Nigeria State Expansion Specialists
Local Work Rights Required
This employer does not provide visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the legal right to work in the job location.
This opportunity may still be relevant if you already have work authorization, are a permanent resident, citizen, student or dependant with work rights, or are seeking jobs within Africa.
Role Summary
One Acre Fund is seeking a field operations leader in Nigeria to spearhead the launch of agricultural programs aimed at expanding their impact on local farmers.
About the Organisation
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](https://oneacrefund.org/careers/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.
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.
Key Responsibilities
State Entry & Launch
Programme & Commercial Operations
People Leadership
Community & Stakeholder Engagement
Performance, Risk & Continuous Improvement
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Minimum Requirements
Across all roles, these are the [general qualifications we look for](https://oneacrefund.org/work-with-us/application-process/qualifications/). For this role specifically, you will have:
As soon as possible
- 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.
Working Conditions
Health insurance, paid time off
Application Information
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*](http://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.*
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must have the legal right to work in Nigeria and are not able to receive sponsorship for this role.
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