CHARITY JOBS IN AFRICA

Organization: One Acre Fund
Country: Kenya
Closing date: 03 Jan 2015

Private-sector style career development in a growing social enterprise*
An excellent career development opportunity*

Industry: Nonprofit/International Development
Function: Policy, government relations, liaison
Employer: One Acre Fund
Job Title: East Africa Government Relations Analyst
Job Location: Western Kenya with regular travel to Kampala and Kamuli.

Duration: Minimum 2 years commitment, full-time job

Organization Description

Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a growing NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "market bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market access. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure 50-100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

We are growing quickly. In eight years, we have grown to serve 180,000 farm families with more than 2000 full-time field staff. Our approach has won widespread validation, winning grants from The MasterCard Foundation and Gates Foundation. Website: www.oneacrefund.org. [Second paragraph not included in website job descriptions]

Job Description

One Acre Fund works closely with local and national governments. Our principal focus is the Ministry of Agriculture in countries where we operate, but we also pay close attention to other actors in the agricultural sector. Our aim is to share information on what we do. We also require detailed insights into the strategic, regulatory, and legislative issues affecting the sector.

Our government relations team supports field operations to provide vital services to farmers. It also informs our wider policy, communications, and outreach work. We believe that powerful opportunities exist to partner with the government to shape and implement effective policy, coordinated with our significant field presence.

This role will be spent 50% working on Kenya and 50% on Uganda. In Kenya, the analyst will work closely with our local government relations team to grow and enhance our outreach to county governments. Occasional interactions with Kenya’s national government will also be required. For Uganda, One Acre Fund is running a trial program in Kamuli and it is therefore necessary to establish local government relations, whilst beginning relationship building with Uganda’s national government too. If the Kamuli trial is successful, we expect to formally launch our program in Uganda, and the analyst will transition to being 100% on Uganda government relations.

The successful applicant will work closely with the government relations and policy team. There are several major duties:

Kenya

• Coordinate the activities of four local government relations staff that cover fifteen counties.
• Deliver trainings on work planning, strategic thinking, IT skills and mentoring for the local government team.
• Enhance quarterly reports, field visits, and overall local government outreach.
• Maintain One Acre Fund relations with key local agricultural sector actors such as regulators, research institutions, donor programs, partner organizations, and local media.

Uganda

• Manage early-stage local government relations in Kamuli.
• Identify local government relations support needed for operations expansion.
• Establish national government relations with key agricultural sector actors such as the Ministry of Agriculture, regulators, research institutions, and donor programs.

East Africa

• Interpret and explain policies and laws applicable to One Acre Fund field operations.
• Write a weekly agricultural sector ‘sit-rep’ summarizing key regional news stories of interest to One Acre Fund.

Career Growth and Development

One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about. Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications

We are seeking an exceptional professional with 2 – 4 years of relevant work experience. We are looking for truly extraordinary candidates that will help take our organization to the next levels of impact, scale, and sustainability. This is a competitive posting for a career-track role with a minimum initial commitment of two years. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• 2-4 years of relevant work experience: We are looking for a former policy professional, economist, management consultant, or lawyer; entrepreneurial and unstructured work experiences are also helpful.
• Top-performing undergraduate degree: Please include GPA and test scores on your CV (master’s degree preferred).
• East Africa experience: A proven understanding of the political, social, and economic situation in Uganda, Kenya, and the region.
• Management experience: Include evidence of how you grew and developed a team of people
• Leadership experience: Demonstrated at work or outside of work.
• Humility and personal stability: We are looking for passionate professionals that combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service.
• Computer skills: High levels of proficiency with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Language: English required; Kiswahili nice to have.

Preferred Start Date

Flexible

Compensation

Starts modest. However, this is a career-track role with fast raises for performance, paying a meaningful salary for long-term placement in developing nations.

Benefits

Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.

Sponsor International Candidates

Yes

How to apply:

Complete this form (http://myjotform.com/form/40471746260553). You will be prompted to submit your CV and cover letter. You may also be asked to submit work samples for some positions. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), please submit a copy of your Description of Service (DOS) in the appropriate section.