Ethiopia Program Innovation and Fundraising Lead

Job Description

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1.6 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms more productive. Our 10,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across ten African countries, we make farmers more prosperous by providing quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers' homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. On average, the farmers we serve earn 40 percent more profits on the land they enroll with One Acre Fund.

In Ethiopia, we engage farmers in agroforestry and community-based seed multiplication to increase farmers' incomes and improve farming systems. By engaging with local actors at every step but bringing ideas from outside, we are making rural farming more market-friendly and environmentally sustainable. Our Ethiopian partner farmers have planted over 33 million trees, produced over 2000 MT of improved teff seed, and improved hundreds of thousands of neighbors' futures. To learn more about our work, look at our Ethiopia program blog.

About the Role

The Program Associate will be an essential part of our Agroforestry team, tasked with driving innovations in our Agroforestry Program to achieve these ambitious targets, as well as raising funds to enable this growth. You will report directly to the Ethiopia Deputy Country Director, and you will manage 2-4 deputies and their field teams.

Responsibilities

• Initiate, pitch and lead the design and execution of trials and research projects for new products (e.g. new tree species) and/or business models in our Agroforestry program that have the potential to either increase program impact (e.g. increase revenue for OAF farmers, benefit women, or have positive environmental effects) or reduce program costs.
• Lead financial and impact modeling to support your program innovation recommendations.
• Collaborate with the Operations and Training Leads to manage product scale up of promising innovations and practices, once proof-of-concept has been achieved. 
• Produce high quality reports and communication to One Acre Fund leadership based on the research and trials your department carries out.
• Lead your team members’ development through capacity building, coaching, delegation and regular performance evaluations.
• Lead fundraising activities (e.g. international networking, grant writing and compliance) to expand our Trees for Resilience, Economy and Environment (TREE) Program and other new pilot programs contributing to reforestation, food security, and energy alternatives. 
• Lead department annual budgeting, cash forecast and monthly spending reporting using One Acre Fund's online tools.

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.

Job Requirement

Qualifications

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

• Bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g. Economics, Finance, Natural Resource Management, Forestry, etc.); masters degree an added advantage.  
• 5+ years of professional experience in a dynamic organization working on project management, program design, or product innovations required. Additional experience in fundraising or grants management is an advantage.
• 2+ years managing at least one person working on complex technical, policy or decision or technical projects.
• Experience teaching, transferring knowledge and building knowledge in a cross-cultural context.
• Prior experience working with farmers/communities in rural development programs.
• Proven ability to interact effectively with external stakeholders 
• Experience analyzing and synthesizing quantitative and qualitative data, and communicating evidence-based recommendations with relevant stakeholders.
• Experience coordinating complex projects across multiple departments. 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office or Google software applications.
• Agroforestry or agriculture background/experience is a plus; interest in these is required.
• English fluency required. Knowledge/fluency of Amharic an added advantage.
• Willingness to travel to remote kebeles required.
• Large international network in Europe and/or USA.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Bahir Dar, Ethiopia OR Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with frequent travel (around 10 work days per month) to Bahir Dar and rural kebeles.

Benefits

Housing allowance, Comprehensive Health cover, Child Benefit and paid time off

Eligibility

One Acre Fund can support a work permit for this role. However, nationals of (or those with an extensive professional background and work history in) our countries of operation are preferred.

Application Deadline

18th October 2023

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization’s mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.