Opportunity at
One Acre FundAgricultural R&D Manager (Fixed-Term)
One Acre Fund is an organization founded in 2006 that provides farm supplies, financing, tree seedlings, modern agronomic training, and agricultural services to 5.5 million smallholder…
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About This Role
One Acre Fund is an organization founded in 2006 that provides farm supplies, financing, tree seedlings, modern agronomic training, and agricultural services to 5.5 million smallholder farmers across nine African countries. This 3-year fixed-term contract role for an Agricultural R&D Manager leads the execution of the country program agricultural research and development strategy, trial standardization, FAIR data implementation, efficiency metrics tracking, and research dashboard management. The position is responsible for…
Job Description
One Acre Fund is an organization founded in 2006 that provides farm supplies, financing, tree seedlings, modern agronomic training, and agricultural services to 5.5 million smallholder farmers across nine African countries. This 3-year fixed-term contract role for an Agricultural R&D Manager leads the execution of the country program agricultural research and development strategy, trial standardization, FAIR data implementation, efficiency metrics tracking, and research dashboard management.
The position is responsible for optimizing the research pipeline from initial concept to field adoption to enhance farmer yields, profit margins, and soil health. Key focus areas include regional seed recommendations, crop nutrition strategies involving organic or biological fertilizers, soil health improvement practices, and technical consulting for field challenges. The manager also oversees research design, data analysis, stage-gate innovation evaluation, and training program administration for research staff, while collaborating with external agricultural institutions and private sector stakeholders.
Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, or Nigeria. The employer values diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism, operating as an equal opportunity workplace.
Responsibilities
- Lead and oversee research to generate high-impact seed recommendations and diversify seed catalogs at the regional and field levels
- Develop strategies for fertilizer optimization, organic alternatives, and soil health enhancement practices
- Provide technical consulting and rapid advice for urgent field challenges or unexpected trial anomalies
- Ensure research methodologies produce rigorous data for assessing technology performance and adoption potential
- Analyze trials and survey data to generate actionable recommendations for program decision-makers and farmers
- Establish standardized efficiency metrics and key performance indicator tracking systems across operating countries
- Manage the research and development pipeline through stage-gate evaluation processes
- Design training materials and run regional workshops on trial design and data analysis for country research staff
- Collaborate and share information with external agricultural institutions and private sector research organizations
Requirements
- Hold either a PhD with 3 years of experience or an MSc with 5 years of experience in applied agricultural sciences
- Demonstrate fluency in agronomy, physiology, genotype-by-environment-management interactions, and major crops such as maize, cereals, solanaceae, beans, legumes, and high-value crops like chilli
- Possess experience in designing and managing both on-station and on-farm trials involving smallholder farmers
- Show knowledge of parametric and non-parametric statistical analysis techniques and data visualization for agronomic trials
- Demonstrate a track record of establishing project management frameworks, country-level key performance indicator tracking, efficiency metrics, and executive reporting
- Be a citizen or permanent resident of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, or Nigeria
Qualifications
- Familiarity with predictive and classification machine learning algorithms and their potential applications for agronomic recommendations using climate and soil data layers
Core Skills
Benefits
- Health insurance
- Housing
- Comprehensive benefits
- Regular mentorship, training programs, and performance feedback with weekly check-ins
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
What is the employment type for this position?
This is a 3-year fixed-term contract role.
Where is this job located?
The job location is flexible across One Acre Fund's countries of operation.
Who is eligible to apply for this role?
The position is open exclusively to citizens or permanent residents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Nigeria.
What benefits are provided?
The posting specifies health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits.
What is the salary for this position?
The job posting does not specify the salary.
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