Ethiopia: Deputy Country Director

Nov 13, 2021 | One Acre Fund
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One Acre Fund works to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In Ethiopia, we engage farmers in agroforestry and community-based seed multiplication.  In partnership with the Amhara National Regional State, these programs have planted more than 10 million trees, produced over 500 MT of improved teff seed and reached more than 65,000 farmers.  Now, we are now in an exciting phase of work in which we are trialing novel approaches and preparing for scale-up in the coming years. We have over 8000 employees globally, and our growing Ethiopia headquarters are in Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, with small offices in Addis Ababa, Finote Selam and Motta.

To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here blog for more information.

About the Role

We are looking for someone to co-lead One Acre Fund's fastest growing country program. Over the next few years, you will help quadruple the size of our program operations. Depending on your skill set, you will lead expansion of our programs or the behind-the-scenes operational departments that support all of our programs. In either case, you will report directly to the Country Director and manage other managers. You will support us to grow our operations to serve over 300,000 farmers and plant 35 million trees in 2025. You will lead strategy, innovations and financial sustainability, while guiding rising leaders to their full potential.

Responsibilities

There are two possible portfolios for this position, as you will split responsibilities with the Country Director:

  • Programs portfolio: you will manage the growth of our agroforestry and, later, seed multiplication programs through a growing team of 70 - 200 permanent staff members and hundreds of seasonal staff. The agroforestry programs plan to operate over 800 tree nurseries to sell 35 million trees to 300,000 farmers in 2025. To enhance the outcomes and efficiency of this growth, you'll lead team growth, program management and research and development of new service delivery models and products.
  • People & Systems portfolio: you will manage the growth of our support departments through a team of 10-15 professionals. You will be responsible to strengthening and expanding our operational platform to serve over 300,000 farmers by 2025. You will help us scale and provide an extremely high level of service across our operating territory by developing innovations to increase efficiency, launching leadership and development programs for our staff, introducing new technologies and much more.

Within both portfolios:

  • You'll build a team of independent and effective leaders and specialists, ensuring execution excellence and growth in our programs or support departments.
  • You will guide the program toward financial sustainability by exploring radical innovations and revenue generation
  • You will determine opportunities to increase program effectiveness, rigorously evaluate them and then grow promising opportunities.
  • You will work with the Country Director and the steering committee to develop our long-term growth strategy and seamless coordination between departments.
  • You'll contribute to organization-wide agroforestry strategy and 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

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:

  • 7+ years of dynamic professional experience
  • 2+ years experience managing staff and teams
  • 2+ years working in rural development programs
  • Rigorous approach to decisions, ie skills to guide growth decisions based on evidence, quantitative analysis and modeling
  • Achievements that demonstrate field sense and project management skills
  • More specific preferred skills and qualifications pertain to each track mentioned above

We encourage you to keep your CV concise (1-2 pages) and to highlight key achievements and results (quantified where relevant). In your cover letter, we encourage you to highlight why you are interested in One Acre Fund and how your skills and experiences are a match for this role. Link to our blog post on 5 Tips For Strengthening Your One Acre Fund Application, which covers this in more details.

Preferred Start Date:

  • As soon as possible

Job Location:

  • Addis Ababa or Bahir Dar, Ethiopia with frequent travel to field sites.

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:

25 November 2021