Agroforestry MEL Lead at One Acre Fund

Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Preferred Start Date: As soon as possible
Employment Type: Full-time

About the Role

• In the last 3 years we've dramatically scaled up our agroforestry work: we've planted more than 40 million trees in this period and we now have agroforestry projects in most of our country programs. We are exploring even more impactful opportunities including new distribution channels and payments to farmers for ecosystem services. Our goal is to help farmers plant more than 1 billion trees in the next decade.
• We are looking for an expert in Monitoring and Evaluation of Agroforestry projects to improve our measurement of the impact - both financial and environmental - of these programs.
• You should be able to manage complex projects across many different geographies, as you will need to improve our evaluation protocols and roll them out with field teams across nine different country programs.
• We are also looking for someone interested in innovating in the agroforestry evaluation space by, for example, supporting the development of remote-sensing applications to dramatically improve the scale, granularity, and efficiency of measurement.
• You will be in the Global Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) department, and will report to the Global MEL Director.

Responsibilities
Study Design & Methodology:

• Assess and improve One Acre Fund's existing impact methodology for agroforestry work, paying special attention to opportunities to improve rigor and efficiency.
• Advise program teams on design and methodology for planned impact evaluations.
• Create new methodologies for robust Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of carbon projects.
• Continually improve and help develop new methods or technologies that dramatically improve smallholder access to carbon markets.

Coordination ofImpact Assessments:

• Agree on plans for tree impact evaluations for each season with country program teams.
• Conduct regular touchpoints to ensure smooth execution of surveys and protocols. Conduct training to improve coordination and good implementation.
• Quality checks impact evaluations to ensure they meet global standards for study design and implementation.
• Ensure outstanding monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of carbon projects to meet the highest global standards for CER certification.

Analysis & Reporting:

• Enable teams to conduct analysis more efficiently by creating clear guidance for conducting analysis, standardizing templates, and revising reporting structures.
• Provide oversight for teams conducting analysis of tree impact evaluations and ensure teams are meeting appropriate standards for rigor.
• Help analyze tree impact evaluations when necessary because of bandwidth or capacity constraints.
• Coordinate with teams to finalize annual impact calculations for every agroforestry program.

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
These are the general qualifications we look for. As well for this role specifically, you will have:

Technical background:

• 3+ years academic or professional experience in field-based MEL or data collection, designing and implementing evaluations or research, and analyzing findings.
• Academic or professional experience in agroforestry or a closely related field.
• Strong quantitative skills with experience with statistical software (Stata preferred, R).
• Experience with carbon project monitoring, reporting, and verification preferred.

Leadership & collaboration:

• Exceptional coordination skills, including ability to keep many different work streams on track.
• Demonstrated leadership experience and an enthusiasm for learning and growth.
• Experience building staff capacity.
• Strong verbal and written communication across a wide range of audiences - from non-technically-trained colleagues to external experts.
• Fluent English required. Working knowledge of Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Chichewa, Amharic, or French preferred

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.