Job Description

One Acre Fund

Job Title: Policy Specialist

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Job Summary: The Policy Specialist will support our policy analysis and regulatory work in growth countries and pilot countries, with a focus on risk mitigation and advocacy projects.

About One Acre Fund: Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly 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 are growing quickly. We currently 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.

Job Description: The Policy Specialist will support our policy analysis and regulatory work in our growth countries and pilot countries. They will report to the Africa Policy Lead and sit on the Global Government Relations and Policy team. The Policy Specialist will be responsible for risk monitoring and analysis, government compliance support, advocacy projects, stakeholder mapping and outreach, and other ad-hoc policy tasks. The ideal candidate has experience working in political or regulatory environments in Sub-Saharan Africa. Legal experience is also a plus.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Risk Monitoring and Analysis:

• Design and execute political and regulatory risk monitoring systems in at least 4 countries of operation.


• Maintain those systems over time and propose iterations that incorporate additional complexity as programs grow in size and scope.


• Complete targeted research and produce policy analysis on areas of heightened risk to our programs.


• Communicate with country and global leadership on risks that are relevant to our programs, and make recommendations on how to move forward.

Regulatory Compliance Support:

• Support field teams in Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and our pilot countries to ensure they are compliant with all government regulations, and help them create innovative systems to track their progress.


• Support Global Sourcing, Insurance, Agricultural Research, and other global teams in ensuring that their activities are compliant with all regulations across countries.

Advocacy projects:

• Identify and execute advocacy projects that improve the operating environment for smallholder farmers on a national or regional level.


• Before the start of each advocacy project, define the potential impact, window of opportunity, definition of success, and buy-in from internal stakeholders.


• Gain rapid fluency across a number of public sector interest areas in order to build an understanding of advocacy needs, including seed and fertilizer, extension, solar electrification, taxation, and more.

Stakeholder Mapping and Outreach:

• Act as One Acre Fund’s representative in public stakeholder meetings where regulations are debated.


• Act as One Acre Fund’s representative on private sector associations or industry groups that address key programmatic issues.


• Act as One Acre Fund’s representative in meetings with bilateral or multilateral donors that are focused on regulatory changes and projects.


• Ad-hoc policy projects as required

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

We are seeking one exceptional professional with at least 2 years of work experience and a demonstrated interest in policy analysis work.

Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Experience working in political or regulatory environments in Sub-Saharan Africa


• Demonstrated organizational abilities, particularly in unstructured environments


• High attention to detail


• Strong written and oral communication skills


• Collaborative approach; ability to work across many different departments effectively


• Good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service


• English fluency required, French or Swahili is a plus

Travel

Due to the high degree of political and regulatory fluency that is required to be successful in this role, we expect the Policy Specialist to spend the first 6 months of their role working in other One Acre Fund countries (with housing provided by One Acre Fund).

After that, they can be based in any East or Southern African city where we have operations (and where the applicant has work authorization). Note that after the initial 6 months, the applicant should expect to spend at least 15% of their time traveling.

Preferred Start Date: As soon as possible

Job Location: Any East or Southern African city where we have operations and where the applicant has work authorization (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi or Malawi)

Compensation: Commensurate with experience

Duration: Full-time job

Benefits: Health insurance, paid time off

Sponsor International Candidates: No; Must have existing rights to work in either Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi or Malawi.

Application link: https://grnh.se/05d2b2f61

Closing date: January 11, 2020

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.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org).

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