Finance & Operation Specialist | ReliefWeb

Private-sector style career development in a growing social enterprise. An excellent career development opportunity

Industry: Nonprofit/International Development
Function: Finance & Operations
Employer: One Acre Fund
Job Title: Finance & Operations Specialist

Job Location: Kamuli & Jinja districts, Uganda

Duration: Minimum 2 years 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 growing NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi and Tanzania that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund 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 50-100% average gain in farm income per acre.

We are growing quickly. In nine years, we have grown to serve more than 200,000 farm families with more than 2000 full-time field staff, and we will triple again in the coming three years. Our approach has won widespread validation, including grants from The MasterCard Foundation and Gates Foundation. Website: www.oneacrefund.org.

Job DescriptionAs a rapidly growing organization, we are constantly innovating and improving our internal operational processes. Finance & Operations Specialists will play a key role in running discreet projects to drive this innovation and process improvement. Potential focus areas for Finance & Operations Specialists include: Finance, Business Operations, Logistics & Audit functions.

Finance & Operations Specialists will own portions of projects, including managing discrete components of operations or managing a team running operational activities in rural East Africa. This role has the potential to grow into a Finance & Operations Associate position with good performance. A few example projects are listed below:

• Business Operations: Manage the team of bookkeepers who do data entry for into our client management system. Lead the development of talent in operations team.


• Finance: Provide reports on district, country and organization wide budget performance, and oversee the measurement of Financial KPI’s and ensure appropriate action.


• Audit: Finance PS will likely oversee the auditor who’ll audit our repayment collection as well as program expenses.


• Product Deliveries: Helping execute delivery of improved seed, fertilizer, solar lights & other impactful products to our farmers.


• Training: Designing and implementing trainings on key processes & operations for OAF staff & farmers.

Career Growth and Development

One Acre Fund invests heavily in building management and leadership skills. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style 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. Finance & Operations Specialists will have access to regular and ongoing professional development opportunities aimed at building the soft and hard skills required for quick rapid professional growth. Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new roles opening up and opportunities in many functions. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications

We are seeking exceptional professionals with 1 to 3 years of work experience, and a demonstrated long-term passion for development work. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Work Experience: Candidates should have 1-3 years of strong work experiences, including project management, team management, or entrepreneurial experiences. Candidates with a background in Finance, procurement, logistics or operations preferred.


• Leadership:We are looking for candidates with demonstrated leadership experience at work, or outside of work. Examples of demonstrated leadership experience include managing a team or initiating a new project.


• Education:Strong undergraduate background at top East African university or international university. Degrees in business, finance, supply chain management, statistics, mathematics, economics or related fields preferred.


• Communication: Excellent written and oral communication.


• Attitude:


• Humility. We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service to join our growing family of leaders.


• Rural Fit. A willingness to commit to living in rural areas of Uganda for at least two years.


• Other Skills: Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Intermediate or better typing speed.


• Language: English required. Knowledge of Luganda, Lusoga or other Ugandan languages strongly preferred.

Preferred Start Date

Flexible

Compensation

Starts modest. However, this is a career-track role with raises for performance.

Benefits

Housing, transportation, and airtime allowance.