About One Acre Fund
Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips more than 4 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa’s farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase her income and assets on supported land by more than 40 percent, while permanently improving her climate resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 8,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. To learn more, please see our Why Work Here blog post.
Our Rwanda program, founded in 2007, operates under the local brand Tubura. We have more than 3,200 staff located in all four Rwanda provinces and Kigali. Together, we directly serve more than 790,000 farmers. To learn more about our work, look at our Rwanda program blog.
About the Role
The Agricultural Innovations dept. conducts agricultural R&D trials nationwide at thousands of locations in every agro-ecological zone in Rwanda. We are seeking a technical professional who will conduct research on Plant Nutrient Management (PNM) solutions and the development of profitable and soil-improving Cropping Systems (CS). Supervision of researchers in other fields is likely (e.g. IPM or Livestock).
You will also build the Soil & Plant Lab sub-team, which will be responsible for in-house soil/plant microbiology and soil chemistry analyses. You will be supported by specialists in other fields in our department (and across the wider 1AF system) and will report to the department lead.
Success is defined as producing high-confidence analyses of products/practices in an appropriate timeframe, supporting impactful products to the scaling/implementation stage, capacitating the Lab to fulfil its Service Level Agreement (SLA), and building relationships with key external partners.
The staffer’s base location in Rwanda is negotiable, but attendance during twice-monthly team weeks in our Karongi office is required (also the site of the Lab).
Responsibilities
- Conduct multidisciplinary research (lit reviews, surveys, on-station & on-farm trials, financial models) to rigorously evaluate the impact of new IPM and CS solutions (products/practices/services). Ensure solutions are accessible to smallholders through farmer-facing channels (e.g. using Decision Support Systems – DSS) – 60%
- Capacitate and oversee the quality of execution of the Soil & Plant Lab team – 20%
- Establish strategic partnerships with other organsations to fill technical gaps and expedite scaling.- 10%
- Manage research specialists, including the most senior member of the Soil & Plant Lab team – 10%
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:
- BSc and preferably MSc in Agriculture
- At least 5 years of experience in research with specialization related to plant nutrient management and agroecological cropping systems development.
- In-depth knowledge of nutrient cycling principles/processes, holistic soil health assessment methods (physical, biological, chemical) and PGP organisms.
- Skills in experimental design and statistical analysis of experimental data
- Experience managing relationships with senior scientists.
- Familiarity with soil lab operations management, dry chemistry soil analysis procedures; microbial activity assessments;
- English speaker; Kinyarwanda is a plus.
Preferred Start Date
As soon as possible
Job Location
Rubengera and Kigali, Rwanda
Benefits
Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits
Contract Duration
2 Years
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 Link
Application Deadline
09 March 2025. Please note that we hire on a rolling basis which means that applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made.
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 feel 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.
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