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.To learn more, please see our Why Work Here blog post.

About the Role

We are looking for a collaborative country leader with a track record of building high-impact agribusinesses or NGO operation in complex environments, to serve as Country Director for One Acre Fund DRC

You will steward a 30M programme, with the aim of serving 30,000 farmers within 3 years across Western DRC. This role combines external leadership with internal stewardship, requiring the ability to forge strong government and donor relationships, while also building high-performing internal systems and teams.

You will lead a dedicated team, growing a small pilot program to a regional scale. You will guide the programme's strategic direction, ensure compliance with national and donor frameworks, and represent One Acre Fund at the highest levels with partners, institutions, and funders.

This role is ideal for someone with strong people and stakeholder management skills, a long-term vision for rural development, and a drive to operate with humility, rigour, and execution excellence in a complex context.

Responsibilities

You will report to the regional leadership team and directly manage DRC's senior staff. You will be accountable for the strategy, partnerships, team, and performance of our country programme.

Strategy & Growth (vision, planning, new initiatives)

• Lead One Acre Fund's strategic direction in DRC, aligning long-term goals with country context, organisational values, and funding opportunities.
• Guide the design of new interventions and continuously improve programme quality and cost-effectiveness.
• Foster a culture of execution excellence, farmer service, and innovation.

Partnerships & Advocacy (government, donors, NGOs)

• Serve as One Acre Fund's primary representative with the Government of the DRC, especially the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, and other decentralised authorities.
• Ensure alignment of programme activities with national strategies and regulations, and cultivate relationships with key technical and political stakeholders.
• Represent One Acre Fund in external forums and strategic events.
• Support in-country relationships with bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, and other key partners.

Programme Excellence (operations, compliance, M&E)

• Provide overall leadership for a $30M programme, ensuring farmers consistently receive world-class services that drive measurable impact.
• Safeguard excellence in compliance by upholding organisational policies, national regulations, and donor requirements, creating a culture of integrity and accountability.
• Shape and adapt programme strategy using a rigorous, data-driven approach, balancing innovation with operational discipline to deliver sustainable results at scale.

People & Culture (team leadership, talent pipeline)

• Lead the DRC team of 15+ staff (and growing), setting a culture based on accountability, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Mentor senior staff, build a strong “deputy layer,” and ensure the programme attracts and retains diverse top talent.

Finance & Risk (P&L oversight, risk mitigation)

• Guarantee alignment with funder requirements across all programme operations.
• Manage risk across legal, operational, and reputational areas.
• Maintain oversight of programme budgets and ensure strategic allocation of restricted and unrestricted funding.

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:

We are looking for professionals with 10+ years of work experience, including senior leadership in a dynamic and fast-growing organisation. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Proven experience managing cross-functional teams and external partnerships in the development or environment sector.
• Fluency in French and English (C1 minimum); ability to represent the organisation in high-level meetings in both languages.
• Strong strategic thinking skills and ability to link long-term vision to execution.
• Effective communicator with excellent stakeholder management abilities.
• Familiarity with rural development, agroforestry, climate finance, or similar sectors
• Experience working in the DRC or similar contexts is strongly preferred.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Benefits

Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Contract Duration

2 Years

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

15 July 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.

About the Company 

The mining industry has steadily become worse at finding new ore deposits, requiring >10X more capital to make discoveries compared to 30 years ago. The easy-to-find, near-surface deposits have largely been found, and the industry has chronically under-invested in new exploration technology, relying on antiquated manual mining techniques– even as demand accelerates for copper, lithium, and other metals to build electric vehicles, renewable energy, and data centers.

KoBold builds AI models for mineral exploration and deploys those models—alongside our novel sensors—to guide decisions on KoBold-owned-and-operated exploration programs. In the six years since founding, KoBold has become by far both the largest independent mineral exploration company and the largest exploration technology developer. Our data scientists and software engineers, who come from leading technology companies, jointly lead exploration programs with our renowned exploration geologists.

KoBold has proven its first discovery with materially less capital than the industry average and found one of the best copper deposits ever discovered: the copper is far more concentrated than the global average of copper mines, and this asset alone is expected to generate meaningful revenue for decades. KoBold has a portfolio of more than 60 other projects, each of which has the potential for another high-quality discovery.

KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and natural resources companies Equinor, BHP, and Mitsubishi.

About The Position: 

The HSE Manager, DRC, will play a critical role in supporting KoBold Metals' commitment to operational excellence and zero harm. This role will build and drive the implementation of health, safety, and environmental strategy and initiatives across KoBold's DRC locations,  anchored by our Manono and Pedicle exploration projects, with additional accountability extending across KoBold's rapidly expanding DRC footprint. While this is a leadership role, this person is expected to have a hands-on approach, both building HSE systems and strategy while driving safety performance to the frontline worker. 

This role will report to the Global HSE Director, and responsibilities will include:

• Develop KoBold's DRC HSE strategy and drive performance across all DRC operations, aligning with corporate sustainability and zero-harm objectives
• Champion a strong safety culture through visible leadership, engagement, and communication at all organizational levels and across the Congolese and expatriate workforce
• Design, implement, and continuously improve the DRC HSE management system, including policies, standards, procedures, and field-level tools appropriate to the demands of large-scale exploration and development operations
• Develop, review, and implement HSE policies, standards, and procedures consistent with applicable DRC regulations and KoBold's global standards; serve as KoBold's primary liaison with DRC mining and environmental regulatory authorities
• Provide technical HSE expertise and guidance to operational leaders, supervisors, and front-line employees across all active programs
• Develop and maintain project-specific HSE execution plans and emergency response plans for all active field programs, including drilling campaigns, camp operations, and contractor-heavy scopes across the DRC portfolio
• Develop HSE training strategy for DRC and deliver training when required 
• Conduct regular site audits, inspections, and risk assessments to ensure adherence to HSE policies and DRC legal requirements; enforce compliance with DRC mining and environmental regulations, including inspection of mining equipment for statutory compliance
• Drive root cause analysis investigations for all incidents, near misses, and non-conformances; ensure corrective action plans are documented, assigned, tracked, and closed
• Oversee incident reporting and tracking systems; act as focal point for incident management and lessons-learned dissemination across the organization
• Collect, manage, and analyze HSE performance data; maintain reporting on both leading indicators (observation rates, near-miss frequency, training completion, critical control verification) and lagging indicators (TRIR, LTIR); prepare and submit regular HSE performance reports to leadership and regulatory bodies
• Build genuine HSE capability within the Congolese workforce and contractor base
• Develop and maintain contractor HSE pre-qualification requirements; review and approve contractor HSE management plans and performance throughout program execution
• Monitor and report on environmental performance including waste management, water usage, and emissions; support initiatives that minimize environmental impact and advance KoBold's sustainability commitments

Qualifications

• Must be legally authorized to live and work within the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, or a related field
• NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent professional qualification (CRSP, CSP, CMIOSH); NEBOSH General Certificate minimum
• 10+ years of progressive HSE experience with at least 5 years in a senior role within the African mining sector
• Must have demonstrated experience in the DRC operating environment 
• Expert knowledge of DRC HSE legislation, the 2018 Code Minier and its environmental and safety provisions, and applicable regulatory reporting obligations
• Proven track record building and leading HSE teams in remote and complex African operating environments
• Advanced incident investigation certification: ICAM, TapRooT, or equivalent
• ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 internal or lead auditor certification
• Full professional proficiency in English and French required; Swahili or Lingala an advantage
• Advanced First Aid certification; medically fit for moderately strenuous activity in a remote environment
• Strong people leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills across all levels and across all disciplines of an organization
• Ability to drive a manual vehicle

KoBold Metals is an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity for people of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, age, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

Location: Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. All candidates must be legally authorized to live and work within Democratic Republic of Congo.

Contract: Indefinite

Please submit your application to JOBS@koboldmetals.com by December 31, 2026