Seeking a commercially minded agribusiness leader to build Tanzania's market access portfolio, starting with cashews, by developing viable pathways for processing, aggregation, value addition, and market development.
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.
Our Tanzania program, founded in 2013, supports more than 100,000 farmers with quality farm supplies, as well as fruit trees. Our team in Tanzania is headquartered in Iringa and supported by three smaller offices Mbeya and Njombe in the southern highlands, and Moshi in the north where the team is focused on expanding our services to new clients. One Acre Fund works in select areas in the Iringa and Mbeya regions, with a growing presence in the country's north.
About the Role
Are you a strategic leader with a passion for building market systems that work for smallholder farmers?
This is a senior role at the heart of OAF Tanzania's commercial ambition. You will define and lead the organisation's market access strategy and portfolio, deciding which value chains to prioritise, shaping the commercial model for each, and building the partnerships needed to make them viable.
You will lead a team delivering both farmer-facing and commercial workstreams, bringing together strategy, commercial design, field delivery, and partner execution into a coherent and scalable portfolio.
This is not a hands-on field role, but it demands enough operational depth to guide execution effectively and ensure that every moving part connects. You will need to move comfortably between high-level strategic thinking and the practical realities of delivery.
If you are ready to shape how smallholder farmers access markets at scale, we would love to hear from you.
Responsibilities
Market Access Portfolio Strategy & Prioritization
* Strategic Roadmap: Define the multi-year strategy across priority value chains (e.g., cashew and avocado) with clear sequencing and resourcing.
* Opportunity Assessment: Evaluate and recommend whether to invest, partner, pilot, or scale specific value chains based on commercial viability and farmer impact.
* Risk-Adjusted Execution: Translate country-level goals into a focused portfolio that balances realistic growth with proactive risk management.
Value Chain Development
* Model Design: Develop commercially sound models for processing and aggregation, determining the best delivery approach (direct vs. partner-led) for the context.
* Partnership Management: Lead the identification, negotiation, and performance management of strategic commercial partners and third-party processors
* Program Alignment: Oversee farmer-facing delivery to ensure field operations align with both commercial requirements and farmer inclusion goals.
Performance, Analysis & Risk Management
* Business Case Ownership: Drive financial analysis, growth plans, and data-backed recommendations for scaling or exiting specific workstreams.
* Performance Tracking: Implement practical systems to monitor supply, sales, partner performance, and tangible outcomes for farmers.
* Risk Mitigation: Identify operational, commercial, and regulatory risks early to implement sensible mitigation strategies.
Leadership: Team, Cross-Functional & Representation
* Team & Operating Model: Build and lead a high-performing team with clear role accountability across HQ coordination and field delivery.
* Cross-Functional Synergy: Partner with Supply Chain, Finance, and Government Relations to ensure seamless end-to-end execution of department goals.
* External Representation: Serve as the primary liaison for buyers, government stakeholders, and donors while advising country leadership on capital and talent allocation.
Qualifications
You will have:
* You have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in business, economics, agribusiness, agriculture, supply chain, or a related field.
* You have at least 5 years of experience in agribusiness, market access, value chain development, or commercial agriculture -- including leading teams and driving strategy through to execution.
* You have strong commercial instincts and numerical fluency . You can build or interrogate financial models, read margins and costs, and make sound decisions from data.
* You have the ability to operate at multiple levels. Equally comfortable setting a multi-year strategy, managing a team, and getting into operational detail when needed.
* You have a practical understanding of how value chains work from farmer aggregation and quality compliance through to processing, buyers, and export dynamics
* You have experience negotiating and managing external partners. I.e., processors, exporters, buyers, or service providers -- and holding them accountable to agreed terms and performance.
For complete job description and to apply, visit:
https://oneacrefund.org/vacancies/tanzania-market-access-lead-fixed-term
HOW TO APPLY:
Please visit https://oneacrefund.org/careers for application submission details.