Wanted
A values–driven individual with deep field experience in M&E to create a truly world–class M&E function.
A values–driven individual with deep field experience in M&E to create a truly world–class M&E function.
Job Location
Rural Kenya to start. Then Nairobi (preferred), Kigali, or Bujumbura.
Rural Kenya to start. Then Nairobi (preferred), Kigali, or Bujumbura.
Duration
Minimium three year's commitment, full-time job.
Minimium three year's commitment, full-time job.
Organization Description
Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a start–up non-profit in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "market bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market access. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure more than 100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser–like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.
Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a start–up non-profit in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a "market bundle" that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market access. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure more than 100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser–like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.
Job Description
We are seeking a values–driven individual with deep field experience in M&E to become One Acre Fund's first M&E Director. As the senior–most M&E staff person at the organization, the M&E Director will oversee a large and growing team of international and local staff (currently 80 full–time in total) to create a truly world–class M&E function that enables One Acre Fund to achieve a step–change level of growth and impact in the coming years, both in our direct program and through replication by others. The M&E Director will play a pivotal role in building One Acre Fund's evidence base, helping ignite a rural farm microfinance movement.
We are seeking a values–driven individual with deep field experience in M&E to become One Acre Fund's first M&E Director. As the senior–most M&E staff person at the organization, the M&E Director will oversee a large and growing team of international and local staff (currently 80 full–time in total) to create a truly world–class M&E function that enables One Acre Fund to achieve a step–change level of growth and impact in the coming years, both in our direct program and through replication by others. The M&E Director will play a pivotal role in building One Acre Fund's evidence base, helping ignite a rural farm microfinance movement.
Specific job responsibilities are as follows:
- Build a community of practice among M&E Associates (who lead M&E in each country), to regularly exchange lessons learned and codify M&E standards.
- Mentor and develop M&E Associates, providing managerial support and career development
- Coordinate with M&E Associates and third-party experts (where relevant) to improve and standardize impact measurement methodology across countries
- Provide expertise in areas such as survey design and sample size calculation to support our ongoing impact and program measurement
- Work with Executive Director to devise organization–wide M&E strategy, including evaluation plan and approach for internal and public sharing of results.
- Coordinate with third‐party M&E advisors and evaluators to improve methodologies and enhance rigor.
- Work with Director of Policy & Outreach to develop and present articles, white papers, and other publications that share important findings to target audiences.
- Act as an internal consultant to One Acre Fund's Innovations team, which conducts at least twenty different studies at any given time to evaluate new product offerings and operational improvements. (One recent study, for instance, provided 300 farmers a daily log to track their kerosene consumption every day, before and after buying a solar light, to understand savings, compared to a control group). Responsibilities would include:
- Helping design and approving a dozen of our more complicated studies per year, on a short time frame. Approval will include running studies through a standard checklist of common problems, and working with study leaders to fix survey instruments, run simple power calculations, test and control group configurations, etc.
- Visiting studies in the field to get a sense of quality of implementation.
- Working with each country's M&E associates (Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi) to steadily improve our study execution staff; and promoting more sophisticated recruitment and selection techniques of staff, and routine performance management.
- Working with each country's M&E associates to improve each country's data entry team.
- Doing anything else to improve overall study design, quality, and execution.
A note on measurement philosophy: We are most
concerned with finding large effect sizes among the innovations and program
model changes we test, and with providing the best possible information to our
operations. We are looking for an M&E Director that is flexible with
regards to the designs and methods that make the most sense for One Acre Fund
to use.
Career Growth and Development
One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership
skills. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through weekly
mentorship and through regular career reviews. We also have regular one–on–one
meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively
to craft roles that each person can be passionate about. Because of our rapid
growth, we constantly have new high–level roles opening up and opportunities in
many functions and countries. This results in fast career growth for our staff.
Qualifications
We are looking for truly extraordinary candidates with 5 to 10+ years of work experience who will help take our organization to the next levels of impact and scale. This is a competitive posting for a career–track role with minimum initial commitment of two years. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
We are looking for truly extraordinary candidates with 5 to 10+ years of work experience who will help take our organization to the next levels of impact and scale. This is a competitive posting for a career–track role with minimum initial commitment of two years. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
- At least one year (preferably 3 or more) living and working in the developing world, doing high–quality M&E in the field. This is a firm requirement.
- Strong work experiences. Entrepreneurial and unstructured work experiences are particularly helpful.
- Leadership experiences at work, or outside of work.
- Basic stats qualifications are required. Solid grasp of statistical analysis, power calculations, when to use log–linear, control group selection, controlling for selection bias, etc.
- Good proficiency with Excel, ideally proficiency with Stata.
- Top–performing undergraduate background (please include GPA and test scores on your resume); plus master's degree in quantitative discipline; PhD or pursuit of PhD a plus
- Experience in knowledge management and trial design a strong plus
- Excels at managing people (experience managing individuals remotely is a plus)
- Humility and personal stability. We are looking for passionate professionals that combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service.
- A willingness to commit to living in rural East Africa for at least three years – this is a long–term, career–track role.
Language
English required; French highly desirable.
English required; French highly desirable.
Preferred Start Date
Flexible
Flexible
Compensation
Commensurate with experience.
Commensurate with experience.
Benefits
Health cover, immunizations, 401k, flights.
Health cover, immunizations, 401k, flights.
Career Development
Bi–annual management consulting–style career reviews, and significant investment in career development.
Bi–annual management consulting–style career reviews, and significant investment in career development.
To Apply
- Complete this form.
- Email cover letter and resume to jobs@oneacrefund.org (Subject line: "M&E Director Search" + name of the site that referred you).
- If you are a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), please submit a copy of your Description of Service (DOS).
