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. 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.
JOB DESCRIPTION
One Acre Fund runs a robust R&D program, spanning over half a dozen countries and including modelling, agronomic trials, soil sampling and survey work with tens of thousands of farmers every year. As a data-driven organization, our R&D program is the beating heart of many strategic decisions which directly affect the well-being of hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers every year.
You will report to the Global Director for Agriculture Research, and you will contribute to the following:
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- Spatial and temporal optimization of agronomic guidance – You will play a leading role in the development of systems to ensure that farmers receive targeted agronomic recommendations that are appropriate for their location and evolving season conditions. For example, developing systems for producing location-specific variety recommendations, or developing fertilizer blends for different locations according to soil nutrient status, or creating models for issuing real-time guidance to farmers on fertilizer application rate and timing according to observed and forecast rainfall
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- Technical consulting – You will regularly provide support to teams in multiple countries and divisions, dealing with technical agricultural questions or challenges, which will sometimes require an urgent response. This work will involve drawing from your own knowledge, and conducting efficient desk research in order to synthesize different information sources into clear, practical recommendations to teams. Past examples of this category of work include issuing guidance to for responding to emerging crop pest threats, developing fertilizer recommendations for a new crop or operating area, or developing topical memos or policies on a new product that a program is considering offering
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- Research strategy & trial design – You will support teams to design and execute efficient roadmaps to evaluating and improving agronomic product performance, with particular emphasis on trial design
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- Outsight – We regularly collaborate with various other institutions and the private sector in agriculture research (universities, CGIAR, NARES, seed companies, donors). You will participate in two-way information sharing to ensure that research priorities are influenced by field perspectives on important knowledge gaps, and to ensure that One Acre Fund is well-positioned to benefit from state-of-the-art applied agricultural research
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 professional with 5+ years’ experience in agriculture research, and a track record of tackling complex agriculture research challenges in a systematic and efficient way. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
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- Strong candidates will likely have a PhD or MSc with extensive experience in applied agricultural science, and excellent working knowledge of general agronomy and crop management (expertise in maize is particularly desirable)
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- Experience in parameterization, validation and application of crop models (e.g. APSIM) in agronomic research or conducting yield gap analyses
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- Expert knowledge of design and management of agricultural trials, and statistical analysis (preferably in R)
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- Ability to guide projects towards results by working with a range of internal and external partners, working within a matrix management model.
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- Language: Fluent English required
PREFERRED START DATE
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, start dates can vary significantly by role. We are adapting rapidly to Covid-19 and most of our team is now working remotely. Given the changing environment, we will appreciate your flexibility in confirming a start date.
JOB LOCATION
Kigali, Rwanda
COMPENSATION
Commensurate with experience
DURATION
Full-time job
BENEFITS
Health insurance, paid time off and comprehensive benefits
SPONSOR INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES
Yes; African nationals strongly encouraged to apply.
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.
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.
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