Agriculture Product Research Lead at One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. We provide quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. We measure our success by our ability to make farmers more prosperous: On average, farmers harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.

We are growing quickly. We currently serve more than 800,000 farm families in Eastern and Southern Africa, with more than 7,500 full-time staff, and we aim to serve 1 million farm families by 2020.

JOB DESCRIPTION
One Acre Fund relies on its Product Innovation team to find the most impactful agricultural practices and products for farmers. Every season we run both station and farmer trials to inform our extension and product offering 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 impact for our full program.

The Agriculture Product Research Lead will be based in rural Rwanda. S/he will be responsible for a subset of the following:

Needs Assessment and Desk ResearchConduct participatory research into the needs and preferences of the farmers that we serve in order to identify new opportunities for impact.
Literature reviews on intervention options and monitor developments in relevant agriculture research
Organizational Strategy SupportProvide technical input to support strategy development for products and services offered to farmers
Provide technical backstopping for agricultural strategy
Provide ad-hoc technical advice and guidance to the impact division (Innovations + M&E), as well as to other departments like government relations and services, field operations, systems and business development teams etc.
Station Trial LeadOversight of station trials at 3 locations in Karongi, Rutsiro and Kayonza; team of 40+ staff
Initiate and review trial suggestions, potential impact analysis and trial design
Data analysis support
Reporting results and recommendations
Farmer Field Trial LeadSupport a team of 40+ staff running trials with hundreds of farmers each season.
Improve farmer trial protocols and plans.
Analyze data and compile trial reports.
Agriculture EducationReview our agriculture trainings that are disseminated to farm families.
Develop new training materials based on research and trials.
Improve training delivery and assessment through a team of trainers and evaluators.
Team AdministrationSupport in creation of annual budgets
Monitor expenses to ensure efficient team operations
Team Performance Management and MentorshipSupport all staff working on agriculture research to develop technical knowledge, data analysis capacity, leadership and management skills.
Provide basic technical training to non-field staff on an as-needed basis
Periodic performance reviews for staff
Scale and Input RecommendationsProvide scale recommendations for different products and practices
Provide support to input and field operations team on crop and fertilizer allocations for farmers in Rwanda
Collaborations with Other InstitutionsRepresent OAF in different task forces in collaboration with external organizations
Liaise with Rwandan research organizations (Government, Universities) and international research institutes to advance mutual learning

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

We are seeking an exceptional agricultural professional, with a minimum of 3 years of research/ product development experience, to increase our impact through the development and scaling of products and practices that enhance farmer livelihood, and ideally a demonstrated passion for our mission.  Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

Strong educational background; at least an MSc in Agriculture or closely related field
Demonstrated leadership experience at work, or outside of work, enthusiasm for learning, and openness to feedback.
Ability to build teams and collaborate with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.
Language: English required in all locations. Other notable and useful languages are French and Kinyarwanda.

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