You will lead Zambia's agricultural growth by driving input sourcing, market access, and strategic partnerships. You will shape crop strategy, build offtake channels, and manage government engagement to deliver scalable, market-driven impact for smallholder farmers.
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.
About the Role
One Acre Fund Zambia is entering a significant growth phase expanding our farmer base to over 50,000 by 2030, scaling our agroforestry program to 30 million trees, and implementing a 5-year Green Climate Fund grant in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. You will serve as a senior agricultural expert and partnership lead, working with leadership on program strategy, strategic partnerships, and market development. You will report to the Country Director and work closely with our global sourcing and government relations teams.
Responsibilities
Strategic Growth partnerships
* Identify and develop new partnership opportunities aligned with OAF Zambia's integrated farm system model to grow the customer base
* Manage partnership agreements, relations, and reporting, ensuring mutual benefit.
* Build and maintain relationships with local grant providers and internal business development teams
Agricultural strategy
* Serve as one of the program's key agricultural experts, advising on crop diversification and product strategy, market dynamics, and regulatory shifts in Zambia's agricultural landscape
* Conduct market scoping for higher-value crops, particularly horticulture and tree crops, assessing commercial viability for smallholder integration.
Input sourcing
* Work with OAF's global sourcing team to ensure competitive seed and fertiliser procurement as the credit portfolio scales
* Build supplier relationships and identify hedging or forward-purchasing opportunities to de-risk supply
* Support the tree seed supply chain development, working closely with aggregators and the government
Government relations
* Manage government tender relationships and any relevant government supply programs
* Represent OAF on industry bodies, associations, and related forums
Qualifications
For this role specifically, you will have:
* 8+ years of experience in Zambia's agriculture sector--seed, commodity, agri-input, or related fields
* A track record in any of the following: sales, key accounts, business development, grant management, or off-take brokerage
* Farmer-facing background; demonstrated credibility in the field
* Strong partnership-building experience across either the private sector, NGOs, or development partners
* Experience managing or influencing cross-functional teams and working across organizational boundaries
* Comfortable operating with ambiguity in a high-paced environment
Preferred:
* Existing relationships with government counterparts in agriculture, finance, or seed regulatory bodies
* Membership or board participation in Zambian agricultural industry associations
For complete job description and to apply, visit:
https://oneacrefund.org/vacancies/zambia-ag-partnership-and-development-lead