Lead Writer for the CEO at One Acre Fund

ABOUT ONE ACRE FUND

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1.4 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. We provide quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers' homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. We measure our success by our ability to make farmers more prosperous: On average, farmers earn a 40% increase in profit on enrolled land after working with One Acre Fund.

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

ABOUT THE ROLE

By 2030 our organization will reach 10 million farm families annually. This growth will be fueled by fundraising, and at One Acre Fund, our fundraising relies on industry-leading grant writing. We employ a dedicated 10-person writing squad (within our broader Business Development team) to craft proposals and reports that are clear, powerful, data-driven, and farmer-centric.

We are looking for a proven and passionate senior writer to join our writing squad at the manager level. You will work with One Acre Fund's CEO, both directly and with his immediate support staff, as the lead writer for his portfolio of fundraising proposals and reports. You will receive intensive writing mentorship from him and other team leaders over the first 6-12 months, then your work will then quickly ramp up in value, complexity, and independence.

This is a career-track position with opportunities to manage other writers based on performance and preference.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Write grant proposals and reports. You will partner with our CEO to design and draft original writing through a collaborative process. Writing is always tailored to donor interests and the plans/results of our program, with each piece offering new ideas, challenges, and opportunities for creativity.
• Manage complex projects. You will own all stages of each writing project -- managing work plans, coordinating input from multiple stakeholders (including gathering information from our field team, building budgets with our finance team, and occasionally communicating with donors), and ensuring error-free work, typically for 2-3 overlapping projects at a time.
• Invest in program fluency. You will develop and sustain a deep working knowledge of One Acre Fund's operating context, model, results, and plans. For individual projects, you will also often conduct additional research into potential donors or specific aspects of our work.
• Secondary responsibilities will be based on your career interests - for example, with pathways to build your portfolio of donor prospecting and stewardship.

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.

QUALIFICATIONS

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, we require:

• Minimum of Bachelor's degree
• Minimum 8+ years of total professional experience, including 5+ years of relevant experience – either writing/managing complex grants or leading complex field programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior writing experience is essential; prior fundraising experience is strongly preferred.
• Can share writing samples that demonstrate the ability to draft highly readable prose: clear and concise, structured into a logical flow of ideas, deriving power from simplicity rather than jargon. Please submit two writing samples through the form below.
• Can share 2-3 concrete examples of successfully initiating, managing, and completing major projects in partnership with high-level stakeholders
• Genuine commitment to rural communities. You are passionate about providing opportunities to the hardest-working farmers on the planet.
• Language: English

PREFERRED START DATE

As soon as possible

JOB LOCATION

Flexible - Ideally New York, Nairobi, or Kigali, but also open to other capital cities (especially where we have existing staff/offices)

BENEFITS

Health insurance in our group plan paid time off, flexible work environment, paid parental leave, sabbatical policy, laptop stipend, and more

ELIGIBILITY

Candidates must have existing rights to work in the location they will be based

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will invariably arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

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, colour, 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.