PRODUCT INNOVATION & EXPLORATION ASSOCIATE/MANAGER at One Acre Fund

Wanted

Exceptional professional with 2-5+ years of experience and a demonstrated passion for agricultural development. 

Job Location

Rubengera, Rwanda

Duration

Minimum 2 years commitment, full-time job.

Job Description

One Acre Fund relies on its Agriculture Innovations team to find the most impactful agricultural practices and products for farmers. Every season we run both station trials and farmer trials to inform our program decisions. Great innovation comes from excellent background research, a true understanding of our client base, excellent trial implementation, and a strong integration process that allows us to translate trial results into our full program.

The Product Innovation & Exploration Associate/Manager will be based in rural Rwanda. S/he will be responsible for a subset of the following:

• Innovation Exploration
  • Conduct desk research & literature reviews on intervention options, monitor developments in relevant research, and synthesize knowledge and evidence to develop trial design recommendations and hypotheses.
  • Explore impact opportunities in key rural development sectors like Energy, Health & Nutrition, Livestock, Agroforestry, Climate Change Adaptation, etc.
  • Conduct farmer-facing research. Use surveys and focus groups to discover and prioritize interventions to impact farmer income, soil health, or family health.
  • Develop framework for systematic out-sight and organizational learning.
  • Liaise with Rwandan research organizations (Government, Universities) and international research institutes to advance mutual learning.
• Staff Mentorship
  • Support all staff working on innovation & exploration team to develop technical knowledge, creative solution identification, data analysis capacity, and leadership and management skills.
  • Provide basic technical training to non-field staff on an ass-needed basis.
• Technical Guidance
  • Provide ad-hoc technical advice and guidance the impact division (Innovations + M&E), as well as to other departments like government services, field operations, etc.
  • Support Ag Extension work by reviewing & improving trainings disseminated to 200,000+ farm families each year. Develop new training materials based on desk research and trials, as needed.

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 an exceptional professional with 2-5 years of work experience and ideally a demonstrated passion for international and agricultural development. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Experience in rural development, especially in smallholder tropical agriculture or rural economics.
• Creative problem-solving and/or product development. Demanding professional work experience or successful entrepreneurial experience can be applicable.
• Leadership experience within or outside of work.
• Top-performing undergraduate background.
• Masters of Science in a field related to Agriculture or Economics preferred.
• Strong data analysis skills including Excel and STATA / R.
• Humility. We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service to join our growing family of leaders.
• A willingness to commit to living in rural areas of East Africa for at least two years - this is a long-term, career-track role. The ideal candidate will have at least one year demonstrated experience working in the developing world, although this is not a strict requirement.
• Language: English required. Kinyarwanda preferred.

Preferred Start Date

Immediate

Compensation

Commensurate with experience.

Benefits

Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.

Sponsor International Candidates 

Yes

Kinyarwanda speakers encouraged to apply.