Country Director, Nigeria Appointment brief, October 2023
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Appointment brief | 2023
About us Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. Our 8,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across six core countries in Africa, we make farmers more prosperous by providing quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. On average, the farmers we serve harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.
To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here page for more information.
Appointment brief | 2023
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Strategy One Acre Fund’s model is rooted in sound business practices. We supply smallholder farmers with everything they need to succeed, and we are scaling up to meet the needs of more and more farm families every day for maximum impact.
What do farmers need in order to grow more? First, they need quality farm products. Second, they need access to training on planting best practices and guidance on cultivating crops that are well-suited to their land. Finally, they need to store their harvest safely so their families can eat year-round, and they can sell any surplus when the prices are high. We offer quality products and services in deeply rural areas, along with affordable and flexible payment options. As our customers, farmers choose products that make sense for their farms. We support many staple crops, such as maize, beans and vegetables, which farm families rely on for food. We also offer commercial crops, livestock and trees, to help farmers diversify their incomes.
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Appointment brief | 2023
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization’s mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.
Appointment brief | 2023
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Role description Job Title:
Country Director, Nigeria
Salary:
100,000 – 120,000 USD
Contract Type:
Permanent
Location:
Minna, Niger State or Abuja
Report to. Senior Director, Growth Unit with interactions with top-tier leaders across the organisation.
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Direct Reports:
Deputy Country Directors
Benefits:
Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits.
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.
Appointment brief | 2023
Role purpose The Country Director will directly manage all operations in Nigeria and grow the number of farmers we serve from about 120,000 in 2023 to over 1 million farmers by 2030. In addition to generating rapid growth in our existing programs, the Country Director will develop new opportunities for impact and revenue, while also having the Nigeria program breakeven over time. Our vision is to build a presence across the country, and to diversify our portfolio with new programs that help us serve as many farmers as possible in Nigeria in a financially sustainable way.
Appointment brief | 2023
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Key responsibilities •
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Build vision and oversee operations to serve 1 million Farm Families by 2030 You will work with senior leaders, both in-country and on global teams, to develop and refine a long-term vision for how we can serve over 1 million farmers across the country by 2030. You will rally the team behind that vision to build support for the program. This would include a Vision document, long-term financial model, and OKRs.
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You will oversee all field programs via a Deputy and hit annual targets.
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You will revise our strategies and operations to produce impact and financial results.
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You will specifically focus on financial sustainability and ensure that the country program breaks even in the next 5 years.
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You will also identify near-term and long-term risks which could affect our ability to achieve our goals. You will work with your Deputies and other leaders to craft creative and thoughtful mitigation strategies.
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Develop and scale operational foundation to achieve impact goals. You will manage all back-end systems via a Deputy and oversee the development and deployment of new processes to lower costs and improve execution.
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You will pay attention to systems and controls to ensure that the program is ready to grow rapidly in the coming years, with a much lower risk of leakage and fraud.
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You will lead new investments in tech to maximize our ability to expand our programs, improve our data quality, and simplify operations for staff.
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Develop a strong team of leaders and build partnerships. You will directly manage a team of 3-6 strong Deputies who oversee program execution, systems, people, and expansion. You will invest in the development of these key Deputies and other rising leaders on the team.
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You will build our recruitment capacity to find great people to fill open roles - the workforce will likely triple in size in the next few years.
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You will prioritize investments in our team and culture, especially as we grow. You will oversee the creation of new development programs, cultivate a productive and positive working environment, and invest in deepening team cohesion.
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You will also supervise our external relationships across the country. You will manage our government/partnership work streams and work with leaders across the team to strengthen our important strategic relationships.
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.
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Appointment brief | 2023
Person specification Experience
Key attributes
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Strong leadership experience scaling programs, projects or organizations.
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Strong ability to envision, identify opportunities and the right partners to take advantage of those.
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10+ years of dynamic professional experience, with considerable exposure to rural development.
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Strong experience and capacity for people development and management.
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7+ years experience managing senior staff.
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Critical thinking and problem solving.
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Evidenced experience of delivering on high scaled projects and producing results.
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Tangible experience coaching other leaders.
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Great collaborator and team member who can engage with different people, from rural farmers to high-level executives.
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Ability to communicate with executives across One Acre Fund and with high-level leaders in other organizations.
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Capacity to both develop high-level strategies and work with others to develop detailed operational plans.
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Ability to drive towards results in a dynamic and fluid work context.
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Ability to identify risks and develop thoughtful mitigation strategies.
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University or advanced degree in relevant fields.
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Business English required.
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Ability to travel to Minna and other areas outside of Abuja up to 40% of the time.
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Experience launching new investments or building successful partnerships.
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Experience working with budgets and financial models.
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Comfort and experience using data to make decisions.
Appointment brief | 2023
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How to apply To apply for the role, you can either upload your CV together with a supporting statement (of no more than 500 words) onto the Prospectus website via the link provided. Please ensure that you have included a telephone number, as well as any dates when you will not be available or might have difficulty with the recruitment timetable. If you wish to apply using an alternative format, please contact Prospectus on +44 20 7691 1920 or email executive.admin@prospect-us.co.uk Applications via the Prospectus website should be made at: https://prospect-us.co.uk/jobs/186231-country-directornigeria/ At Prospectus we believe passionately that a truly inclusive workplace leads to increased social impact. We are committed to supporting our clients build more inclusive teams. To understand how we are performing, we ask that you kindly complete the brief equal opportunities questionnaire when you submit your application via our website. Please be assured that your responses are kept confidential, separate from your candidate record, are not part of any application you make, and that the consultants never see individual responses to the questionnaire.
Recruitment timetable Deadline for applications: 22nd November 2023. Applications will however be treated and progressed on rolling basis.
Queries If you wish to have an informal discussion about the opportunity, please contact our retained advisors Akinwunmi Akowonjo or Jamila Abubakar at Prospectus on +44 (0)20 7691 1920, or email: akinwunmi.akowonjo@prospect-us.co.uk jamila.abubakar@prospect-us.co.uk
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Appointment brief | 2023
Appointment brief | 2023
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