Business Development Manager/Director

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. We provide quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural trainings to improve harvests. We measure our success by our ability to make farmers more prosperous: On average, farmers harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.

Job Description

One Acre Fund is looking for an exceptional individual based in the US to join our Business Development team. One Acre Fund aspires to one day be the world’s largest and most impactful nonprofit organization. To a large extent, the growth of One Acre Fund in the next ten years will hinge on our ability to mobilize resources and put them in service to rural farmers.

One Acre Fund raised over $50 million in 2018, becoming one of just a few hundred non-profits founded in the past few decades to achieve this milestone, and in doing so, fuel our field program to end hunger for at least 800,000 farm families. One Acre Fund’s unique model matches $1 of raised revenue with $3-4 of farmer revenue in our core program; fundraising also supports innovation and corporate expenses.

The Business Development Manager/Director role will be primarily tasked with identifying, cultivating, and ultimately securing funding from new funders. The ideal candidate will either bring a strong network of new potential funders or have a solid track record of developing new funding relationships from scratch. We are seeking someone with excellent external communication skills, and who speaks the language of business. The candidate should be a highly organized team player, ready to work with our writing, finance, and compliance teams to manage new grants. The ideal candidate has 5-12+ years of work experience, ideally with some experience in fundraising or business development in a global development context. 

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• New lead development and deal closing. Building on their existing networks, the ideal candidate will introduce One Acre Fund to funders in the international development arena to grow and diversify funding sources. Work with the Business Development team to develop proposals that forward the organization’s goals and successfully close deals with funders who are new to One Acre Fund. Priority areas for new funding sources includes the Bay Area. Shepherding new funding opportunities from identification through deal closing will be the primary responsibility for this position.
• Team development. If successful, the Manager/Director may be responsible for selecting, mentoring, and developing professionals under her/his management. We are looking for a humble leader who can help grow our business development team.
• A spokesperson for our farmers. One Acre Fund is increasingly contributing to global discussions around agricultural development, and the Business Development Manager/Director will serve as a spokesperson for the organization, attending and presenting at events like the Sankalp Forum and SoCap.

We are looking for someone who brings a sharp business mind together with strong interpersonal skills and an abiding commitment to our values of humbly serving farmers.

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

Specific qualifications include, but are not limited to:

• 5+ years of previous fundraising experience.
• Track record of originating new funding opportunities. 
• Business fluency (communicates in financial sustainability, return on investment, impact per donor dollar, etc.).
• Strong existing networks in the philanthropic community. Networks in the Bay Area preferred. Ideal candidate would be able to leverage past relationships to develop a strong pipeline of new partnerships.
• Demonstrated understanding of and experience in international development or the social sector more broadly.
• Willingness to travel. 
• Language: English required.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible. 

Job Location

San Francisco (USA), New York City (USA), Utrecht (the Netherlands), or remote from a European capital city

Compensation

Commensurate with experience

Duration

Full-time job.

Benefits 

Health insurance, paid time off

Sponsor International Candidates

No; Must have existing rights to work in the US. 

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.

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.

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