One Acre Fund Tree Program Specialist Jobs in Ethiopia
One Acre Fund Tree Program Specialist Jobs in Ethiopia
Job DescriptionAbout One Acre FundOne Acre Fund works to make African smallholder farmers more prosperous. We supply everything farmers need to grow more food and earn more income. We deliver quality farm supplies on credit, deep in rural areas, and trainings to improve farmers’ harvests.
We currently serve 600,000 clients in six countries across Eastern and Southern Africa, and we aim to reach 1 million farm families by 2020.
One Acre Fund started working in Ethiopia in 2014, centered in the Amhara region. For three years we supported teff extension work to promote good agricultural practices and yields, but our current projects are supporting community-based multiplication of improved teff seed and supporting production and dissemination of agroforestry tree species through kebele-level nurseries.
Last season, we helped 10,000 farmers in 2018 to plant over 1 million trees. For 2019, we just signed a three-year project with the Regional government (Trees for Resilience, Environment and Economy – TREE) and we plan to help 30,000+ farmers plant 4 million+ trees, with plans for further expansion in the future.
Job Description
Serve as deputy to the TREE project’s field operations lead, supporting in field team management and back-end materials and administrative support. Responsibilities of this role include:
Management of TREE Project Field Team
Manage of our TREE Project field team after an initial onboarding period of around three months. During the 2019 season, this team includes 20 full-time employees and 64 seasonal employees. Starting in September (EC 2012), this team will grow.
Rapidly develop your staff through expectations, incentives, feedback, training, spot coaching, mentoring, promotion plans and development plans
Communicate performance expectations and formally evaluate your direct reports’ performance regularly twice per year
Recommend poor performers for disciplinary action and work with your manager to take appropriate action.
Select and hire new staff in accordance with our hiring and selection protocols.
Conduct regular field visits to observe these staffers’ work, assess the quality of their work, give them advice on how to improve, and write reports for your manager
Deliver trainings as necessary both on technical topics and soft skills to both the woreda leads and the full teams under them
Quickly gain a deep understanding of the project vision and goals and ensure that the team and all external partners also understand the vision and are committed to achieving the goals
Collect, compile and analyze Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from the field team each week and make suggestions for action items needed to achieve KPI goals
Use your knowledge of tree production and your field observations to identify problems in a timely manner and help to solve them, and ideally to anticipate and prevent potential problems before they happen
Run training of trainers (TOTs) using OAF-provided talking points with the team and with external stakeholders as needed, mainly on topics like nursery management and seedling planting and management
Help to ensure excellent communication between the field team and HQ by writing your own detailed, insightful weekly reports of what you have observed and sharing messages clearly from HQ back to the field team during your visits and meetings
Fill in for team members as needed, for example when they need to
take annual leave
Training content creation assistance
Run field tests of draft trainings and written tools and share lessons learned for improving the materials, as requested by your manager
Administrative and translation activities
Assist with administrative tasks as needed for the tree team including submitting payment requests, printing and collating written materials, placing and following up on procurement and logistics of physical materials, drawing maps, etc.
Occasionally help with translation of some trainings and written team management tools for the tree team from English into Amharic (including typing in Amharic) or Amharic to English, as requested
Do other tasks as requested by your manager
Note that this position requires very frequent, on average 3-4 days per week, of travel to the field to work with the team in remote rural kebeles. You will often be required to travel by public transport, foot and the occasional mule.
Career Growth and Development
We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You will 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 will have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.
Preferred Start Date: February 1, 2019
Compensation: Starting monthly gross salary of 20,937 birr. Opportunity to earn discretionary performance bonuses of up to 10,000 birr every six months. Promotion and advancement also depend on performance.
Benefits: Housing stipend of 3000 birr per month, communication stipend of 900 birr per month and health stipend of 1250 birr per quarter (converting to health insurance in 2019). 14 days paid vacation per year during first year.
Job Requirements
Qualifications
We are seeking an exceptional professional with at least four years of work experience and ideally a demonstrated passion for our mission.
Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
A strong educational background: Bachelor degree or higher is required; a degree in Natural Resource Management, Agroforestry, Agronomy or a related field is preferred but not required.
At least two years in a team management role and a strong interest in doing direct, rigorous performance management of a team
At least three years working in rural Ethiopia on project(s) related to tree planting or production, agricultural development or farmer livelihood improvement.
Enthusiasm for traveling to the field and working in a rural setting, with farmers
Enthusiasm for learning and openness to feedback
Ability to build teams and collaborate with colleagues from diverse backgrounds
Demonstrated leadership experience at work or outside of work
Demonstrated critical thinking and problem solving skills
Languages: Native or Near-Native Amharic (written, spoken and typed) required. Fluent English (written and spoken) required.
Strong computer skills: should have high proficiency in basic Microsoft office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) applications, skills and experience with web searches and communications
How to Apply
Submit CV and cover letter at our website
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for a first-round phone interview.
Sponsor International Candidates: No; this position is only open to Ethiopian nationals.Apply by 25th January, 2019
For more information and job application details, see; One Acre Fund Tree Program Specialist Jobs in Ethiopia
