Senior Manager/Manager – Scaling and Innovation Team (Global)

You will join Instiglio’s Scaling & Innovation Team — the engine driving Instiglio’s ambition to go from impact to impact at scale. Our mission is threefold: develop pathways to scale Instiglio’s proven approaches, incubate Instiglio’s presence in new regions, and design and spearhead new impact solutions that push the frontier of what’s possible in development.

We pursue this mission through two primary strategies:

1. Scaling partnerships with large development institutions: The core of this team’s work. We partner with major multilateral development banks (MDBs), bilateral agencies, and large philanthropies to strengthen how they drive outcomes at scale — combining impact strategy with deep change management. This isn’t traditional consulting: we embed ourselves in institutional transformation, helping partners overhaul their impact strategies, build internal capabilities, and implement reforms that cascade through the systems they fund. A flagship example is our four-year engagement with the Global Fund, where we supported the scale-up of results-based financing (RBF) to 15 countries, built core institutional capabilities, and helped embed a results-oriented performance culture. Similar partnerships are underway with institutions like the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Swiss Development Cooperation, the IDB, and leading philanthropies.
2. Innovation: Beyond scaling, the team spearheads new impact solutions. Recent examples include an AI-driven reform assistant for government decision-makers, pull finance mechanisms for adoption of climate technology, and practical work on making health regulations drive better outcomes. This is where we prototype the next generation of Instiglio’s tools.

The team also leads the Government Empowerment Network (GEN) — though this is a secondary focus of the role. GEN is Instiglio’s global network that inspires and empowers civil service champions to drive transformational change from within their institutions. It combines an eight-month reform incubator — providing mentorship, peer exchange, and real-time coaching grounded in reform science — with an AI-powered platform connecting public leaders to curated knowledge and global practitioner networks. Launched in Uganda in 2025, with cohorts in Colombia and Morocco following, GEN aims to support 1,500 champion teams and drive 200 institutional transformations impacting 190 million citizens by 2030.

How You Will Make an Impact

This is a role that sits at the intersection of strategy, change management, and innovation — not in the abstract, but in practice. You will lead complex, high-stakes engagements that directly shape how billions of development dollars are spent, and how governments serve millions of citizens.

Specifically, you will:

• Lead high-impact scaling partnerships: Take ownership of multi-year engagements with MDBs, bilaterals, and philanthropies. This means diagnosing how institutions invest and manage performance, designing strategies to strengthen their impact orientation, and driving the change management work needed to make reforms stick. You will translate sophisticated analysis into clear recommendations that senior decision-makers can act on — and then stay in the room to help implement them.
• Spearhead innovation: Help design and pressure-test new impact solutions — from AI-enabled tools for government reformers to new financing mechanisms for climate outcomes. You will bring structured thinking to ambiguous, frontier problems and turn concepts into pilots.
• Manage complex stakeholder environments: Build trusted relationships with senior counterparts in governments, development agencies, and philanthropic organizations. Navigate multi-stakeholder dynamics with confidence, knowing when to push, when to listen, and how to build coalitions for change.
• Lead teams and delivery: Manage multidisciplinary teams across workstreams, geographies, and time zones. Own budgets, timelines, and quality — and develop the people around you.
• Contribute to thought leadership: Help shape Instiglio’s intellectual contributions in results-based financing, performance management, and global partnership strategy, feeding into a growing body of work that influences policy and practice globally.

Who You Are

We are looking for someone who is energized by complexity, undaunted by ambiguity, and deeply motivated by impact. You combine the structured rigor of a top-tier consultant with the entrepreneurial instinct to build something new.

Experience

• Significant professional experience (typically 9+ years for Manager; 11+ for Senior Manager of relevant professional experience) and we welcome candidates whose experience exceeds these thresholds.
• Strong background in strategy consulting, international development, or complex advisory roles — ideally spanning both.
• Demonstrated experience working with or inside multilateral and bilateral institutions, large philanthropies, or global development organizations.
• A track record of leading multi-stakeholder, multi-country engagements from design through implementation.
• Experience designing strategic initiatives or large-scale programs — not just advising on them.
• Exposure to results-based financing, performance management, or impact measurement is highly desirable.

Education Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Public Policy, Economics, Business, Development Studies, or related fields.

Languages

• Excellent fluency in English (written and verbal).
• French or Spanish is a plus

Core Skills & Competencies

• Structured problem-solving & strategic thinking: You break down complex, ambiguous problems quickly and develop clear, actionable recommendations — the kind that a minister or a multilateral VP can act on.
• Change management & implementation: You understand that strategy without implementation is just paper. You know how to design for adoption, manage resistance, and build institutional ownership.
• Entrepreneurial & builder mindset: You can take an idea from whiteboard to pilot. You are comfortable with unstructured environments and motivated by building something, not just delivering it.
• Stakeholder management & communication: You engage credibly at the highest levels — with government ministers, donor executives, and foundation leadership — while remaining effective across teams and cultures.
• Project & team leadership: You manage multiple concurrent workstreams without dropping the ball, develop junior colleagues, and hold yourself and your team to a high bar.
• Global & cross-cultural collaboration: You have worked across geographies and cultures, and you know how to coordinate distributed teams effectively.
• AI-enabled working: You are genuinely curious about — and actively embrace — AI-powered workflows. At Instiglio, AI is not a future aspiration; it is central to how we research, synthesize, analyze, and deliver. The ideal candidate is already integrating AI tools into their daily work and is excited to push further.
• Adaptability & resilience: You thrive in ambiguity, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and bring a low-ego, roll-up-your-sleeves attitude to whatever the work demands.

How You Can Grow with Us

This role offers a rare opportunity to work at the frontier of global development — not in a supporting role, but as a central player shaping strategy, building institutions, and pioneering new models of impact. You will develop deep expertise across donor strategy, government transformation, results-based financing, and innovation in development finance.

You will receive structured mentorship, regular feedback, and a clear path toward increasing leadership — including the opportunity to shape new global initiatives, and contribute to Instiglio’s growing influence in the field.

Working Model & Benefits

This position is open to both local and international candidates, with a strong preference for those based in our offices in Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, or Uganda. Instiglio offers a comprehensive benefits package including personal days, remote work allowance, health and travel insurance, company holidays between Christmas and New Year’s, and parental leave.

Location: Kenya or Mauritius (strongly preferred)

Term: Full-time position

Expected Starting Date: June 1, 2026 or earlier

Application Deadline: Applications will be considered on a rolling basis

Join Our Team

Submit your application by attaching your CV and cover letter in English answering the following questions:

1. Tell us about a time you persuaded a decision-maker or group of people to take action — what was the situation, what did you do, and what was the outcome?
2. Tell us about a complex strategic or advisory engagement you led: what was the challenge, how did you approach it, and what impact did it achieve?
3. What excites you about working at the intersection of strategy, change management, and innovation in international development?

We read every cover letter carefully — please write yours in your own voice rather than using AI-generated text, as authenticity matters to us far more than polish.

About the ONE Academy Project

ONE Academy is a free dynamic online learning platform designed to equip global activists and young people with the knowledge, tools, and skills to drive social change, promoting healthier lives and economic vitality in their communities. The platform is built to be accessible, interactive, and scalable, delivering high-quality educational content while fostering peer learning and community engagement, including in low-bandwidth environments.

For this project, ONE Academy will build on its existing platform to support foundational learning reform and youth-led advocacy in Kenya and Senegal to improve learning outcomes. This training module will be hosted on the ONE Academy platform and delivered in English, French, Wolof, and Swahili, with the aim of supporting real-world foundational learning system reform efforts in both countries.

Role Purpose

The Foundational Learning Lead will drive the end-to-end design and delivery of ONE Academy’s flagship learning module. As the technical authority on learning design and pedagogy, they will both create high-quality learning materials and ensure all content meets rigorous standards of instructional quality, relevance, and evidence-based practice.

They will play a critical role in translating foundational learning concepts into engaging, accessible, and action-oriented learning experiences for young people, with a strong emphasis on advocacy and real-world application. The role includes leading curriculum design, aligning inputs from partners, and overseeing the creation of engaging, evidence-based learning materials. 

Project Duration

May - October 2026

In this role, the successful candidate will:

• Define the learning architecture, curriculum, and progression pathways;
• Develop high-quality learning materials across all units;
• Guide, review, and ensure the quality of all materials;
• Align inputs from partners to ensure coherence;
• Ensure the program is pedagogically sound, engaging, and actionable.

 Core Responsibilities

1. Learning Strategy & Curriculum Design

• Lead the design of the overall learning framework and curriculum structure that is engaging, interactive, and tailored to youth audiences.
• Define learning objectives, competencies, and progression pathways.
• Structure the module across thematic units including:
  1. Structured Pedagogy Fundamentals;
  2. Targeted Instruction Principles;
• Science of Teaching Principles;
• Data & Evidence for Decision-Making;
• National Language Instruction – teaching kids in a language they understand;
• Responsible AI for Learning Outcomes;
• Investment Case for Foundational Learning – cost effectiveness + budgeting;
• Government Engagement, Civil Society Collaboration, and Coalition building;
• Youth Movement-Building.

1. Pedagogical Oversight & Quality Assurance

• Set instructional design standards for all learning materials.
• Review and validate materials produced by multimedia teams, ensuring it is evidence-based; contextually relevant, and engaging for youth audiences.

1. Content Design

• Design detailed lesson plans, core instructional content, and activities for each unit, ensuring clarity and coherence, strong learning outcomes, and practical applicability.
• Develop assessment tools such as quizzes, reflection prompts, and applied learning tasks.
• Incorporate interactive and participatory elements (e.g. decision-making exercises) to drive youth engagement and retention.

1. Localization & Relevance

• Ensure curriculum is adaptable across Kenya and Senegal contexts as well as multiple languages (EN, FR, WO, SWA).

1. Low-resource Settings Adaptation 

• Define learner experience requirements for accessibility and engagement in low-resource settings (e.g., offline features, mobile-first, low bandwidth).
• Assess and validate whether ONE Academy’s features effectively support learner uptake, comprehension, and engagement in low-resource settings. Recommend adjustments to content and learning design as needed.

1. Youth-Centered Design

• Integrate youth feedback into curriculum refinement.
• Ensure the learning experience supports:
  • Action-oriented advocacy;
  • Movement-building skills;
  • Real-world application including clear pathways from learning to action.

1. Collaboration & Advisory

• Work closely to advise product and platform teams, external subject-matter experts, and country partners.
• Support coherence across all components of the program.
• Learning Framework & Curriculum Architecture

• (competencies, structure, unit outlines)
• Detailed Module Design & Learning Material
  (learning objectives, authored lesson content, scripts, activities, and assessments across all units)
• Instructional Design Guidelines
  (for external multimedia content developers)
• Quality Assurance Reviews
  (validated script and learning materials)
• Localization Guidance
  (adaptation approach for Kenya & Senegal contexts)
• Feedback Loop & Continuous Improvement (to glean outcomes and feedback from learners, country partners, and stakeholders)

  Success Indicators

• Curriculum is:
  • Pedagogically sound;
  • Coherent across all units;
  • Adaptable across countries and languages.
  • Tailored to youth audiences (18-35).
• Learning content produced meets defined instructional quality standards.
• Demonstrated impact through positive feedback from pilot learners, country partners, and key stakeholders.
• Strong learner engagement and completion during the pilot phase.

 Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree (or higher) in Education, Curriculum Design, Pedagogy, or related field.
• 5+ years’ experience in foundational learning and curriculum and instructional design.
• Proven experience designing engaging, action-oriented learning experiences for youth (18-35), ideally linked to advocacy, civic engagement, or social impact.
• Demonstrated expertise in evidence-based pedagogy and learning design for low-resource context.
• Strong skills in youth-focused storytelling, messaging, and learner engagement.
• Excellent ability to translate theory into practical learning design and provide structured feedback to multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong understanding of advocacy with civil society and engagement with government.
• Experience reviewing and guiding e-learning content development.
• Proven experience designing youth-focused programs or campaigns. 

Preferred

• Multilingual with proficiency in English and French (Compulsory).
• Experience in Kenya and/or Senegal.
• Familiarity with multilingual education environments.
• Exposure to digital learning platforms or edtech.

Location: This role is fully remote but must overlap with an East Africa timezone by at least 3 hours. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About this role

The Senior Manager, Cash & Coaching will own GiveDirectly’s Cash + Coaching initiative — a high-priority effort to identify, build, and scale the most cost-effective coaching elements that meaningfully enhance the impact of large cash transfers already reaching hundreds of thousands.They are an expert on graduation programs and strategies, and have the product skills to package this into scalable & digital formats. 

Graduation-style programs that pair cash with coaching have demonstrated strong impacts, but are often expensive, high-touch, and difficult to scale. We aim to build lean, digitally enabled, recipient-centered coaching interventions that can be layered onto large transfers at low marginal cost and deployed across countries.

This role is fundamentally entrepreneurial. You will:

• Lead deep collaborations with specific country Programs teams to design and pilot coaching models in real operational contexts
• Partner extensively with external organizations (e.g., graduation NGOs, edutainment firms, chatbot developers, researchers) to adapt and integrate best-in-class content
• Manage vendors and co-development partnerships from concept through rollout
• Translate behavioral science and coaching theory and evidence into practical, scalable delivery systems
• Test and iterate quickly within large-scale cash programs, generating high-quality evidence at speed 

This is an opportunity to take the strongest elements of graduation — and reimagine them in a fast-moving, digitally enabled, autonomy-first model with the goal of reaching millions.

Reports to: Senior Director, Product 

Level: Senior Manager

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per quarter to one of our countries of operation in Africa for field visits and collaboration 

What you’ll do:

1) Strategy & Product Vision: Defining the Cash + Coaching Model

• Own the vision and roadmap for Cash + Coaching across content, channel, and dosage
• Distill insights from graduation, behavioral science, and digital coaching theory and research into a clear, scalable product strategy
• Define a modular “menu” of coaching components (e.g., soft skills, transfer planning, digital literacy, market linkages, savings tools) and how they layer onto large transfers
• Make principled tradeoffs between intensity and scalability — identifying what truly drives impact versus what adds cost or complexity
  
  

2) Building & Scaling User-Facing Coaching Products

• Lead development of digitally enabled coaching tools, including:
• AI or rules-based chatbots (e.g., WhatsApp-based planning and follow-through tools)
• Video-based “wise intervention” and edutainment content
• Tablet-based or volunteer-enabled digital curricula
• Develop repeatable, evidence based protocols and curriculum for light-touch in-person touch points, including 
• Training sessions to use digital products 
• Scripts and labelling at community meetings
• Market linkage interventions 
• Analogue versions of digital products for users who cannot access them 
• Translate product concepts into clear technical specifications in partnership with our internal Tech team and external vendors
• Ensure tools are designed for low-literacy, low-connectivity environments
• Sequence releases thoughtfully, balancing speed with quality
  
  

3) Partnerships, Vendor Management & Country Pilots

• Build and manage strategic partnerships with graduation implementers, academic partners, tech and edutainment vendors 
• Evaluate when to build in-house vs. adapt or license external content 
• Lead deep-dive collaborations with country Programs teams (e.g., Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi) to pilot and refine interventions
• Manage budgets, scopes of work, contracts, and performance of external vendors and collaborators
• Navigate tradeoffs between open collaboration and long-term scalability
  
  

4) Learning & External Positioning

• In collaboration with the research team and academic collaborators, ensure the success oversee rapid pilots and structured experiments of the coaching components you have created 
• Contribute to donor-facing strategy and sector positioning around scalable “graduation-lite” models

• Represent GiveDirectly in sector conversations on digital coaching, graduation, and cost-effective poverty reductions

What you’ll bring:

• Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities that we serve.
• Language Requirement: English, French preferred 
• 8-10+ years of experience designing or leading graduation, economic inclusion, or cash-plus programs
• Direct experience building or scaling digital coaching products (e.g., chatbot, app-based curriculum, edutainment platform, digital financial literacy tools)
• Deep familiarity with the graduation evidence base and coaching methodologies
• Strong project management skills, with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple internal teams, country programs, and external vendors simultaneously
• Experience translating behavioral or training concepts into scalable operational systems
• Excellent written communication and strategic thinking skills
• Preferred
• Experience co-developing products with governments or multilateral partners
• Familiarity with AI-enabled tools, WhatsApp-based delivery, IVR, or digital learning platforms
• Experience working in fast-paced, iterative environments

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to calculate what we believe to be competitive pay based on role, location, and cost of living. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.

Unless otherwise noted, the benefits stipend may be used to cover benefits or taken as additional taxable income.

United States

• Base Salary: $115,500
• Bonus at Target Performance: $11,500 with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization’s current performance multiplier, this amount was $13,455 in 2025)
• Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $126,500+
• Annual Benefits Stipend for US: $21,393

This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in the US, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for the country you are based in during the hiring process. 

 #LI-REMOTE

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

From R&D to sales to strategy to operations, the Global R&D Data Analyst has the unique opportunity to improve decision-making across all aspects of One Acre Fund’s program using many diverse data types, such as sales, yield, demographic and satellite data, to help us reach more farmers with greater impact. 

The Global R&D Data Analyst will help us reach over one million farmers by executing analyses for strategic decision-making on repayment, expansion, and other business functions, and work directly with program leaders to interpret results and make data-driven decisions. The Global R&D Data Analyst will play an integral role in shaping One Acre Fund’s data strategy, including dreaming up and executing new ways to use our data to improve our program.

Additionally, One Acre Fund has a robust agronomic and socioeconomic research program spanning all countries of operation. This role will work closely with country R&D teams to ensure all trials are executed at the highest possible standards, provide follow-up analytical support and training to team members, and support with warehousing of our agronomic data to make our research outputs accessible to external collaborators, further increasing One Acre Fund’s smallholder farmer impact across the continent.

To succeed in this role, you will need to be a strong communicator and have a solid analytical background with experience in experimental design. You will need to be comfortable interpreting ambiguous results generated with imperfect data and advising leaders on the relative risk associated with different decisions based on the results of your analysis. 

This is a deliberately hybrid role. Success requires the ability to operate effectively as:

• an experimental methodologist (trial design & causal inference),
• an applied data scientist (production analytics, geospatial methods, modelling), and
• a delivery-oriented project manager (prioritisation, documentation, coordination).

Responsibilities

Own methodological rigour and analytical quality for trials and surveys (30%):

• Design and analyse trials and surveys, including:
  • Sample size and power calculations
  • Stratification and experimental design
  • Recommend the appropriate statistical methods (e.g., hypothesis testing, regression, ANOVA/mixed models)
• Lead analysis of agronomic and product trials to estimate treatment effects and program impact
• Quality assure trial designs and analyses produced by other analysts
• Translate trial findings into clear recommendations for product design, agronomic guidance, and program strategy.

Develop scalable analytical products and decision-support tools using program, survey, and spatial data (30%):

• Build, maintain, and improve analytical pipelines and production codebases that power operational decision tools (e.g., sowing date or input recommendations), including occasional support at the production level.
• Integrate survey, MEL, and operational data with geospatial layers (soil, climate, vegetation, remote sensing) to generate localised recommendations and program targeting strategies.
• Conduct spatial and remote-sensing analyses for program design, prioritisation, and impact estimation (e.g., soil erosion modelling, site suitability analysis).
• Analyse historical trial and soil data to generate input and soil management recommendations (e.g., lime application, fertiliser rate application).
• Evaluate potential impact of alternative interventions and support pilot design, iteration, and scale decisions.
• Translate analyses into decision-ready outputs (briefs, dashboards, and memos) for non-technical stakeholders.
• Identify new, high-leverage analytical use cases that improve program reach, impact, or cost-effectiveness.

Lead impact data management and project management (~20%)

• Lead curation and standardisation of historical yield, agronomic practice, and trial datasets to enable reuse and external research collaboration.
• Own knowledge management for impact data and trials, including:
  • Central documentation of methodologies, assumptions, sample sizes, and results for all projects
  • Reusable analysis templates and reference implementations
• Manage external data requests in compliance with client data protection and confidentiality protocols.

Provide portfolio-level project management (~20%):

• Maintain project plans, priorities, and timelines
• Track dependencies and risks
• Coordinate with program and R&D stakeholders to identify potential delivery risks
• Establish durable documentation and planning systems (e.g., project roadmaps, project trackers, shared repositories).

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:

• Bachelor's Degree in one of the following fields: economics, econometrics, mathematics, or statistics
• Proficiency in R and/or Python, including working knowledge of -
• Database connectivity (e.g., PostgreSQL) to enable data retrieval, manipulation, and storage from various databases
• Interact with RESTful APIs (e.g., JSON, XML)
• Data manipulation libraries (e.g., dplyr, tidyr) for efficient data wrangling, transformation, and exploration
• Packages for data visualisation (e.g., ggplot2, lattice, plotly)
• Advanced statistical analysis and modelling (stats, lme4, survival)
• Machine learning frameworks (e.g., randomForest, xgboost, caret) for building predictive models and conducting machine learning tasks
• Packages for data manipulation and visualisation, such as numpy, pandas, and Matplotlib
• Spatial data manipulation libraries (geopandas, rasterio, shapely, GDAL)
• In-depth knowledge of statistically rigorous trial design methodologies, including RCTs, side-by-side comparisons, RCBD, and other experimental designs
• In-depth knowledge of statistically rigorous survey design methods, including random, stratified, and cluster sampling
• Knowledge of relevant meteorological, soil, and vegetation data layers and sources, their uses and limitations (e.g., iSDA, ISRIC, CHIRPS, TAMSAT, NASA, Sentinel Hub, Google Earth Engine, AWS)
• Working knowledge of agronomy, e.g., practical understanding of fertiliser nutrient compositions, plant populations, growing degree days, GxE interactions.
• Working knowledge of GIS tools such as ArcGIS and QGIS, and spatial data analysis techniques.
• Proficiency in version control, such as Git/GitHub.
• Ability to easily explain technical concepts to non-technical decision makers and grow the analytical skills of others.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for coordinating across teams.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple analytical projects in parallel, including:
• Scoping ambiguous analytical problems and translating them into deliverable plans
• Prioritising work against timelines and stakeholder needs
• Tracking progress, managing dependencies, and proactively unblocking delivery risks
• Maintaining clear documentation and project plans to ensure continuity and institutional memory

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Nairobi, Kenya or Kigali, Rwanda

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

10 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 organisation’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, colour, 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 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

The Global Safety Nets and Microinsurance Senior Associate is a high-agility role responsible for the end-to-end design, piloting, and initial setup of household microinsurance and safety net products. This role bridges the gap between high-level strategy and ground-level execution, conducting field research, managing external partners, and leading pilots during the critical innovation phase.

Responsibilities

• Lead Market Entry & Opportunity Scoping
• Conduct deep-dive market assessments and farmer needs analyses to evaluate the viability of microinsurance and safety net interventions in new markets.
• Identify high-impact opportunities and define entry strategies for pre-scale programs.
• Drive Product Innovation & Design
• Lead end-to-end design of innovative financial protection products, translating complex risk and insurance concepts into simple, farmer-centric solutions.
• Rapidly prototype, test, and iterate products based on field insights and user feedback.
• Own Pilot Execution & Program Delivery
• Serve as project lead for country-level pilots, managing the full lifecycle from design to implementation and evaluation.
• Collaborate with country leadership to ensure alignment, execution excellence, and readiness for scale.
• Build Strategic Partnerships & Delivery Models
• Identify, negotiate, and manage partnerships with insurers, InsurTechs, NGOs, and other service providers.
• Design operational models and delivery structures that enable scalable, cost-effective program implementation.
• Develop Playbooks, Teams & Pathways to Scale
• Build operational playbooks, tools, and training materials to transition pilots into scalable programs.
• Manage and mentor junior team members while strengthening in-country team capability.
• Capture insights and shape global strategy for microinsurance and safety net programming.

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:

• 3–5 years of professional experience in a similar role, preferably consulting, startup, or international development.       
• Strong problem-solving mindset with experience building or launching new products, programs, or ventures.
• Comfortable working in ambiguity and driving progress in early-stage or unstructured environments.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects end-to-end and deliver results in cross-functional, global environments.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in Excel; ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Experience managing or mentoring team members is an advantage.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Economics, Development, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Fluency in English required; French or Swahili is a strong advantage.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Nairobi, Kenya or Kigali, Rwanda

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

25 June 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.

How you will make an impact

As Transformation Director, you will lead Instiglio’s organization-wide transformation agenda - strengthening the systems, operating models, and change capabilities that enable us to scale impact globally.

This role sits at the intersection of strategy, systems-building, technology, and execution. It is designed for a leader who thrives in complexity and is equally comfortable designing transformation roadmaps and rolling up their sleeves to ensure adoption and results.

A member of Instiglio’s Executive Team is accountable for each substantive transformation initiative, so while reporting to the COO, you will also work closely with the CEO and Chief Impact Officer (CIO) on specific initiatives, agreeing and assuring strategies together prior to execution. You will also partner with fellow members of Instiglio Leadership Team to leverage their experience and expertise, and to ensure transformation efforts are coherent, integrated, prioritized, and embedded across the organization.

Key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Lead Organization-Wide Transformation & Change Management

• Own and drive Instiglio’s Transformation & Change Management Program  end-to-end.

  • Diagnose organizational challenges and opportunities, design solutions, prioritize execution in line with Instiglio’s strategic goals, and ensure successful adoption.

  • Act as the integrator across teams (e.g., Partner Group, Leadership Team, People Committee, Finance Committee), ensuring transformation initiatives are aligned, sequenced, and mutually reinforcing.

• Establish clear success metrics and track progress, learning, and impact over time. 
  

AI Integration & Digital Transformation

• Lead the design, pilot, and scale of AI-enabled tools that enhance decision-making, productivity, and service delivery.

• Drive organization-wide AI adoption, capability-building, and change management.

• Translate emerging AI opportunities into practical workflows, operating model shifts, and strategic advantages.

• Ensure ethical, responsible, and effective use of AI across the organization.

Impact Management Systems (in partnership with the CIO)

• Strengthen how Instiglio measures organizational performance, learning, and results.

• Design and refine frameworks, tools, and processes that clarify goals, drive alignment, and support strategic decision-making.

• Improve visibility and coherence across impact data, organizational learning, and performance management.

Partnerships Development Systems

• Build and refine systems that strengthen how Instiglio develops, manages, and sustains partnerships across donors, governments, and the private sector coordinating with the Partnership Development Centre and Business Development Teams.

• Develop processes that improve pipeline visibility, institutional engagement, and strategic prioritization.

• Enable leadership teams with better data, tools, and decision frameworks for partnership growth.

Internal Operating Model & Process Evolution

• Lead the evolution of Instiglio’s internal operating model as the organization scales.

• Redesign workflows, governance rhythms, collaboration structures, and decision-making processes.

• Embed AI and digital tools across core operational systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

• Ensure changes are practical, adopted, and sustained in day-to-day operations.

Hands-On Execution & Delivery

• This is not a strategy/transformation-only role.

• You are accountable for seeing transformation initiatives from idea to execution to sustained adoption. On internal strategies, systems & processes, you will work closely with Internal Services teams and management to see through and sustain excellence in a sustained role that is necessarily operational in nature.

• You will personally:

  • Build tools, templates, and dashboards;

  • Draft frameworks and operating models;

  • Run complex, cross-functional projects;

  • Facilitate alignment and decision-making;

  • Troubleshoot operational bottlenecks; and

  • Ensure implementation sticks beyond launch.

Who you are

We are building a team of thoughtful, driven professionals who are motivated by our mission and excited to grow with the organization. An ideal candidate will have:

• Experience: At least 10 years of relevant experience in:

  • Organizational transformation and change management.

  • AI or technology implementation in organizations.

  • Systems-building in high-growth or complex environments.

  • Management consulting, public sector reform, or international development.

  • Designing and scaling operating models, decision systems, and workflows.

  • Working closely with senior leaders to translate strategy into execution.

• Languages:

  • Professional working proficiency in English (C1).

  • Working proficiency in French and/or Spanish would be an added advantage.

• Skills & Competencies:

  • Strong builder mindset - energized by designing systems from scratch and iterating toward excellence.

  • Exceptional project management and coordination skills across multiple high-stakes initiatives.

  • Hands-on operator who can move seamlessly between strategic thinking and detailed execution.

  • Structured thinker who brings clarity to ambiguity and complexity.

  • High emotional intelligence, humility, and adaptability.

  • Creative and innovative leader comfortable in fast-changing environments.

  • Cross-cultural fluency and effectiveness working across geographies and diverse teams.

  • Deep alignment with Instiglio’s mission and commitment to public-sector transformation.

• Mindset & Culture Fit

  • Thrives as a resourceful, sleeves-rolled-up doer; not an armchair strategist.

  • Calm and effective in moments of organizational pressure and uncertainty.

  • Collaborative, influence-oriented, and committed to building strong relationships.

  • Values purpose over spotlight.

How you will grow with us

Your work will be driven by impact and purpose, within a dynamic culture rooted in inclusion, collaboration, and high performance. You will partner closely with teams delivering complex, high-impact projects, gain exposure to a wide range of approaches and contexts, and collaborate across a diverse, international organization. You will be encouraged to take ownership, exercise judgment, and contribute meaningfully to shaping how Instiglio operates and grows.

As a Director at Instiglio, you will continue to develop and deepen your leadership, systems-thinking, and transformation capabilities. You will lead internal initiatives and organizational priorities, with support and guidance from senior leadership. Instiglio has a strong feedback culture, including bi-annual, structured performance reviews complemented by ongoing, real-time feedback. Mentorship and individual development plans are embedded in our people model to ensure sustained professional growth and support.

With Instiglio’s planned continued growth there are also progression opportunities for high-performing candidates.

Working model and benefits

Instiglio has adopted a hybrid working model (i.e., minimum of two (2) days a week at the office for face-to-face connections). Instiglio offers generous benefits, which include personal days, remote workdays, travel and health insurance, pension, a company end-of-year holiday additional to vacation, and parental leave, among others.

Join Us 

To apply, please submit your CV in English and answer the application questions listed. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.