Tupande Research and Evaluations Lead

One Acre Fund is a nonprofit organization that supplies smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa with the farm inputs, financing, training, and market access they need to grow more food and earn more income. Operating across nine countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the organization works with millions of farming families who rely on small, rain-fed plots of land as their primary source of livelihood. By delivering quality seeds, fertilizer, and agricultural services directly to rural farmers, One Acre Fund reports helping clients achieve approximately 45% more farm income on the same land area. One Acre Fund's sustainability and climate mission is embedded throughout its programs. The organization focuses on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, including agroforestry and tree-planting initiatives, financing and insurance products to help farmers weather climate-related shocks, and innovation in climate-resilient agricultural practices. These efforts are designed to strengthen the long-term resilience of smallholder farmers who are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, while also contributing to carbon sequestration and reduced agricultural emissions across the continent. What distinguishes One Acre Fund is its last-mile delivery model, which brings bundled services directly to farmers in remote rural areas, combined with a rigorous impact measurement methodology including social return on investment analysis. The organization also prioritizes gender-smart agriculture, with women comprising more than 50% of its client base, and maintains a strong commitment to evidence-based programming and transparent reporting on outcomes.

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 Tupande Research and Evaluations Lead will be responsible for overseeing all research, evaluation, and learning functions within Tupande. This includes managing and overseeing all ongoing and future research and evaluation projects in the country, ensuring they meet the needs of various stakeholders, including in-country teams, the Global Research and Evaluations team, and other global teams and donors. Additionally, the Research and Evaluations Lead will play a key role in contributing to thought leadership within Tupande, particularly focusing on data quality initiatives that support and advance Tupande's vision as well as the Tupande Impact Plan.

Responsibilities

• Independently lead in-country impact evaluations and studies, including:
• Outlining the theory of change and study design
• Developing data collection tools and implementation plans
• Representing research and evaluations work within the organization, ensuring stakeholders clearly understand the actionable results presented
• Take full ownership of the most complex workstream(s) while overseeing all other workstreams within the country, ensuring every project adheres to the minimum must-do's.
• Establish and continuously improve frameworks, processes, and procedures for quality assurance, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of impact data, in consultation with key stakeholders, ensuring team priorities run in alignment with organizational processes.
• Own the analysis and reporting of all Tupande research and evaluations data, developing and updating analytical frameworks and exploring efficiencies in data cleaning, automation, and reporting.
• Work closely with Program teams and other stakeholders to ensure research and evaluation results and recommendations are understood and acted upon, and strengthen the availability and use of high-quality data for decision-making at all levels of the organization.
• Contribute to thought leadership on Tupande's Impact Strategy, including developing studies on new or evolving channels, exploring new impact opportunities, and shaping research and evaluations goals in line with the strategy.
• Manage all team leadership matters within the department, including hiring, development, and performance management of research and evaluations staff.
• Oversee the department's budgeting and financial management, exploring growth and efficiencies without compromising team sustainability or data quality.
• Provide direct support to stakeholders on ad-hoc requests related to study design, analysis, data collection, and reporting, and partner with senior leadership in strategic decision-making related to impact work.

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:

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study (e.g., economics, statistics, etc.)
• A Master's degree in a related field is an added advantage
• Strong professional experience designing and implementing evaluations and analyzing data (e.g., with large-scale data collection and field team management)
• Knowledge of evaluation concepts and mastery of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs
• Strong analytical skills, especially the use of statistical techniques leveraged in impact evaluation measurement strategies (e.g., propensity score matching, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, etc.)
• Knowledge of statistical software, such as Stata or R
• Strong project management skills with the ability to oversee multiple projects of various levels of complexity at the same time
• A clear and compelling written communication style with an eye for design and visual presentation
• Ability to engage with multiple partners in a diplomatic manner and strong relationship-building skills
• Leadership experience, including managing a team
• A willingness to commit to living in East Africa for at least two years — this is a long-term, career-track role
• The ideal candidate will have at least five years of demonstrated experience working in the developing world, or be a country national from our program or operations
• Proficiency in English is required; Swahili is an added advantage

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kakamega, Kenya

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

23 December 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 ([email protected]), 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.