Malawi Field Operations Impact Lead

1. Set our country impact strategy together with FOPs Lead, MEL Lead and Country Director, translating it into annual FOPs impact goals and workplan, deriving in individual goals for the Impact HQ and field team
2. Collaborate with Global Impact to incorporate org-wide impact priorities, including Excellent Extension, deciding what to do but as importantly what NOT to do after realistic consideration of in-country bandwidth constraints and focus needs to ensure we remain impactful and don’t dilute our limited resources into too many different directions that would reduce our overall team’s efficiency and programs’ impact
   • Coordinate & Communicate
4. Split responsibilities and follow-up closely with very limited need for manager support to ensure successful and timely execution of all impact initiatives
5. Lead compelling communication with the field team on all impact activities, actively preparing and facilitating discussions during Field Leader and AFD meetings, highlighting key messages in talking points for Monday Meetings, sending frequent encouraging messages in WhatsApp groups to enhance momentum around impact activities; single-messaging through multi-channeling and repetitions should be considered as best practice to make a message stick
   • Assess & Improve
6. Collaborate with MEL to evaluate our annual and long-term impact, planning and following up on impact assessment and analysis to ensure we focus our resources on the most impactful initiatives
7. Systematically challenge status quo and seek how we can provide more impact more effectively, getting inspiration from other countries as well as other organizations
8. Monitor impact performance by setting KPIs, dashboards etc. and use them to drive accountability and results towards our targets during weekly field meetings (FL, AFD, Monday)
9. Improve the way our agricultural training are designed and delivered with a strong Excellent Extension strategy that is realistically actionable
10. Sort out and schedule annual training curriculum by removing some and adding new depending on the needs identified, in line with our seasonal impact priorities
11. Conduct improvement and execution of planting, top-dressing, IPM training and SBC initiatives. in the most effective way, using critical thinking and post-mortem to make iterations season after season; decision to NOT repeat an initiative because of negative results can be an effective way to focus on the most impactful activities
    Innovations of practices and products via R&D trials (~25% of bandwidth)
    • Impactful Practices
    o Co-identify key yield drivers to be tested (spacing, micro dosing etc.) and focus on crops with the biggest yield gap
    o Co-define trial set up through partners or clients in a lean manner
    o Supervise execution of yield improvement trials
    o Co-analyze results and prescribe recommendations on way forward
    • Impactful Products
    o Stay closely connected to farmers’ needs and preferences by regularly conducting farmer needs assessments through field visits, MEL survey data, qualitative research etc. as needed
    o Research, select and trial new impactful products in line with country priorities and resources, focusing on products with the highest SROI potential
    o Supervise sourcing, troubleshooting and impact measurement of all new impactful products
    • Impactful Services
    o Set strategy, implement and analyze sustainability of new service trials (e.g.: buy-back), focusing on services with the highest SROI potential
    • Scale and boost adoption of the most impactful products (legumes, trees etc.)
    o Collect feedback from the field team and advise on which products should be scaled to bring more impact
    o Collaborate with Client Acquisition team to prepare and execute compelling marketing materials to boost adoption
    o Display autonomous product ownership from identification to distribution on all agricultural products, including liaising with Global Sourcing & LOG and proactively follow up on all agricultural products procurement to ensure impactful products are delivered in a timely manner
    o Supervise effective implementation of Social Behavior Change initiatives in line with the program’s new impact priorities (climate change adaptation, soil health etc.)
    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
    Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:
    • Passionate, Impact-Driven, Hard-Working, Result-Oriented individual that can 100% align with OAF’s values.
    • Team management: nurture high accountability on results across the HQ and field impact team, ensuring people are being celebrated and challenged as needed to maximize programs’ impact, practicing radical candor with care
    • Project management: be capable of designing and leading medium to large projects with a high degree of independence and ability to navigate ambiguity with little manager support
    • Capacity to prioritize and push back when need be: this role is best suited for candidates who have a particularly strong capacity to “say no” gatekeeping key program priorities from internal and external solicitations requesting to do additional activities which could compromise our team capacity to achieve our main Impact goals; ability to prioritize and differentiate “must do” from “nice to have” activities to sustain and grow our programs impact is critical
    • Planning /work smart: create and execute your own work plans independently
    • Data analysis: moderate or high data analytical ability for decision making
    • Communication and relationship management: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to coordinate across country teams and generate enthusiasm for global projects and initiatives
    Preferred Start Date
    As soon as possible
    Job Location
    Zomba, Malawi Lilongwe, Malawi
    Benefits
    Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Eligibility
One Acre Fund can support a work permit for this role. However, nationals of (or those with an extensive professional background and work history in) our countries of operation are preferred.
Application Deadline
28 August 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.
Advertise in Malawi
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.
Why Work Here
We’re one of the largest agricultural organizations in Africa, operating in ten countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa’s farmers.
Guided by our mission, we use the discipline of a business to deliver cost-effective services to millions of people. We believe that heart plus rigor can change the world. Read more.
To apply for this job please visit oneacrefund.org.