Nigeria Growth and Expansion Senior Associate at One Acre Fund – Minna, Niger State
Onsite role | Application deadline: 16 October 2026 (rolling review)
One Acre Fund is hiring a Nigeria Growth and Expansion Senior Associate based in Minna, Niger State. The position is onsite and open only to Nigerian citizens or permanent residents. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until a hire is made, with a stated deadline of 16 October 2026. Preferred start date is as soon as possible.
This guide summarises the verified details from the official listing and adds practical AlertNaija247 guidance for applicants considering the role.
About One Acre Fund in Nigeria
One Acre Fund was founded in 2006 and works with smallholder farmers across several African countries. The organisation supplies farm inputs, tree seedlings, credit, agronomic training and related services. Its Nigeria programme started in 2018 and is headquartered in Minna, Niger State. It currently reaches more than 100,000 farmers in the state through an inputs-on-credit programme, a cash retail programme, and a free tree seedling (agroforestry) programme.
The listing states that the organisation employs over 9,000 full-time staff across its operations and aims to help farmers increase income and assets on supported land while improving long-term resilience.
What the Role Covers
The Senior Associate role focuses on four main areas:
- Strategy and business innovation – Design a five-year expansion and business innovation plan for OAF Nigeria. This includes identifying new states, new revenue streams and commercial models that reduce reliance on any single income source and support progress toward financial sustainability. Convert the long-term plan into a concrete annual plan with sequenced state entries, product or service trials, and clear timelines and owners.
- Expansion execution – Lead the full process of entering new states: security risk assessment, field scouting, site setup, stakeholder engagement, first-season farmer enrolment, and handover to the Regional Lead. Manage the expansion calendar so that scouting, risk assessment, state confirmation, infrastructure and planting-season windows align and no entry proceeds without validated evidence.
- People management and coaching – Manage a team of four permanent staff, set clear goals, give regular feedback and support development. Act as a senior leader within the Programmes Division by coaching mid-level staff and helping develop future State Operations Leads and Regional Leads from the expansion team.
- Monitoring and reporting – Define and track KPIs across expansion states and innovation trials (farmer enrolment rates, first-season repayment, gross margin per farmer, revenue per trial state, new product uptake). Produce clear reports and recommendations for the Head of Programmes, Country Director and Steerco.
Requirements
The listing requires:
- Over 7 years of relevant experience, including at least 3 years leading cross-functional teams and working across multiple departments
- Passion for building commercially sustainable agricultural programmes that serve smallholder farmers
- Strategic thinking – ability to turn long-term ambition into a sequenced, evidence-based growth plan
- Commercial acumen – experience identifying, designing and validating new revenue opportunities (products, services or business models) in complex or resource-constrained settings
- Project management – ability to design, plan and run multiple complex projects at the same time
- Growth mindset, results orientation and cross-functional collaboration skills
- Minimum Bachelor’s degree; postgraduate qualification preferred
- Willingness to be based in Minna, Niger State, with significant field travel across expansion states for periods of up to 18 months per assignment
- English required; Hausa speaking strongly preferred
- Open only to citizens or permanent residents of Nigeria
Employment type is not stated in the listing. Documents required are also not stated. Benefits listed are health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits. Salary is not stated.
How to Apply
Applications are submitted through the official vacancy page. The organisation notes that it uses a hands-on interview process and reviews applications on a rolling basis. Preferred start date is as soon as possible.
Apply on the Official One Acre Fund Page
AlertNaija247 Guidance
What the company does and where it fits
One Acre Fund operates a large-scale smallholder support model that combines credit, inputs, training and tree seedlings. In Nigeria the programme is already active in Niger State and is looking to expand into additional states while testing new commercial approaches. The role sits at the intersection of field operations, strategy and commercial design rather than pure programme delivery or pure fundraising.
Day-to-day realities of the role
Expect a mix of desk-based planning and significant time in the field. A typical period may involve coordinating security assessments and scouting trips, meeting local stakeholders, tracking enrolment and repayment data from new areas, coaching the four direct reports, and preparing evidence-based go/no-go notes for senior leadership. The listing emphasises that expansion decisions must rest on validated evidence and that planting-season windows cannot be missed. Travel of up to 18 months per assignment is stated, so long periods away from Minna are part of the job design.
Skills that matter most and practical application tips
The strongest fit will be candidates who can show concrete examples of turning a multi-year ambition into sequenced annual plans, of validating new revenue or service models under constraints, and of managing several complex workstreams at once while coaching a team. Hausa language ability is strongly preferred and will likely matter for field engagement in Niger State and neighbouring expansion areas.
- On your CV, replace duty lists with short achievement statements that show scale and result (for example, number of locations opened, farmers enrolled, repayment rates achieved, or revenue streams tested).
- Highlight any experience designing or testing new products, services or business models in agriculture, rural development or other resource-constrained environments.
- Prepare two or three clear examples of leading cross-functional work (programmes, finance, operations, external partners) and of managing people through goal-setting, feedback and development.
- Be ready in interview to walk through a past expansion or innovation project step by step: how you sequenced activities, what evidence you used for go/no-go decisions, and what you learned when plans changed.
- If you need a clean structure for your CV before submitting, the free CV Builder on AlertNaija247 can help you organise sections and export a professional PDF.
Who this role suits and who may find it difficult
The role suits professionals with substantial field and management experience who are comfortable living in Minna and travelling extensively into new states for long stretches. It is likely to feel difficult for candidates who prefer purely office-based strategy work, who have limited experience leading people across functions, or who are not prepared for the field-travel intensity described. Before applying, ask yourself: “Am I ready to spend extended periods away from base while still owning both the strategy and the operational detail of expansion?”
Practical Nigerian context
Applicants may want to consider the logistics of relocating to or living in Minna, Niger State, and the implications of frequent travel into expansion states. Road conditions, security assessments (which the role itself will manage), and family arrangements for long field periods are practical points many candidates weigh. The organisation’s own process includes security risk assessment as a formal gate for new state entry.
Scam warning
One Acre Fund states that it never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage. Official emails come from an @oneacrefund.org address. Always apply only through the official domain link provided and never share banking details or pay any fee to “process” an application.
Deadline: 16 October 2026. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Confirm all details on the official vacancy page before submitting.