Grants Finance Senior Associate/Manager

About this role

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

You will play a critical role at the intersection of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), accounting, fundraising, and program delivery. You will provide financial leadership across a complex, multi-country portfolio of grants and funding partnerships, helping One Acre Fund make sound decisions about how we raise, allocate, and deploy resources.

You will partner closely with fundraising, program, country finance, accounting, and leadership teams, from evaluating new funding opportunities and developing budgets through implementation, forecasting, reporting, and assurance. You will be expected to go beyond the numbers: understand the underlying business and program drivers, challenge assumptions, identify risks and opportunities, and translate financial analysis into practical recommendations.

This role suits someone who enjoys solving ambiguous problems and thinking on their feet. Grant requirements can vary significantly between funders, while program plans and organizational priorities evolve rapidly. You will need to exercise judgment, work with incomplete information, ask the right questions, and find pragmatic solutions without compromising financial discipline or compliance.

While experience with grants or the development sector is useful, we are equally interested in candidates from FP&A, audit, financial advisory, consulting, or other complex financial environments who can bring strong analytical and problem-solving skills to the role.

Responsibilities

Financial Strategy & Planning

• Partner with fundraising and program teams to assess new funding opportunities, develop robust budgets, and evaluate financial and operational feasibility.

• Lead financial planning, forecasting, and performance analysis across a portfolio of complex, multi-country grants.

• Challenge assumptions, identify risks and opportunities, and translate financial analysis into clear recommendations for decision-makers.

Financial Management, Reporting & Assurance

• Oversee grant financial reporting and ensure funds are managed in line with donor requirements and organizational policies.

• Monitor financial performance and emerging risks, working with teams to address issues and improve the use of resources.

• Lead grant audits and assurance processes, working with accounting and program teams to ensure strong financial controls, documentation, and compliance.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Strengthen the systems, processes, and data used to manage an increasingly complex grants portfolio.

• Develop more efficient approaches to reporting, analysis, and financial oversight, including through automation and business intelligence tools.

• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, strengthen controls, and improve the quality and accessibility of financial information.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a trusted financial thought partner to fundraising, program, finance, and leadership teams, influencing decisions across the organization.

• Manage, coach, and develop 1–2 finance professionals while building a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.

• Navigate ambiguity and competing priorities, using sound judgment to develop practical solutions and keep work moving forward.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success will mean more than accurate reports and compliant grants. You will:

• Become a trusted financial thought partner to fundraising, program, finance, and leadership teams.

• Improve the quality of financial analysis supporting funding and resource-allocation decisions.

• Ensure grant budgets and forecasts are realistic, well understood, and actively used to manage performance.

• Identify financial and operational risks early and help teams respond before they become significant issues.

• Build scalable systems, processes, and team capabilities that strengthen financial management as the organization grows.

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:

• 8+ years of relevant professional experience in FP&A, finance, corporate finance, audit, financial advisory, consulting, or a related field.

• A professional accounting qualification such as CPA, ACCA, ACA, CA, or an equivalent chartered accountancy qualification is strongly preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or a related field; a Master’s degree is preferred.

• Strong experience in financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and financial controls, with a track record of using financial analysis to inform decisions.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand complex situations, challenge assumptions, identify risks and opportunities, and develop practical…