, One Acre Fund was awarded $18m in funding from Co-Impact to implement a systems change programme in Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia over a 5 year period. In every country we aggregate sufficient mass of farmers to enable private and public actors to serve them, inject productive interventions of seed, trees, and land through these aggregators, and ensure equitable gender norms to make the system truly pro-women and pro-poor. By the end of 2026, together with our public and private-sector partners, we will deliver millions in cumulative new farm profits for 3.5+ million farm families. 

We are seeking an experienced grant manager with strong project and stakeholder management skills to steward a complex grant focused on strengthening our Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia country programs to advance agricultural systems change. You will lead the coordination and monitoring of main activities associated with the grant delivered through multiple internal departments and external partners. You will report to a leader on our Global Business Development & Partnerships team while also working with Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia country program team members.

Responsibilities

• Program strategy and implementation - You will work closely with country and program leads in the 3 countries to ensure successful tracking and delivery of program goals and grant milestones. You are expected to work with our internal teams, monitor potential risks and project implementation challenges, and work towards seeking solutions in collaboration with all project staff and consortium members.
• Grant Writer & Management - You will be responsible for writing narrative and financial reports in collaboration with the Business Development team. You will partner with our frontend fundraisers to design and draft original writing through a collaborative process and monitor budget and associated milestones alongside our internal Grants Finance team.
• Sub-grantee Management - You will also be working closely with our sub-grantee partner staff, ensuring grant milestones are achieved and program interventions are in alignment with the overall grant objective.

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:

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree
• 5+ years of practical experience leading complex field programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Prior writing experience is essential.
• Prior experience in grant management experience and/or agricultural value chain experience is strongly preferred.
• Thorough understanding of the context in Sub-Saharan Africa, and experience working with government institutions and international or non-governmental organizations supporting systems change work is strongly preferred.
• Genuine commitment to rural communities. You are passionate about providing opportunity to the hardest-working farmers on the planet.
• Language: English

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kigali, Rwanda or Nairobi, Kenya

Benefits

Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Contract Duration

2 year contract, with potential to transition into permanent role

Eligibility

One Acre Fund can support a work permit for this role. However, nationals of (or those with an extensive professional background and work history in) our countries of operation are preferred.

Application Deadline

21 November 2023

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 (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), 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.