DRC: Rotational Associate / Manager (Renewable)

Sep 1, 2025 (Deadline: 2025-10-26) | One Acre Fund
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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.

It is estimated that 1.1 million hectares of forest land are being lost each year in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This pattern of deforestation, which has significant implications for the region, is primarily attributed to small-scale farming practices. One Acre Fund is working to address the root causes of deforestation, linked to poverty and low agricultural yields, by giving smallholder farmers the tools they need to shift their agricultural activities away from forest land and help them obtain bigger and healthier harvests. We train farmers in agroforestry, support the set-up and scale up of farmer-led entrepreneurial ventures, and operate along the seed value chain to ensure access to improved inputs for smallholder farmers.

About the Role

One Acre Fund is seeking dynamic and versatile professionals to serve in a rotational capacity over a 6–12 month period. In this capacity, you will take on strategic and operational tasks across core functions such as field operations, business development, innovation, and internal systems, building critical context. The rotation is designed to provide a strong general foundation ahead of transitioning into a long-term role based on performance and fit.

This opportunity is ideal for someone who excels at building solutions from the ground up and is eager to accelerate their growth across diverse workstreams. You will report directly to the Country Director, Deputy Country Director, or Chief of Staff, depending on placement.

Head of Entrepreneurship in DRC, Lissonia, began her journey in a rotational capacity. Reflecting on that experience, she shares: Beginning in a flexible, impact-driven position gave me the chance to dive into everything, from sourcing and logistics to Finance and HR to program design and field implementation. I was trusted to build systems from the ground up and adapt quickly to what the program needed most. That kind of ownership helped me to truly understand the operating landscape in the DRC and grow into a permanent role where I now lead key core components of our program. It's a great path if you're a builder at heart and want to have real impact early on.

Responsibilities

Rotational Associates and Managers will be placed based on their strengths and alignment with these priority responsibilities.

Cross-Department Support

  • Lead high-priority cross-department initiatives
  • Assess new ventures and lead small program pilots
  • Draft briefing notes, proposals, or presentation materials on strategic topics.

Partnership Development

  • Lead donor mapping, proposal writing, and preparation of concept notes.
  • Take an active role in developing new program proposals
  • Coordinate partnership initiatives with the DRC government

Financial & Data Analysis

  • Conduct cost-benefit analysis and build simple models to assess new opportunities.
  • Support budget or BVA tracking processes for selected departments.

Systems and Operations

  • Identify operational inefficiencies and suggest improvement strategies.
  • Lead internal and external workshops, meetings, and events as needed.

Field Leadership

  • Travel to the field to lead data collection, team onboarding, or implementation pilots.
  • Document learnings and recommend adaptations to programme design.
  • Lead the design and implementation of field interventions

Qualifications

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

  • A foundation of relevant experience and skills, regardless of your professional background. We welcome applicants from a wide range of fields, including consulting, development, humanitarian work, finance, HR, impact, sales, innovation, and science.
  • Associate level: 2–5 years of relevant experience; Manager level: 5+ years of relevant experience
  • Proven critical thinking and problem-solving ability, with a track record of navigating complexity and driving clarity in ambiguous or fast-moving contexts.
  • Strong analytical skills, either quantitative (e.g., financial modeling, performance analysis) or qualitative (e.g., research, synthesis, strategic insights).
  • Innovative and resourceful mindset, with demonstrated ability to design or adapt solutions to operational or strategic challenges.
  • Proficient English knowledge: You can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read and express yourself spontaneously, fluently, and precisely.