Nigeria Systems Associate at One Acre Fund

Job Description

• As an organization, we constantly seek to impact more farmers, and we are currently improving on, and scaling our Nigeria program.
• This role is part of a small team based in rural Western Nigeria that strives to put an end to poverty by transforming the lives of Nigerian farmers. The team purpose is to successfully establish the OAF model in Nigeria, starting small but scaling-up rapidly within the next few years. The Nigeria Systems Associate will report to the Nigeria Pilot Lead.
• The Nigeria Systems Associate supports the expansion of the OAF model in Nigeria. More specifically, this role supports all systems related aspects of the our field operations including procurement, warehouse management, inventory tracking, quality control, supply chain management, input delivery, client data management, and processing farmer payments.
• If successful, the program is scaled to thousands of households and the Systems Associate plays a key role in the scale-up process.

Roles and Responsibilities
On a day-to-day basis, the Nigeria Systems Associate will cover a mix of activities:

• Procurement: You would be responsible for all purchases that keep our program running for thousands of Nigerian farmers. You would implement standardized processes, execute sustained quality improvements, build a database of strong long-term suppliers, negotiate fair pricing terms and maintain procurement process transparency.
• Logistics: The primary responsibility here is to ensure that we deliver life-changing inputs and materials to farmers on time and at high quality. You would lead the process of storing, then delivering hundreds of tons of seed and fertilizer to thousands of farmers. This would require planning, troubleshooting, warehouse management, procurement of trucks, route mapping etc.
• Business Operations: This encompasses managing mission-critical systems such as client data management, field audits, and investigations. This would likely include processing payments from thousands of clients, ensuring high client satisfaction and customer service, as well as building systems for scale.
• Pilot Finance: This includes keeping track of pilot expenditures, monthly forecasting, fraud control and managing payroll. The goal here would be to build tools, systems and a team that can manage this with minimal supervision over time. 
• Team building and management: Hiring staff using One Acre Fund’s unique “experiential hiring” system, mentoring key deputies, and steadily handing off responsibilities to your team as you build it.
• Communicate and work with global stakeholders: In all the above, there are dedicated global support teams with systems and processes that need to be adhered to. You will work with them to ensure that the Nigeria pilot is compliant with these and to mobilise their assets as and when required.  

Role

• One Acre Fund has deep operational experience running rural field programs at a scale of 1,000+ full-time staff per country. Associates benefit from this past experience, quickly building their skill-set through immersion in our operating environment.
• At the same time, the main role of Systems Associates is to accelerate growth and to constantly stretch and improve our operations.
• This presents an excellent career opportunity to both learn from One Acre Fund’s accumulated experience and constantly improve and enable 40%+ program growth per year.

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 an exceptional professional with 2 years of work experience and ideally a demonstrated passion for our mission. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Work experience in a demanding professional environment, preferably in positions where frequent cross-department communication was required. Examples include a demanding professional work experience, or successful entrepreneurial experience, e.g. starting a field program in a developing country, leading a big conference, or starting a business
• At least 2 years of people or project management experience at work or outside of work
• Creativity and strong problem solving skills a must. You don’t take no for an answer and constantly look for alternative solutions to problems
• Able to independently structure analyses related to procurement, logistics and finance
• A passion for world class customer service
• Strong communication skills with suppliers, reports, peers and management
• Ability to work and make decisions independently
• Demonstrated experience in managing an execution-focused team is a plus
• Some experience in procurement/supply chains/finance preferred
• Strong computer skills in at least Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint required, experience using SAP preferred
• A willingness to live outside of a capital city, close to our customers for at least two years - this is a long-term, career-track role
• Language. English is required, proficiency in any additional regional languages from Nigeria a plus

Compensation

• Commensurate with experience

Benefits
Health insurance, housing, annual flights and other quality of life benefits