Description of the organization

One Acre Fund - TUBURA is an agricultural NGO working in different countries in East Africa to support farmers with small landholdings. We offer each of our members a package of services such as local delivery of agricultural inputs on credit and training with the aim of increasing harvests and incomes. Established in Burundi in 2012, we are a fast growing organization, now with over 1000 employees across the country. As of 2022, we serve over 197,000 households in 6 provinces; Muramvya, Gitega, Kayanza, Mwaro, Ngozi and Muyinga. For more information, visit our website: http://www.oneacrefund.org .

Job Description

The Field Operations department supports the implementation of the One Acre Fund program on the ground through a cascade team that reaches hundreds of field agents. These agents are in close contact with farmers and provide them with Tubura’s core services, such as training, credit management, and organizing product distribution at the hillside. As a program associate or program manager in this department, you will have the opportunity to learn from a field operation and contribute to improving our program. The position has two components, one in operations management and the other in innovation at scale.

Operations management

• Staff focus on farmer services. They start as generalists, with overall responsibility for delivering our program in a region. Over time, they may continue to progress to overall leadership, eventually managing field operations for an entire country. They may also specialize, for example, in training development and deployment.
• Staff are building the infrastructure needed to keep the program going. These teams are proactively removing barriers to scale across a wide range of areas: processing millions of farmer payments, communicating with farmers through tens of millions of text messages, hiring hundreds of new staff per year, and physically transporting more than 20,000 tons of agricultural inputs to multiple delivery locations. Program partners are also making ongoing improvements to accelerate growth, such as building a mobile money system integration for one country.

Innovation of scale

• Staff find innovative agricultural, nutritional and environmental materials to increase members’ income. The ideas they discover could eventually help support thousands of households. Product Innovations staff design trials, run trials with thousands of households, synthesize trial data and make ongoing revisions to the supply of materials provided.
• Staff are looking to improve our core operating model. By conducting trials with tens of thousands of farmers, they are analyzing targeted questions such as: Does moving from a group-based to an individual-based lending model improve repayment and member satisfaction? They may also explore more radical ideas to determine whether there are more effective ways to provide high-quality service to farmers. They are testing variations of our program with the goal of improving our scalability, impact, and financial sustainability.

Responsibilities

• Understanding and solving problems: observing field operations, meeting with our field staff managers, conducting surveys, conducting desk research, analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs), etc. Then creating simple, sustainable solutions to complex problems.
• Plan and execute large projects: identify clear objectives, create project schedules, design work plans, create field tools and talking points, design motivation systems and understand stakeholders, monitor and supervise the execution of projects in the field.
• Build the Team: Hire staff using One Acre Fund’s unique “experiential recruiting” system, mentor key deputies, and gradually delegate responsibilities to your team as it grows.
• Communicating with other teams: Working collaboratively with other One Acre Fund teams on the ground to provide members with a pleasant customer experience in the simplest way possible.

One Acre Fund-Burundi has extensive operational experience in managing rural field programs, with over 684 full-time employees. Program Associates/Program Managers leverage this experience and rapidly develop their skills through immersion in our operational environment. At the same time, the primary role of Program Associates/Program Managers is to accelerate growth and continually expand and improve our operations. This is an excellent career opportunity to leverage One Acre Fund’s accumulated experience and to enhance and enable the improvement of the program each year.

Career growth and development

One Acre Fund invests in the development of management and leadership skills. Your manager and a global support team will dedicate a lot of time to your professional development. We provide ongoing, concrete feedback through mentoring and regular career reviews in the form of management advice. We also hold regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to create truly exciting roles. Due to our rapid growth, we constantly have new senior roles opening up and plenty of opportunities in different functions.

Key skills and qualifications :

Requirements

We are looking for professionals with at least two years of professional experience and a demonstrated interest in our mission. Candidates who meet the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Hold a university degree at Bachelor's/License level in the fields of economics, public administration, management, agriculture or similar fields. Master's level preferred.
  Proficiency in standard Microsoft Office software (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) strongly preferred.  
• Have at least two years of work experience.
• Language skills - English (required), French (highly recommended), Kirundi (preferred)

Required qualities

• Have experience in a demanding job that matches the job description
• above;
• Hold a university degree at the Bachelor's/Graduate level in the fields of agriculture, economics, business/market studies, administrative management, project management, or similar fields, including data management and analysis, is preferred). Master's level preferred.
• Proficiency in standard Microsoft Office software (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) strongly preferred.  
• Experience in launching and managing projects in the fields of economics, business/market research, general research, administrative management, project management, or similar fields, including data management and analysis, is preferred.
• Have leadership experience, whether on the job or outside of work.
• Be willing to commit to living in a rural setting – this is a position that offers a long-term career path.
• The desirable candidate will have at least one year of work experience in developing countries or will be a national of one of the countries where our program is present.
• Ability to set and achieve goals
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
• Ability to solve problems independently
• Ability to manage the work and development of others
• Ability to develop a clear plan for a complex project
• Be autonomous, honest and humble
• Be organized and very attentive to details
• Passion to serve Burundian farmers

Date of entry into office

As soon as possible

Workplace

Muramvya, Burundi

Benefits

Medical coverage, paid annual leave

Eligibility

One Acre Fund can sponsor the visa for this position. However, nationals of (or those with extensive professional experience or work experience in) our countries of operations are preferred.

Application deadline

February 9, 2025

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

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

We are committed to promoting equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.