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 Product Development Lead will be based in rural Rwanda. S/he will be responsible for a subset of the following:
- Needs Assessment and Desk Research
- Conduct 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 Support
- Provide 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 Lead
- Oversight 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 Lead
- Support 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 Education
- Review our agriculture trainings that are disseminated to 200,000+ farm families per year.
- Develop new training materials based on research and trials.
- Improve training delivery and assessment through a team of trainers and evaluators.
- Team Administration
- Support in creation of annual budgets
- Monitor expenses to ensure efficient team operations
- Team Performance Management and Mentorship
- Support 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 Recommendations
- Provide 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 Institutions
- Represent 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 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.
PREFERRED START DATE
As soon as possible
JOB LOCATION
Rubengera, Rwanda
COMPENSATION
Commensurate with experience
DURATION
Full-time job
BENEFITS
Health insurance, paid time off
SPONSOR INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES
Yes
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.
More Information
- Job City Rubengera
