State Expansion Specialists

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.

We started working in Nigeria in 2018, serving just 150 farmers. That figure grew year on year, and we now serve more than 300,000 farmers across three regions in Niger State: Minna, Mokwa, and Iseyin.

About the Role

Seeking an entrepreneurial field operations leader to launch and run OAF's newest expansion state, leading site selection, team-building, and a full season across credit, Cash, Trees, and Extension to prove the model before it scales. 

Responsibilities

State Entry & Launch

• Lead community mapping and site selection within the assigned state, building on the state-level approvals and Security Risk Assessment (SRA) completed by the Expansion Senior Specialist.
• Establish the operational footprint, including districts, wards, and Points of Delivery (PODs), based on farmers' potential, accessibility, and operational viability.
• Recruit, onboard and prepare the in-state team before programme activities begin, ensuring staffing meets operational needs and organisational diversity targets.

Programme & Commercial Operations

• Lead the successful delivery of all programme activities across Credit, Cash Sales, Trees, Extension and Market Access throughout the first season.
• Develop and execute the state's operational calendar, ensuring activities such as recruitment, enrollment, training, seedling production, repayment and aggregation are well coordinated.
• Own delivery of the state's Season 1 operational, enrollment, revenue and P&L targets.

People Leadership

• Lead and develop the in-state leadership team, providing direction, coaching and performance management to Coordinators and frontline managers.
• Build a high-performing culture by strengthening capability, addressing underperformance, resolving resource conflicts and implementing strategies to improve frontline staff retention.

Community & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build trusted relationships with community leaders and local stakeholders to support programme delivery and farmer participation.
• Lead local trust-building efforts, particularly around Credit enrollment and the 15% prepayment requirement.

Performance, Risk & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor programme performance across districts, using data to identify risks, improve execution and recommend corrective actions.
• Manage operational, financial and credit risks within the state, escalating significant issues where required.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations on state performance and readiness for scale to support leadership decisions beyond the first season.

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:

• A Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Business, Economics, Social Sciences or a related field is required
• 5 years of relevant experience, including 3 years leading field teams or managing multi-workstream operations.
• Project Management: Ability to plan, coordinate and deliver complex, multi-workstream projects while balancing competing priorities and timelines.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Ability to analyse operational data, identify root causes, and make sound operational decisions using evidence.
• Results Orientation: Demonstrated ownership of operational, commercial or programme targets, with a track record of delivering measurable results.
• People Leadership: Experience leading, coaching and developing high-performing teams while collaborating effectively across multiple functions.
• Stakeholder Management: Strong communication and relationship management skills, with the ability to engage community stakeholders and present clear, evidence-based recommendations.
• Mobility: Willingness to be based in a rural or remote location within the assigned state, travel extensively, and relocate to another expansion state as organisational needs evolve.
• Language: Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in the predominant local language of the assigned state (e.g. Hausa) is an advantage.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kano, Nigeria or Jigawa, Nigeria or Gombe, Nigeria

Benefits

Health insurance, paid time off 

Eligibility

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

Application Deadline

27 October 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 (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), 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.