Strategic Partnerships Manager / Senior Associate

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips 5.5 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase their income and assets on supported land by more than 35 percent, while permanently improving their resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 9,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. To learn more, please see our Why Work Here  blog post.

About the Role

By 2030, our organisation will serve 10 million farm families annually. This growth will be fuelled by fundraising, and at One Acre Fund, our fundraising relies on industry-leading grant and partnership management. We have a 10-person grant management team within our larger Business Development department, responsible for stewarding our highest-value donor partnerships, and are now looking for new Strategic Partnerships Senior Associates / Managers to join this team.

These roles will manage some of our highest-value donor partnerships, leading the coordination and monitoring of grant-funded activities. All roles will report to leaders within our Global Business Development team, while closely coordinating with leaders for the relevant programs. All roles will also interact closely across 1AF’s programming, building deep fluency with our approach to smallholder agriculture: equipping farmers with high-quality products/services to increase their harvests and profits, build their climate resilience, and improve their long-term livelihoods.

Specific roles will have major emphasis areas based on the nature of each donor partnership, helping the organisation pioneer new approaches to thematic priorities including conservation agriculture, engaging women and youth farmers, and smallholder insurance.

Responsibilities

Drive thematic partnerships happening in the field: You will bring an ambitious vision of smallholder prosperity to life in new thematic areas for the organisation, helping us build the capacity to deliver impact to smallholders through conservation agriculture, women/youth engagement, and/or smallholder insurance:

• Project Management and Coordination: Partner with program teams to set goals, design and run project activities, anticipate challenges, and keep every part of the plan moving forward smoothly.

• Collaborative Problem Solving: Work closely with program staff to tackle day-to-day and long-term challenges, bringing real-world insights directly to org leadership and the donor.

• Program Fluency: Spend dedicated time in the field with farmers and staff to fully understand work and ensure that all we do in the partnership remains tailored to what farmers really need.

Own, manage and/or support key donor relationships: You will ensure One Acre Fund builds and maintains an excellent relationship with our partners, translating field impact into clear, compelling narratives and keeping our partners deeply connected to our progress:

• Donor Engagement: Act as the main point of contact for all funder communications, seamlessly bridging the gap between donors and field teams in whatever ways are needed, including regular communications, coordinating visits, and more as required.

• Storytelling and Reporting: Through deep program fluency, deliver clear, high-quality narrative and financial updates that demonstrate to our partners the true impact of their support.

• Grant Administration: Manage the essential day-to-day details of the funding, including accurate data tracking, invoices, and otherwise ensuring all grant operations are running smoothly and on time.

Career Growth and Development