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
- Complete this form.
- Email cover letter and resume to jobs@oneacrefund.org (Subject line: "New Country Scout (Southern Africa) Search" + name of the site that referred you).
- If you are a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), please submit a copy of your Description of Service (DOS).
