Uganda Head of Commercial Strategy and Execution job at One Acre Fund

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

As the Commercial Lead, you will design and execute our commercial vision in Uganda. You will bridge the gap between high-level strategy and rural execution, overseeing a diverse portfolio that includes both market access for cash crops (like Coffee and Macadamia) and oversight of our rural retail operations (input sales). This is a high-impact role where you will own the full P&L, lead vertical integration efforts, and design the systems that connect thousands of farmers to global markets.

Responsibilities

• Shape the Strategy: Define the 3–5 year commercial roadmap for Uganda. You’ll conduct value chain analyses and decide where we should play—from rural aggregation to processing and export.
• Innovate & Scale: Build and manage a structured pipeline of commercial pilots. You will test new market access and rural retail models, using data-driven insights to turn small-scale innovations into country-wide programs.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Manage the end-to-end execution of crop buybacks and input sales. You’ll ensure products meet rigorous quality standards and optimise last-mile input distribution to ensure farmers have what they need to thrive.
• Own the P&L: You are responsible for revenue growth, margin optimisation, and capital allocation. You will build financial models that cover OPEX, CAPEX, and FX exposure where applicable.
• Build Partnerships: Act as our lead representative with buyers, processors, and distributors. You’ll build the strategic alliances necessary to strengthen value chains and represent the organisation at external events.
• People Management: You will directly manage two workstream leads and be responsible for the growth, development, and high-performing culture of the Commercial team.

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:

Experience & Qualifications

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, Marketing, or a related field.
• Professional Experience: 5+ years of experience in business development, market access, or commercial strategy.
• Value Chain Expertise: Deep understanding of agricultural value chains; experience with Coffee or Macadamia is strongly preferred.

Relevant skills

• Commercial & Strategic Acumen: Demonstrated ability to develop commercial strategies and identify significant revenue generation as well as impact opportunities in the agricultural sector for both farmers and the organisation
• Innovation Pipeline Management: Proven capability in prioritising, designing, running, and scaling commercial pilots in a logical and evidence-based sequence.
• Financial & Risk Modeling: Strong proficiency in financial modeling and budget management.
• Supply Chain & Logistical Execution: Proven capability in overseeing partner negotiations, aggregation logistics, quality control, last-mile distribution, and ensuring products meet buyer standards or export regulations.
• Project & Performance Management: Track record of setting and reviewing KPIs, managing complex multi-workstream projects, and driving accountability for results.
• Partnership Management: Demonstrated success in identifying, developing, and managing commercial partnerships with buyers, processors, and distributors.
• Stakeholder Influence: Ability to represent the department at senior levels and secure buy-in from cross-functional teams, including Field Operations and Government Relations.
• People Leadership: Experience coaching senior staff and building a results-oriented, collaborative team culture.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

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.

• Shape the Strategy: Define the 3–5 year commercial roadmap for Uganda. You’ll conduct value chain analyses and decide where we should play—from rural aggregation to processing and export.
• Innovate & Scale: Build and manage a structured pipeline of commercial pilots. You will test new market access and rural retail models, using data-driven insights to turn small-scale innovations into country-wide programs.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Manage the end-to-end execution of crop buybacks and input sales. You’ll ensure products meet rigorous quality standards and optimise last-mile input distribution to ensure farmers have what they need to thrive.
• Own the P&L: You are responsible for revenue growth, margin optimisation, and capital allocation. You will build financial models that cover OPEX, CAPEX, and FX exposure where applicable.
• Build Partnerships: Act as our lead representative with buyers, processors, and distributors. You’ll build the strategic alliances necessary to strengthen value chains and represent the organisation at external events.
• People Management: You will directly manage two workstream leads and be responsible for the growth, development, and high-performing culture of the Commercial team.

• Commercial & Strategic Acumen: Demonstrated ability to develop commercial strategies and identify significant revenue generation as well as impact opportunities in the agricultural sector for both farmers and the organisation
• Innovation Pipeline Management: Proven capability in prioritising, designing, running, and scaling commercial pilots in a logical and evidence-based sequence.
• Financial & Risk Modeling: Strong proficiency in financial modeling and budget management.
• Supply Chain & Logistical Execution: Proven capability in overseeing partner negotiations, aggregation logistics, quality control, last-mile distribution, and ensuring products meet buyer standards or export regulations.
• Project & Performance Management: Track record of setting and reviewing KPIs, managing complex multi-workstream projects, and driving accountability for results.
• Partnership Management: Demonstrated success in identifying, developing, and managing commercial partnerships with buyers, processors, and distributors.
• Stakeholder Influence: Ability to represent the department at senior levels and secure buy-in from cross-functional teams, including Field Operations and Government Relations.
• People Leadership: Experience coaching senior staff and building a results-oriented, collaborative team culture.

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, Marketing, or a related field.
• Professional Experience: 5+ years of experience in business development, market access, or commercial strategy.
• Value Chain Expertise: Deep understanding of agricultural value chains; experience with Coffee or Macadamia is strongly preferred.