Field Innovations Specialist

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.

The Nigeria program, established in 2018, is headquartered in Minna, Niger state. We're currently serving over 100,000 unique farmers across the state via our inputs on credit 'Core' program, inputs on cash 'Retail' program, and have a free tree seedling distribution 'Agroforestry' program. To learn more about our work, look at our Nigeria program blog.

About the Role

Seeking an innovative professional with 3+ years of experience designing and scaling agricultural projects to help us answer one critical question: How do we serve farmers better with Trees?

Responsibilities

Trial Design

• Lead the design and planning of operational trials to answer program-level questions on seedling production, planting techniques, and seedling survival rates. 
• Lead site-specific species matching exercises to ensure the right species are raised and planted in the right locations.
• Define trial objectives, protocols, and data collection plans in collaboration with Impact Innovations.
• Build trial project plans, timelines, budgets, and KPI trackers to ensure effective execution.
• Analyze trial results and generate actionable insights to inform program strategy, species portfolio selection, and long-term program design.
• Own and maintain the Trees Product Portfolio Strategy, by implementing robust validation and oversight processes prior to introducing new species to ensure ecological suitability, operational feasibility, and program impact.

Field Execution

• Oversee program rollout across regions, ensuring adherence to timelines and quality standards.
• Support delivery of OAF business goals at state level, liaising with other departments within the programs division to understand pain points and provide support.
• Go to Gemba regularly to meet with farmers and field teams in order to build fluency on field level operations and farmer insights, resolve challenges and improve program delivery.
• Lead seeds aggregation trials and other scale initiatives to derisk operations and ensure timely availability of input materials.
• Own and maintain the Trees risk map, rolling out frequent engagements with field team and Trees leadership to gather emerging risk concerns and design mitigation pathways.

 Farmer Experience

• Lead SBCC (Social and Behavior Change Communication) initiatives to improve farmer planting practices and adoption.
• Conduct field assessments to evaluate farmer experience and outcomes.
• Identify and implement operational improvements that enhance farmer adoption,  tree planting, survival, and farmer satisfaction.
• Test and refine farmer-support pathways including training, tools, engagement methods, and incentives.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Collaborate with other teams including market access, business innovations, impact innovations, programs division, and global teams to align field insights with market opportunities.
• Support intra and cross-departmental initiatives on nursery practices, new species, distribution models, and farmer education.
• Liaise with collaborators from other farmer-facing and support departments to support innovations and new approaches that will help OAF serve more farmers in better/more sustainable ways 

Team Training

• Develop and deliver training programs for field teams to improve scale and strengthen impact
• Build capacity of teams to adopt improved practices and ensure consistency across regions

 Talent Management

• Support recruitment efforts and lead execution of recruitment plans at state or regional level
• Lead, coordinate, and motivate team to achieve objectives and maintain high performance.
• Set clear goals, monitor performance with at least two performance development reviews annually,, and provide timely feedback to guide performance improvement.
• Foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement within teams.

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

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

• 3+ years of relevant professional work experience, including leading teams.
• University degree in agriculture, forestry, development studies, environmental science, or related field.
• R&D & Trials: Proven experience designing and scaling forestry/agronomy trials, pilots, and innovation programs.
• Horticultural Mastery: Deep knowledge of nursery management, climate-smart agroforestry, and pest/disease control.
• Data-Driven Insights: Skilled in monitoring, reporting, and analyzing trial results to provide actionable recommendations.
• Program Scaling: Expert in designing and rolling out sustainable farmer and nursery models.
• Field Management: Experienced in leading multidisciplinary teams within complex rural environments.
• Strategic Execution: Highly organized, self-driven leader capable of managing competing priorities and cross-functional collaboration.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Bauchi, Nigeria

Benefits

Health insurance, paid time off 

Eligibility

This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Nigeria.

Application Deadline

30 November 2026. Please note that we hire on a rolling basis which means that applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made.

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 ([email protected]), 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, color, 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.