Tupande Orchard Associate (Fixed Term) at One Acre Fund

About The Role

• Tupande Asili is launching the Tupande Matunda initiative to build a fruit and nut supply network across the region, targeting 140,000 smallholder farmers and planting 5 million trees. This program creates concentrated orchard clusters on farmers' land to boost smallholder income and supply regional and export markets.
• As the Tupande Orchard Associate, you will develop and execute the business model, evaluating target zones, modelling unit economics, designing distribution, and aligning nursery, field, agronomy, and commercial teams.

Responsibilities
Strategy & Financial Modelling

• Build multi-year business cases, growth strategies, and financial models covering unit economics, tree survival, and cost structures.
• Translate field data and financial modelling into strategic recommendations for leadership.

Operations & Delivery Execution

• Manage implementation roadmaps, budgets, and standardised SOPs for seedling procurement, nursery quality control, and distribution.
• Address operational bottlenecks and drive key operational decisions with leadership

Farmer Acquisition & Agronomy Standards

• Design recruitment incentives and field workflows to build dense, high-retention farmer clusters.
• Partner with R&D and nurseries to enforce seedling quality standards, crop protection protocols, and tree traceability.

Sourcing, Offtake & Performance Tracking

• Align yield forecasts and production clusters with commercial market demand and aggregation logistics.
• Maintain a registry of farmers, tree growth, and planting cohorts while running operational pilots to refine the model

Qualifications

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:

• Background in strategy, operations, management consulting, or commercial growth. Agribusiness experience is a plus
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and translate agronomic data into operational plans.
• Strong financial modelling, unit economics analysis, and hands-on operational delivery capability
• Fluent in English and Swahili with readiness for frequent field travel.
• Degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, Operations, Agriculture, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong spreadsheet and data-management skills.