Research and Partnerships Manager / Director 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: Research and Partnerships Manager / Director

Location: Kigali, Rwanda or Nairobi, Kenya
Employment Type: Full-time
Preferred Start Date: As soon as possible

About the Role

• We are seeking an experienced evaluation professional to lead our Research and partnerships work at One Acre Fund.

Responsibilities
Research:

• Manage 2-4 long-term research studies that are of the highest strategic priority to our organization. These studies may be implemented internally by One Acre Fund and/or by an external organization.
• Dig into existing One Acre Fund research to allow the Office of the CEO and the business development team to make strategic plans around where to invest in program growth. This will be complementary to the annual impact assessments that the internal Monitoring and Evaluation team conduct.
• Prepare concise reports and dashboards to consolidate what is known internally about our client farmers and program impact.
• Coordinate with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) teams when needed to collect and report on outcomes that are of high interest to donors.
• Expand our internal research agenda. Identify holes in what we know about Impact and suggest solutions or studies to deepen our understanding.
• Create a plan to build One Acre Fund’s research profile. This may involve creating a robust dissemination strategy of our existing research or conducting activities that highlight ongoing research at One Acre Fund.

Partnerships:

• Main measurement and evaluation related liaison for external research and evaluation partners.
• Represent One Acre Fund and our impact measurement work in donor and external facing meetings and presentations.
• Provide facts and data to the Business Development team that has been validated by the primary data collection undertaken by our teams.

Staff:

• Mentor the in-country Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning teams on performance and technical issues.
• Potentially manage 1-2 staff members as the portfolio for this role grows.

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:

• Master’s degree in a related field is required. PhD is a plus.
• 7 to 10+ years of academic or professional experience developing evaluations/research and analyzing findings.
• Successful track record in complex research and evaluation projects (e.g. high-level data analysis, an experience of data collection, field team management).
• Knowledge of evaluation concepts and mastery of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs.
• Master communicator with an eye for design and visual presentation.
• Experience in engaging with multiple partners diplomatically and build meaningful strategic relationships.
• Data analysis skills such as regressions, propensity score matching, difference in difference design
• Knowledge of statistical software (e.g. Stata, R, Advanced Excel (can maintain complex spreadsheets)).
• Humility and personal stability.

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.

Benefits
Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits.

Application Closing Date
1st September 2022.