Fertilizer Procurement Strategy Associate

Role Overview

This role owns fertilizer sourcing from end to end — reading global market signals, deciding when and how much to buy, and making sure the product lands in country on time and at a competitive price. Roughly half the working week is spent inside data: building, maintaining, and refining models that answer one high-stakes question, which is whether this is the right moment to purchase. The decisions made here flow directly to farmers, because the cost and reliability of fertilizer inputs shape what they can afford to plant and what they earn at harvest.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and execute seasonal procurement plans that meet or exceed 90% on-time, in-full delivery, hold pricing at market-competitive levels, and deliver 5% year-over-year cost savings.
• Anticipate supply gaps before they materialise by weighing farmer demand against global market movements, supplier production capacity, and existing inventory positions.
• Own quality outcomes for sourced product, working to keep the count of quality issues reaching farmers at zero through rigorous supplier and loading standards.
• Manage supplier payment discipline so that on-time payment rates stay above 80%, protecting commercial credibility with partners.
• Develop and continuously improve detailed Google Sheets models that track global price trends and landed cost scenarios, then translate that analysis into clear buy-or-wait recommendations.
• Cut lead times by streamlining delivery flows and automating manual steps, with a particular focus on the goods receipt process and loading quality control.
• Build durable relationships with fertilizer suppliers and industry organisations that extend past the current buying season, and represent One Acre Fund externally with suppliers and market actors.
• Act as a business partner to country operations teams, sharing opportunities that improve what farmers receive, while managing and mentoring a small team through goal setting, feedback, coaching, and performance reviews.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A solid grounding in global procurement processes, international shipping, and supply chain operations, with the ability to run a full procurement cycle independently.
• Advanced analytical capability and high proficiency in Google Sheets, including building pricing, forecasting, and decision-support models — and the appetite to spend around half your time working with data.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Strong negotiation and collaboration skills, with the credibility to influence internal stakeholders and external global suppliers alike.
• Proven project management and organisational ability, demonstrated by juggling several workstreams at once in a fast-paced setting.
• A solution-oriented mindset — comfortable making data-driven calls under medium-risk conditions and approaching obstacles with a results focus.
• Experience managing people, including setting goals, giving timely feedback, and contributing to staffing, recruitment, and succession planning for a growing procurement unit.