Chief of Staff / Director, Office of the CEO at One Acre Fund

About One Acre Fund

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 African countries, 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, our farmers harvest 50 per cent more food after working with One Acre Fund. 

To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here blog for more information.

About the Role

The Chief of Staff (CoS) / Director of the Office of the CEO will help the CEO advance the important priorities that set us up to have maximum farmer impact in the coming ten years. This will include driving a portfolio of major organization-wide change projects internally, making strategic improvements to the execution of the most important field-facing priorities, and also assisting with external communication. You will also head the Office of the CEO (OOCEO) team of 5 team members and will report directly to the CEO.

Responsibilities

• Drive major, organization-wide projects: Directly implement the priorities of the CEO by leading key change management projects that will directly shape the future of One Acre Fund. You will work with One Acre Fund staff across the organization as you take the lead on such projects, reporting progress back to the CEO and engaging him. Sample projects include:
• Program strategy: help rollout One Acre Fund's program strategy refresh, as each country of operation seeks to double its level of farmer impact in the coming four years
• Diversity Equity, and Inclusion: help improve One Acre Fund's performance management tools to ensure all staff feel supported and recognized as they grow their careers
• Lead high-priority programmatic work: The CEO wishes to improve how One Acre Fund delivers impact to farmers. You will collaborate with relevant One Acre Fund teams to implement strategic improvements to One Acre Fund's business model. Sample projects include:
• Modernizing the customer experience: Work with our Business Operations, Field, and Technology teams to understand, shape, and execute the modernization of our customer experience as we shift to digital through new technologies and ways of interacting with our client base
• Executive-level communications: We believe well-crafted communication of our strategy is essential to One Acre Fund's success. You will work closely with the CEO to draft -facing communications.
• Internally: You will be the conduit for authentic, two-way conversation between the CEO and the entire organization
• Externally: You will help develop donor pitches that will meaningfully shape the future of the organization
• Lead the Office of the CEO team:
• You will help ensure the professional development and high-quality project work of 2-5 staff in the Office of the CEO. This will include conducting weekly check-ins with team members to guide their work and conducting bi-annual professional development reviews
• You will have regular meetings with the CEO to check in on progress, discuss ongoing org-wide priorities and your project mix allocation, and make progress on your professional development goals
• You will develop working relationships with most senior leaders at our organization and staff throughout the organization

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 looking for professionals with 5 to 10+ years of work experience in consulting, or entrepreneurial roles. A lack of experience in a Chief of Staff role specifically certainly does not preclude someone from consideration. Your CV should reflect you are taking on progressively larger responsibilities in management, e.g. as an engagement manager or project leader. This is a career-track role, with a two-year minimum. Candidates who fit the following criteria are encouraged to apply:

• Substantial experience working with practical change management in an organization; stakeholder communication, and EQ instincts
• Ability to roll up one's sleeves and directly move projects forward along a critical path towards a concrete outcome, as opposed to solely making recommendations or presentations. This role sets some "strategy," but is primarily concerned with its operational execution
• Comfort with ambiguity. We will expect you to take the lead on large projects in a complex organization with little guidance
• Significant, demonstrated experience managing team performance and developing leaders; experience in remote management a plus
• A logical thinker and comfortable with analysis. We are looking for someone who is a structured thinker and can use quantitative analysis to create insights and inform recommendations
• Strong executive-level verbal communication skills -- the ability to quickly identify what matters and communicate that clearly and concisely to C-suite
• Exceptional written communicator. We are looking for clear communicators who have the ability to engage a range of audiences, including internal staff, external partners, and organizational leadership
• Formal Education: Not a factor
• Language: English.

Preferred Start Date

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, start dates can vary significantly by role. We are adapting rapidly to Covid-19 and most of our team is now working remotely. Given the changing environment, we will appreciate your flexibility in confirming a start date.

Job Location

The CEO is based in Kigali but is open to having a remote management relationship with this role (e.g., other East African location is possible)

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.