E&S and Impact Senior Associate

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. Our 8,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across six core countries in Africa, we make farmers more prosperous by providing quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. On average, the farmers we serve harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund. 

To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here blog for more information.

One Acre launched Smallholder Resilience Ventures (SRV) to invest in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that serve farmers in climate-resilient crop value chains. SRV invests debt, equity, and mezzanine and provides technical assistance.

SRV investments compliment One Acre's service to farmers, creating a virtuous cycle of increasing profits for farmers and businesses:

• Farmers increase production and gain access to new markets via the portfolio companies
• SRV portfolio companies increase their supply (from farmers), turnover, and investability.

SRV ultimately delivers impact to farmers and returns to investors.

About the Role

As the E&S and Impact Senior Associate, you will be responsible for managing environmental, social, and impact aspects of our investment portfolio. You will work closely with our investment team to ensure that our investments not only generate financial returns but also create positive social and environmental impact while mitigating risks.

Responsibilities

• Environmental and Social Risk Management
  • Design, implement, and continuously improve the fund's Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) across all investment stages to be in compliance with the fund's Environmental and Social Risk Policy
  • Conduct E&S risk due diligence for potential investments, identifying risks and opportunities.
  • Develop and negotiate Environmental and Social Action Plans (ESAPs) with investee companies.
  • Support investee companies to build capacity and comply with the fund's ESAP requirements.
  • Monitor investee progress on E&S action plans and provide guidance for implementation.
  • Coach and support the Investment Analyst on E&S and Impact monitoring
• Impact Assessment and Monitoring
  • Develop and implement the SRV impact management framework, including its impact Due Diligence, monitoring, evaluation and learning framework based upon the SRV Theory of Change. This includes developing the underlying tools and processes. 
  • Advise on the portfolio composition of the SRV from impact and learning perspective. 
  • Ensure proper data management for timely and accurate (progress) reporting in close collaboration with the other team members. 
  • Collaborate with One Acre Fund Monitoring and Evaluation Team on surveys, analysis, and reporting
  • Provide input and advice to the transaction lead and review and assess investment proposals from impact perspective, ensuring that deals are accurately presented from impact perspective and advise on improvements, including co-design of development action plans. 
• Sustainability Strategy and Reporting
  • Lead the implementation of sustainability-related disclosures and requirements (e.g., EU taxonomy/SFDR).
  • Stay informed about developments in E&S regulations and sector standards.
  • Contribute to impact reporting for fund stakeholders.
• Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing
  • Provide internal training on E&S risk management and impact assessment
  • Design and manage technical assistance projects for E&S capacity development, enhancing smallholder farmer impact, or impact measurement in investee companies.
  • Represent the fund at industry events and environmental, social, or human rights forums.

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:

• Bachelor or Master's degree in environmental science, social science, development economics, sustainable development, or a related field.
• 5 or more years of work experience in impact investing, development finance, or impact measurement. Impact generalists with consulting backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
• Experience working with smallholder farmers, early stage companies, and implementing practical solutions in real-world contexts.
• Knowledge of IFC Performance Standards and international E&S best practices
• Knowledge of Theory of Change development and analysis, impact management & measurement, performance measurement analyses and/or business intelligence, with content expertise in smallholder agriculture, microfinance, agricultural finance and agricultural value chains. 
• Ability to communicate with technical measurement people and more general professionals 
• Knowledge of other East African languages (Kinyarwanda, Swahili, etc) are a plus
• Flexibility - SRV is new, so enjoyment of change and learning quickly

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kampala, Uganda

Benefits

Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Eligibility

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

Application Deadline

2nd December 2024

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.