Zambia Business Operations Project Specialist 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 trainings 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

The Business Operations department, is responsible for both client facing and non-client facing back office aspects of our program. This includes a Client Data Management team who ensure timely and accurate client repayment and order data, a Customer Engagement team who ensure excellent customer service through a call center and SMS services and a Field Audit team who aim to prevent and catch fraud by conducting investigations in the field. The Business Operations Project Specialist will lead a combination of these teams within the Business Operations department in order to implement projects critical to the organization’s continued growth.

In this role, you will solidify essential operations in the department, overseeing key functions in the Client Data Management, Customer Engagement and Case Investigations sub-departments. You will be the strategic, tactical and executional leader of the Business Operations department. You will work manage a team of two Supervisors, who in turn manage 4 team members among them. You will be responsible for ensuring coordination and execution within your team of existing and new policies, procedures, and trials. By overseeing these functions, you will allow Business Operations to be running like a well-oiled machine, where team members feel supported and empowered, business as usual runs without a hitch and other stakeholders are engaged and well informed. When you join our team as our Project Specialist, you will improve our ability to provide our clients with world-class service, because they deserve nothing less.

More specifically, your scope will include (but is not limited to):

• Directly support and manage 4 sub-departments:
  
  
  
  • Customer Engagement: managing our Customer Hotline
  
  
  • Client Data Management: collecting all client data centrally, including weekly data entry, reconciliations, and reporting.
  
  
  • Case Investigations: Routine field audits and investigations to serve our clients
  
  
  
  


• Coordinate extensively with the Scale Innovations, Field Operations and Logistics team, our primary internal stakeholders.


• Liaise with other Business Operations leads globally and represent One Acre Fund Zambia in these forums.


• Oversee major processes and ensure accurate and timely execution of critical team tasks, together with the Client Data Management Supervisor, Business Operations Supervisor, and Systems Lead.
  
  
  
  • Contract data entry and quality control
  
  
  • Distribution schedule data entry and quality control
  
  
  • Repayment and revenue data entry and quality control
  
  
  • Client blacklisting and repayment rollovers
  
  
  • Cross-departmental trackers and reports
  
  
  
  


• Develop and grow your team, ensuring they are reaching their potential, they are managing their own teams, and meeting One Acre Fund best management practices.


• Set short-term and seasonal goals for your team and the Business Operations department, with support from Systems Lead, developing a comprehensive seasonal calendar.


• Conduct routine database and reconciliation audits, ensuring our database is a true reflection of reality, and providing a key control to the Business Operations and Field Operations teams.


• Develop a keen understanding of One Acre Fund’s overall operations and how Business Operations’ activities can be executed and planned strategically, effectively, and efficiently


• Drive departmental innovation, with flexible processes that aim to permanently solve complex problems.


• Ensure our program meets global client protection standards, through both proactive and reactive processes. You will also collaborate closely across departments with our Field Operations, Logistics, and Technology teams to promote client protection.


• Evaluate your department’s performance  through key performance indicators, ensuring we find opportunities for improvements and meeting our yearly strategic goals.

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.

We are seeking one exceptional professional(s) with 1-3+ years of work experience and ideally a demonstrated passion for our mission.  Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Work experience in a demanding professional environment (fast-paced, data-drive), preferably in positions where frequent cross-department communication was required..


• Demonstrated leadership and management experience at work, enthusiasm for learning, and openness to feedback.


• Strong quantitative reasoning skills, you can QC contracts, reports, and data tables effectively with minimal support.


• Ability to handle multiple priorities at one time – for example providing direct management and professional development support to a team while maintaining project progress, responding to challenges, and controlling for costs against budget goals


• Willingness to go the extra mile to ensure a project is done perfectly, with exceptional attention to detail.


• 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.


• Ability to build teams and collaborate with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.


• Strong computer skills, particularly in MS Office (Word, Powerpoint, and Excel) and Google applications (Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Gmail). Database management experience a plus.


• Education: University degree required, preferably in business administration.


• Language: Excellent written and spoken English required. Knowledge of Nyanja, Bemba, and/or Tonga will be an asset.

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