Malawi Market Access Lead

About One Acre Fund

Established in 2006, One Acre Fund supports 5.5 million smallholder farmers across nine African nations by offering farm inputs, credit, modern agronomy training, and diverse agricultural services. This support typically boosts farmers' income and assets by over 35%, while enhancing their long-term resilience. The organization employs over 9,000 full-time staff with varied expertise. Our Malawi program, operational since 2016 and headquartered in Zomba, focuses on aiding more than 670,000 farmers mainly in the southern region, home to Malawi's largest concentration of smallholders.

Role Overview

The Market Access Lead in Malawi will spearhead the advancement of high-value cash crop value chains. Success in this role means enabling a growing number of farmers to cultivate cash crops profitably and establishing sustainable export pipelines that provide vital USD revenue for program expansion.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the comprehensive Market Access strategy for Malawi, encompassing long-term vision, seasonal planning, and execution.
• Drive rapid development of the market access team through effective structuring and recruitment to support expanded buyback operations.
• Take full ownership of buyback activities from planning through on-the-ground execution, including farmer engagement, crop production, aggregation, and commercialization.
• Enhance chili value chains aiming for significant impact and scaling by 2030 to meet global market standards.
• Reassess and optimize the current soya buyback model, which presently yields no margin due to sales to local buyers.
• Initiate new buyback value chains after thorough assessment of market needs and benefits to smallholder farmers.
• Assist in establishing processing solutions (e.g., solar dryers) to increase product value and build crop transformation capacity in Malawi, utilizing dedicated funding for innovative investments.

Career Development

One Acre Fund promotes continuous learning through weekly manager check-ins, mentorship, training, and biannual career reviews to support personal growth and long-term career advancement.

Candidate Profile

• Passionate, impact-oriented, diligent professional aligned with One Acre Fund's core values.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong innovation, risk management, action bias, and resilience amid complexity.
• Experienced in leading teams and projects, encouraging accountability and providing honest, constructive feedback, even with minimal supervision.
• Strong analytical skills for independently gathering and interpreting KPIs to drive data-informed decisions.

Additional Information

• Preferred start date: Immediate availability preferred.
• Work Location: Zomba or Lilongwe, Malawi.
• Benefits include health insurance, housing, and comprehensive employee support.
• Work permit support available, prioritizing nationals or candidates with extensive regional experience.
• Application deadline: 9 September 2026, with rolling reviews until the position is filled.
• One Acre Fund is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism principles.
• No fees or payments are ever requested during the recruitment process; official communication only via @oneacrefund.org email addresses.