Fertilizer Logistics Specialist at One Acre Fund

Job 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 growing NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia 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, farm inputs and solar lights, 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.

We are growing quickly. In ten years, we have grown to serve over 500,000 farm families with more than 5,000 full-time field staff. Our approach has won widespread validation, winning grants from The MasterCard Foundation and Gates Foundation. 

One Acre Fund is purchasing $40M worth of inputs for direct sale to over 500,000 smallholder farmers in 2017. Through distribution of these goods and innovative trainings, we produce $129 of impact per farmer, most of which can be attributed to the distribution of high quality seed and fertilizer. Access to these life-improving inputs gives farmers the resources they need to grow their way out of poverty.

We are looking for someone to lead our fertilizer logistics operations to reduce importation costs, develop strong logistics partnerships for domestic and international transport operations, and stay in front of the regulatory environment in East Africa to deliver high quality fertilizer on time, every time. In this role, you will lead a small team to improve our current fertilizer logistics services by slashing importation and transport costs, planning all logistics movements to a tee, holding transporters and clearing agents accountable to providing world class service, and preparing our systems to scale in the coming years. 

Responsibilities of the Fertilizer Logistics Specialist will include:

• Coordinate the importation, re-exports, freighting and ground transport for thousands of tons of fertilizer and agrochemicals every year.
• Provide logistics support and guidance to country teams by building up regional supply chain knowledge and negotiating contracts.
• Stay at the forefront of regulations and policies surrounding the delivery of fertilizer and agrochemicals throughout East and Southern Africa.
• Build relationships with leaders in the East African logistics industry to stay at the forefront of shifts in the global industry – you know who to call no matter what clearance or transport problem arises.
• Manage logistics supplier relationships and coordinate between suppliers and in-country teams to deliver the best service possible to the farmers we serve.
• Oversee fertilizer loading and delivery operations in person as necessary – will involve travel to Mombasa and Dar.
• Prevent fraud and corruption challenges along the value chain.
• Implement standardized practices to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer service.
• Ensure consistent, predictable services by tracking performance against a set of measurable and useful KPIs.
• Create process checklists to guarantee adherence to standard operating procedures.
• Plan fertilizer movements down to a tee at the start of each delivery cycle and communicate these movements to suppliers and internal clients.
• Hold logistics suppliers accountable to pick up and delivery schedules through rock-solid contracts, communication channels, and supplier relationships.
• Mentor supply chain staff to build leadership and operational skills.
• Coach the team to identify high quality, high level suppliers and how to negotiate for best pricing and terms – especially on logistics projects.
• Work with multi-national staff and suppliers.
• Become familiar with One Acre Fund teams and structures to ensure your team is effectively supporting their internal clients.
• Work closely with logistics and other internal teams to minimize delivered costs and reduce overall spend.
• Deliver process transparency to your internal clients.

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 experience in and a passion for logistics and supply chain. Experience in an entrepreneurial environment is a plus.

Candidates that meet the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Work experience in a demanding professional environment, preferably in positions where frequent cross-department communication was required
• Experience in operations, logistics, and/or supply chains strongly preferred
• Creativity and strong problem solving skills. You don’t take no for an answer and constantly look for alternative solutions to problems
• A passion for world class customer service
• Outstanding communication skills with suppliers, reports, peers and management
• Strong project management skills and proven experience managing complex projects
• Strong excel skills a plus
• Humility – you can admit when you’re wrong and put our clients first in all that you do
• Leadership experience at work or outside of work
• Ability to work and make decisions independently
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Top-performing academic background
• Language: English required, French and Swahili preferred

Preferred Start Date

ASAP

Compensation

Starts modest. This is a career-track role with performance-based raises and the ability to expand responsibilities over time.

Note: We will not be able to sponsor a visa for this position.

Duration

Minimum three year's commitment, full-time job.