ABOUT ONE ACRE FUND
Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. Our 8,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across six core countries in Africa, 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 harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.
To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here blog for more information.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Global Ombuds mediates employee conflict and investigates DEI-related employee conduct and bias complaints and resolves them, usually through recommendations or mediation sessions. The Global Ombuds also works with the Office of the CEO and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council to identify systemic issues leading to poor employee conduct or culture and makes recommendations for improvement. The objective of this role would be to help One Acre Fund create a safe, supportive, inclusive workplace, and to ensure that employees can report and resolve instances of bias in a fair, transparent process free from retaliation. The Global Ombuds would report to the Office of the CEO and would manage one direct report, and would work with HR and Legal Teams. The Global Ombuds would:
- Create the structures and processes needed to manage cases
- Resolve cases related to bias, minor misconduct cases, and staff conflict
- Provide One Acre Fund staff support and mediation services
- Escalate cases of formal discrimination and grave misconduct to Legal
- Report aggregated trends and make recommendations to the CEO, DEI Council, Company Board, and Managing Counsel
RESPONSIBILITIES
While the Global Ombuds will be first and foremost involved in staff mediation work, they will have a number of other responsibilities, which may take up a greater or lesser percentage of the Global Ombuds’ bandwidth, depending on the caseload of staff mediation cases.
A. Staff Mediation (60%)
- Resolve cases of bias, staff conflict, micro-aggressions through mediation, training, and recommendations.
- Ensure confidentiality and fairness in resolving cases
B. Awareness & Training (15%)
- Lead programs and communication to increase all staff awareness of and access to reporting channels.
- Shape the organizational culture we want at OAF through preventative training and other interventions.
- Ensure that staff view the Ombuds and reporting channels as accessible, trusted, and unbiased.
C. Identify trends and support systemic solutions (10%)
- Analyze case data, draft reports, and make recommendations.
- Advocate for any necessary changes to organizational structures, plans, or processes to ensure that One Acre Fund is building the culture we want.
- Provide support scoping or implementing relevant DEI projects.
D. Stakeholder Management (Community of Practice leadership) (15%)
- Delegate cases to and support in-country mediators / staff-liaison officers
- Offer performance support and professional development resources to in-country mediators
- Build knowledge of the Ombuds services and gain a better understanding of staff sentiment by attending regional meetings and country-level leadership meetings
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
Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:
- 5 or more years of experience in mediation/Ombuds/conflict resolution work
- 3+ years of experience in any of our countries of operation
- 2+ years in management
- Experience working in a multi-cultural, diverse workplace.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Some experience in corporate Culture or DEI work, or experience in the legal field is a plus.
- English is required, knowledge of French/Swahili/Kinyarwanda/Kirundi/Chichewa/Amharic is preferred.
PREFERRED START DATE
As soon as possible
JOB LOCATION
Flexible within East Africa; Kigali, Rwanda is preferred.
BENEFITS
Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits
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:23 November 2021
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 feels 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.
