Agroforestry Program Manager/Director at One Acre Fund

We are seeking an exceptional professional with 8+ years experience in agroforestry to lead our efforts to hit our agroforestry scale goals of supporting smallholder farmers across eight programs to plant one billion trees over the next 10 years

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for a senior leader to guide One Acre Fund's campaign to support smallholder farmers across east and southern Africa to plant one billion trees by 2032.

• Manager or Director Level
• You will report to the senior director of our Impact Ventures department
• You may manage several staff-members

Responsibilities

• Build Vision to Plant 1 Billion Trees - work with senior leaders and country teams to build out our vision to plant over 1 billion trees by 2032.
• Drive Operations to Achieve the Billion Tree Goal - You will support operations in our most important markets to make sure we can rapidly expand our programs. Specific examples of operational efforts could include:
  • Manage Country Operations - directly manage operations in an essential market where we are set for a major leap in scale. You could be responsible for hiring a large number of field staff, leading expansion into new areas, building a performance management system, and more.
  • Expansion into New Territories - accelerate our growth in the next 2-3 years by working with teams to refine and improve our expansion strategies and tactics. You will help each team develop a multi-year expansion plan and improve operational tools and processes to rapidly open new areas for operation. 
  • Pursue Radical Innovations - you will explore and support more radical operational changes to increase our long term impact and financial sustainability. For example, you will work with our leading operational teams to explore revenue generating ideas to help us improve our financial sustainability. 
• Partnership Development and Management - you will cultivate and manage critical relationships to help us achieve our goals. Responsibilities in this pillar will include:
  • Grow our Network of Funding and Program Partners - you will be an effective ambassador to a wide-range of partners to this initiative. Funding partners include philanthropic institutions, corporate sustainability divisions, high net worth individuals, and multi/bilateral aid agencies. Program partners include input suppliers, host country agriculture ministries, and tree nursery entrepreneurs.
  • Grow our Network of Agroforestry Experts - you will also engage with agroforestry experts in the countries where we operate and across the globe to make sure we use the most advanced thinking in our work. You will manage and maintain these relationships directly.

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:

• 8+ years of work experience in relevant fields and a demonstrated passion for our mission.
• Experience Producing Strong Results at Scale
  • Experience developing strategy and building operations to scale in rural, smallholder contexts.
• Strong Communication and External Relationship Skills
  • Capacity to engage with a wide range of audiences, from rural farmers across East Africa to executives at top level international organizations. Ability to cultivate and maintain a strong network. Leaders with an existing network of relevant contacts are preferred, but not required.
  • Ability to effectively liaise with, and manage, a highly diverse and multi-cultural cohort of colleagues
• Comfort with Data and Dynamic Operating Environments
  • Ability to build basic financial models and use data to make decisions.
• Highly Organized
  • Strong organizational skills and ability to "keep the trains running on time"
  • Systematic thinker, able to track many diverse tasks and initiatives.
• Other requirements
  • University or advanced degree in agroforestry or a related field is preferred, but not required.
  • Familiarity with carbon markets and carbon finance is beneficial, but not required.
  • Familiarity with impact measurement (e.g., randomized control trials) is beneficial, but not required.
  • High proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite/Workplace (especially MS Excel / Google Sheets) required. English required; knowledge of French, Kinyarwanda or Swahili very useful.
  • Ability to travel within the region up to 30% of the time strongly preferred.

Preferred Start Date

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, start dates can vary significantly by role. We are adapting rapidly to Covid-19 and most of our team is now working remotely. Given the changing environment, we will appreciate your flexibility in confirming a start date.