Rwanda Government Relations Specialist Full Time

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 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 trainings to improve harvests. We measure our success by our ability to make farmers more prosperous: On average, farmers harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.

We are growing quickly. We currently serve more than 800,000 farm families in Eastern and Southern Africa, with more than 7,500 full-time staff, and we aim to serve 1 million farm families by 2020.

Job Description

One Acre Fund, known as TUBURA in Rwanda, partners with the government to deliver agricultural extension services to farmers in every village nationwide. Our headquarters is in Rubengera, with a small office in Kigali and regional offices in the East and South.

One Acre Fund coordinates and works closely with local and national governments in providing vital services to farmers. The goal of the Government Relations Department is to maintain proactive engagement with relevant government stakeholders and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Our collaboration with the government is crucial to the implementation of One Acre Fund’s long-term goals as we continue to scale our program to increase impact for farmers. The Rwanda Government Relations team greatly contributes to our ability to make Rwandan farmers more prosperous by building and maintaining positive relationships with Government stakeholders, allowing for smooth and successful implementation of field programs, and ensuring that the organization’s work is compliant with the rules and regulations of the Government of Rwanda.

Specific Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To

• • Stakeholder Management
    
    • • Develop strong relationships with provincial and district officials to improve our cooperation with government and build allies and champions for TUBURA.
      • Regularly track priority and health of our relationships and proactively design and implement new initiatives to improve our engagement with stakeholders.
      • Represent TUBURA at high level regional events and meetings and high-risk meetings at the local level.
      • Support One Acre Fund’s expansion into new areas through securing local government approvals and conducting stakeholder mapping.
      • Support field teams’ interactions with government on a need-by-need basis.

    Internal and External Communication
    

    • • Manage complex discussions with high-level regional and district stakeholders.
      • Develop clear, concise, effective, and transparent communication materials for local government officials.
      • Ensure timely reporting to government partners and relay key issues and recommendations from government to TUBURA and vice versa with limited supervision from manager.
      • Improve cross team collaboration and internal communication with operational teams.
      • Provide support to field teams that guarantees adherence to subsidy guidelines and local government rules.
      • Manage on time quality control and submission of subsidy documents for local government verification and approval.

    Team Management
    

    • • Directly develop and manage 2+ Local Government Officers and effectively monitor and support their day-to-day activities.
      • Lead trainings for new and current team members to support steady growth and development.
      • Create and deliver nuanced and actionable performance reviews and development plans to ensure career growth for all your direct reports.

    Systems
    

    • • Ensure the development, maintenance, and improvement of systems that can improve performance and accountability within the team.
      • Support and initiate innovation and process improvement within the department.
      • Set short term goals and performance measurement metrics for self and team with manager support.
      • Coordinate with Subsidy Lead to ensure effective implementation of farmer subsidy processes at the local government level.

    Risk Assessment
    

    • Identify possible future risks and areas of non-alignment and work with different teams to implement preventative actions.

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 seeking an exceptional professional with at least 3 years of work experience and a demonstrated passion for our mission. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• • Strong work experiences. Examples include a demanding professional work experience, or successful entrepreneurial experience, e.g. leading a conference, starting a business, solid Volunteer Service Organization accomplishments.
  • Extensive experience working with non-profit organizations, public sector or engaging government.
  • Experience building and systematically managing complex relationships.
  • Demonstrated leadership experience at work, or outside of work, enthusiasm for learning, and openness to feedback.
  • Strong people management experience with at minimum 2 years direct management experience with strong examples of people development
  • Demonstrated ability to define project plans and independently manage small projects of medium complexity.
  • Excellent innovation and problem solving skills.
  • Strong interpersonal skills with ability to collaborate with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.
  • Humility. We are looking for a passionate professional who can combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service to join our growing family of leaders.
  • Strong educational background from a top university. A bachelor’s degree is required at minimum.
  • Technical Skills: Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office, including intermediate to advanced Excel skills.
  • Language: Excellent and persuasive oral and written communication in both English and Kinyarwanda.
  • A willingness to commit to living in Rural Rwanda for at least two years

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kayonza, Rwanda

Compensation

Commensurate with experience

Duration

Full-time job

Benefits

Health insurance, paid time off

Sponsor International Candidates

No; Rwanda Nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

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 always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here.

Tagged as: One Acre Fund, Rwanda