Development Associate

Work in Africa for an innovative, start-up non-profit organization!

Excellent career-track opportunity mixing private-sector management skill-set with non-profit service

Industry:          Nonprofit/International Development

Function:         Fundraising

Employer:        One Acre Fund

Job Title:          Development Associate

Job Location:   New York City or Washington, DC        

Organization Description

Most of the world’s poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a start-up NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential.  Instead of giving handouts, One Acre invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income.  We provide farmers with a “market bundle” that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market access.  Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure more than 100% average gain in farm income per acre.  We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

We are growing quickly.  In five years, we have grown to serve 130,000 farm families with more than 500 full-time field staff.  In three more years, we will at least quadruple in size, while adding several new countries.  Our approach has won widespread validation, winning grants from the highly competitive Echoing Green and Skoll Foundations, and the global Financial Times/ IFC award for “basic needs financing” in 2010 and 2011. Website: www.oneacrefund.org

Job Description

One Acre Fund is a rapidly growing organization, and seeks to further develop its major gifts program to support this growth.  This new position offers a candidate the opportunity to play a key role in building a major gifts program at an innovative and respected organization that delivers results. 

The Development Associate is a key Development Team member responsible for building a broad base of support among family foundations and individuals.  Working closely with our Development Director, you will identify individual donors and family foundations with the potential to give $10,000 or more, and then work to secure those donations.

While our preference is that you have 2 years of development experience, this could be an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated young professional to enter the development field.  This is an excellent position for a highly skilled and experienced professional looking for a meaningful development opportunity.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

The Development Associate will perform the following and other duties as assigned:

• Develop and implement plans to achieve 1AF’s family foundation and individual major gift fundraising goals.
• Identify and prioritize activities to engage family foundations and major gift donors and prospects.
• Guide cultivation and solicitation strategies for foundations and individual donors and prospects.
• Personally manage and engage with a portfolio of family foundation and individual donors and prospects.
• Develop proposals, reports, budgets and related correspondence for family foundations and individual donors and prospects.
• Collaborate with One Acre Fund’s senior management team.

Professional Qualifications and Requirements

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Prior experience in a development function is desired, but not required.  What matters most is your commitment to international development, and your passion for building and maintaining relationships with individuals and family foundations that could support our work.
• Excellent communications and presentation skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, including a willingness to listen to internal and external constituents and learn from their best ideas.
• Ability to travel extensively, up to 40% domestically and 10% internationally.

Personal Attributes

The following personal attributes are desired:

• A deep commitment to serving the poor.
• A passion for One Acre Fund’s program model.
• Comfort and experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and locations.
• High energy level, and a personable, flexible, tenacious, diplomatic, and respectful demeanor.
• Proven ability to serve as a team player and leader able to motivate and inspire staff and colleagues.
• Entrepreneurial spirit.
• A sense of humor.

Job Location: New York City or Washington, DC

Travel Requirement: Up to 40% domestic travel and 10% international

Preferred Start Date: Flexible

Compensation: Commensurate with experience.

Benefits: Health cover; 401k; immunizations as needed.

Career development: Quarterly management consulting-style career reviews, and significant investment in career development. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development.

To Apply

Email cover letter and resume (both as attachments with your name as part of the filename) to (Subject line: “Development Associate – (site that referred you)”).