Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Lead (Fixed-term)

Seeking a leader in Sustainable Agriculture transitions to accelerate the shift from imported synthetic fertilizers to a local, sustainable crop nutrition regime for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa. You'll drive R&D, supplier engagement, and policy advocacy.

About One Acre Fund Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips 5.5 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase their income and assets on supported land by more than 35 percent, while permanently improving their resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 9,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions.

One Acre Fund offers a range of inputs, including organic products, but the Agricultural system we work in is still highly reliant on imported, synthetic fertilizers. Given supply chain disruptions, rising costs to farmers, and environmental impacts, it is increasingly urgent for One Acre Fund to facilitate a transition to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems, starting with plant nutrition. To date, One Acre Fund has conducted research on biological products, organic fertilizers, locally-produced N-fertilizers, and alternative cropping systems, but these innovations reach a small number of our clients. There is much more we can do to identify the right products and practices that work for more smallholders and that hasten the move towards a regenerative agricultural system.

About the Role The objective of the Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Lead role is to accelerate One Acre Fund’s work on the transition away from imported synthetic fertilizers to a more local and sustainable crop nutrition regime. You will build on existing input trials, cropping systems trials, new product research, and supplier research to help identify the most promising innovations in the world that could be appropriate for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa. You’ll accelerate our research on these technologies and work with a wide range of stakeholders to improve access for smallholders. This role reports to the Impact and R&D Division but is a cross-functional role that liaises often with colleagues in Supply Chain, Government Relations, and Field Operations.

An ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of smallholder farming systems and a nuanced appreciation for the factors that will make a regenerative transition possible. We are looking for an innovative and proactive leader who can accelerate this work and overcome technical, logistical, or behavioral roadblocks.

Responsibilities - Build and maintain a database of alternatives to imported, synthetic fertilizers ("alternatives") - Initially, conduct a wide scan of input and practice alternatives through desk research, key informant interviews, available performance data, supplier conversations, current product adopters, etc. Regular market scans will become an ongoing practice. - Create a prioritization framework based on factors like mechanism of action, cost, yield impact, profitability impact, quality of evidence, farmer feasibility, logistical feasibility, supply chain stability, etc. - Drive forward a multi-year R&D strategy for this work - Work with R&D leads and other stakeholders to design our “alternatives” strategy. Considering the logical & efficient sequence in which to tackle different questions; the sorts of trials we need to do, and in what order; and the optimal sequencing and prioritization. - Translate the strategy into an action plan, and ensure that we meet our targets in all areas including agricultural research, government relations, supplier engagement, logistics, and supply chain, etc. - Support R&D leads to ensure high-quality trial design, execution, analysis, and dissemination of results. - Supplier engagement to accelerate market entry - As appropriate, work with specific input suppliers to refine their products to specifications that work for smallholder farmers in SSA. You may suggest trials, propose new formulations, address supply chain constraints, etc., to improve product development. - Proactively engage suppliers to expedite research, helping them demonstrate efficacy and achieve product registration. - Internal Stakeholder Management - Keep the many stakeholders in this work aligned and working effectively towards shared objectives. This might include leading a working group, providing regular updates to stakeholders, maintaining relationships through 1:1 meetings, etc. - Liaise with Government Relations colleagues, advocating for policy changes that promote the registration and farmer access of viable alternative products.

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: - Relevant academic background in Agronomy, Soil Science, Plant Nutrition, Microbiology, Agroecology, or a related field. - Experience developing and/or managing farm system transition pathways. You will ideally bring consideration of diverse cropping systems, sustainable plant protection, nutrient cycling, and integrated soil fertility management, as well as an ability to model the productivity and financial impact of changes. - Familiarity with the latest advances in sustainable plant nutrition - particularly biological solutions - and soil science. This includes the latest scientific understanding as well as knowledge of promising products, services, and practices. - Familiarity with agricultural research (e.g., experimental design, analysis, interpretation of results). Robust experimental analysis capabilities are a plus. - Strong project management skills and experience leading complex initiatives with diverse stakeholders. - Experience navigating agricultural regulatory or product registration pathways in Sub-Saharan Africa is a plus.

Benefits Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Contract Duration 2 years