Sustainability Lead
About One Acre Fund
Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies over 5 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms more productive. Our 9,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across ten countries in Africa, we help farmers prosper by providing quality farm supplies on credit, agricultural training to improve harvests, market access facilitation, and agroforestry support.
To learn more about our work, take a look at our Why Work Here blog for more information.
About the Role
The Impact division supports all One Acre Fund programs to generate more impact, wherever we work. We help the organization keep three core aspects of impact at the forefront of our work:
- Improve farmer livelihoods and profitability in the short term
- Ensure long-term viability through sustainable agricultural practices (soil health, crop diversity, etc.)
- Address non-agricultural needs of farming households (energy, nutrition, etc.)
The Sustainability Lead role has two core responsibilities. First, the Lead oversees the measurement and analysis of One Acre Fund’s environmental impact, including emissions accounting and environmental and social impact assessments. Second, the Lead drives improvements in sustainability through targeted initiatives and cross-functional projects that address identified gaps. This role requires close collaboration with colleagues across our ten countries of operation and multiple functional areas, such as supply chain, logistics, and field operations, as well as coordination with external partners. We are therefore seeking a highly organized project leader who is also a strong cross-team collaborator.
The Sustainability Lead sits within One Acre Fund’s Impact Division and reports to the Senior Impact Director. The Impact Division includes several core functions, such as the central Agricultural Research & Consulting team and the Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning team. It also leads key organization-wide initiatives, including agricultural insurance, payments for ecosystem services, behavioral research, nutrition and health, emissions accounting, and environmental impact assessments.
Responsibilities
Lead Annual Emissions Calculations
- Work with all relevant departments to gather data/inputs for footprint accounting.
- Clean and share data with partners for independent review and calculation.
- Build internal long-term tracking tools to help us understand our emissions hot spots and mitigation opportunities.
- Help set and track progress against global and program-specific emissions reduction targets.
Lead key strategic projects to reduce emissions in hot-spot areas.
- Prioritize a few key mitigation opportunities to tackle at a time based on size and feasibility of potential reduction.
- Work with teams across the organization (program teams, inputs/sourcing teams, operations teams, etc.) to reduce emissions in their operations or purview. This will require research & learning about the specific emissions hotspot and potential solutions, evaluating options with program teams, and implementing agreed-upon actions.
Manage our Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process for all products and services offered by 1AF.
- Ensure that programs adhere to ESIA processes, including evaluating potential new products and services and implementing any mitigating actions required.
Lead Innovation & Improvement
- Research and propose improvements to sustainability in One Acre Fund’s operations across the board.
- If approved, and if there is not already a clear owner, lead these innovations and improvements.
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
We are seeking an environmental sustainability professional with 3-5+ years of relevant work experience and a demonstrated passion for our mission. Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:
Passion, motivation, & humility. Genuine passion for continually, sustainably, improving farmer livelihoods.
- Skilled collaborator who can bring others on side and help them make necessary changes to their operations.
- Humble service: willingness to roll up your sleeves to help busy team members make sustainability improvements.
- Enthusiasm for learning and an openness to feedback.
Technical aptitude for improving sustainability
- University (or higher) degree in Environmental Studies or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience in identifying, developing, and implementing projects that improve organizational sustainability.
- Analytical skills: ability to analyze data to identify hotspots and their drivers.
Communication & Collaboration: Strong verbal and written communication across a wide range of audiences - from non-technically-trained colleagues to external experts.
- Open listener; can develop trust of colleagues and teams.
- English required. Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, or French a plus.
Productivity
- Strong organizational skills and ability to keep dozens of diverse tasks and initiatives on track.
- Ability to deliver results quickly, whether working independently or collaboratively.
Other requirements
- High proficiency in MS Excel, Word, Power Point (or online equivalents).
- Ability to travel within the region - preferred
Preferred Start Date
As soon as possible
Job Location
Kigali, Rwanda (flexible within our countries of operation, depending on work authorization)
Benefits
Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits
Contract Duration
2 years (renewable to a permanent role based on performance)
Eligibility
This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.
Application Deadline
11 May 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.