Supply Chain Specialist at One Acre Fund

Job Description

One Acre Fund will purchase over $60M worth of agricultural and non-agricultural inputs for direct sale to over 900,000 smallholder farmers in 2018. Through distribution of these goods and innovative trainings, we produce $129 of impact per farmer, of which, $27 can be attributed to the distribution of non-agricultural inputs such as solar lights, efficient wood-burning cookstoves, and storage materials. Access to these life-improving inputs electrifies households, allows farmers to store their grain, and gives farmers and their families the tools they need to grow themselves out of poverty.

We are looking for someone to play an integral role on our non-agricultural supply chain team by taking charge of procurement and end-end logistics for these life improving products. In this role, you will build rock solid supplier relationships, reduce importation costs, and stay in front of the regulatory environment in East Africa to deliver high quality goods on time at the feet of over 900,000 smallholder farmers.

Responsibilities of the Non-Agricultural Goods Supply Chain Specialist will include:

• Execute our Purchasing Strategy
  • Coordinate the sourcing, importation, and delivery of over 480,000 solar lights, 10,000 stoves, 100,000 tarpaulins, and 300,000 storage bags each year.
  • Stay at the forefront of regulations and policies surrounding the purchase and delivery of solar lights, cookstoves, and other plastics products throughout East and Southern Africa.
  • Build relationships with leaders in the plastics, solar, and cookstoves industry to stay at the forefront of shifts in the global industry.
  • Manage supplier relationships and coordinate between suppliers and in-country teams to deliver the best service possible to the farmers we serve.
  • Develop and maintain rock-solid service level agreements with our regional logistics suppliers.
• Define and Improve Processes
  • Improve existing supply chain mechanisms by building strong, long-term supplier relationships.
  • Identify and implement cost- and time-saving improvements from small process tweaks to major strategic changes.
  • Implement standardized practices to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer service.
  • Prevent fraud and corruption challenges along the procurement value chain.
  • Create quality assurance and process checklists to guarantee adherence to standard operating procedures
• Team Management
  • Mentor 2 or more supply chain staff to build leadership and project management skills. Coach direct reports on supply chain best practices including how to negotiate for best pricing and terms and build strong supplier relationships.
  • Work with multi-national staff and suppliers.
  • Identifying strong local talent pools for recruiting high quality supply chain staff.
  • Build Outstanding Communication Channels
  • 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 overall 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 procurement and supply chain. Experience in an entrepreneurial environment is a plus.

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

• 3+ years of work experience in a demanding professional environment, preferably in positions where frequent cross-department communication was required
• Degree in Finance, Engineering & Logistics or related fields are encouraged to apply
• Strong quantitative reasoning and data presentation skills required
• Comfort working with moderately complex data sets and structuring clear, immediate comprehensible tables
• Some experience in or knowledge of procurement/supply chains functions 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
• Experience working internationally preferred
• 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 and Swahili preferred