Commercialization Specialist at One Acre Fund

One Acre, founded in 2006, supplies smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms 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. We serve more than 800,000 farm families in Eastern and Southern Africa, with more than 7,500 full-time staff, and we aim to serve 1 million farm families by 2020.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Commercialization Specialist

Location: Minna, Niger
Preferred Start Date: As soon as possible

About the Role

• One Acre Fund in Nigeria is growing, increasing the number of clients we serve each year and trialing innovations to boost our impact on farmers each year. We often work in remote environments where local dynamics may affect our ability to serve farmers well.
• We believe that linking our farmers to markets is one of the most important actions we can take to unlock profitability for our clients, promote the use of good agricultural practices and create employment within the value chain in general.
• In your role as the Commercialization Specialist, you will work with the Field Operations Lead and other departments in designing, piloting, evaluating and scaling up projects aimed at improving access to markets and cash crops for farmers.
• You will support strategy development of new services to sustainably improve our impact per farmer, while building a team, together with expertise and capabilities.

Responsibilities
Lead Strategy:

• With support of the Field Operations Lead, you will gather evidence and develop a multi-year roadmap detailing the integration of new crops and interventions to target.
• You will conduct primary and secondary research, data analysis on agronomy, value chains, market structures, potential fit within existing One Acre Fund activities for multiple crops and processed products
• You will create recommendations on best bets and possible pathways, and set up feedback loops with country leadership and other internal important partners to ensure agreement
• You will design and conduct pilots to try out new concepts in field conditions, and set up evaluation and learning to improve commercialization activities
• You will develop market access interventions or models for multiple agricultural products (Maize, Groundnut) across multiple states.
• You will conduct background studies, operational and financial estimates and create an impact model for the proposed interventions.
• You will collect data on grains, sales/volumes etc.to analyze markets and market opportunities, be knowledgeable about existing and potential market conditions.
• You will implement a technological innovation for monitoring and evaluation of the commercialization processes.

Lead Execution:

• You will coordinate grain purchases from thousands of smallholder farmers across multiple states.
• You will organize a seamless arrangement with off-takers to guarantee the smallholder farmers the best possible income and impact.
• You will train farmers on proper post-harvest handling, grain quality standards, and warehouse systems process.
• You will support other field operations' projects such as farmers' enrollment and compliance
• You will design Indicators and ensure targets are met

Relationship / Leadership:

• You will manage relationships with important partners to the success of commercialization projects.
• You will create strategy plans in collaboration with other departments, and gather feedback and build agreement from partners and field team members at all stages of the process
• You will support leaders across One Acre Fund in preparing for commercialization, e.g. by writing talking points to farmers
• You will coordinate with partners and buyers, such as the largest mobile money service provider in Nigeria, to ensure farmers are provided with the best service and opportunities
• You will initiate and manage collaborative projects with external partners, which includes drafting MoUs, periodic reporting and ensuring OAF policies are followed in all communication
• You may directly or indirectly manage staff and partners involved in projects, and the activities of the field staff involved in the market access projects.

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
For this role specifically, you will have:

• Educational background; Bachelor's Degree in Agribusiness Management, Business Administration, Environmental Economics and any related field.
• 4+ years of relevant work experience in a business setting involving sourcing, transformation and sales of agricultural produce
• Data analysis fluency
• Experience with design of multiple services targeting smallholder farmers
• Leadership experience at work, or outside of work, and enthusiasm for learning.
• Passion for team building and collaboration with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and through multiple media including remote work
• A willingness to commit to living in remote locations
• Women are encouraged to apply

Eligibility

• This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Nigeria. 

Perks

• The opportunity to expand into new focus areas or teams through an Internal Transfer Program
• Professional development opportunities including personalized trainings/ learning programs
• Connect and collaborate with engaging colleagues from diverse backgrounds
• Opportunity to build a diverse portfolio, working across innovation projects and specialist teams.

Benefits

• Health insurance, paid time off 

Application Closing Date
16th December 2021.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• 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.orgaddress. Please report any suspicious communication here ([email protected]), 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, colour, 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.