Project Developer Africa
This Is What We Offer You
Acorn Project Developer Africa
Enabling smallholder farmers in Africa to transition to agroforestry, increasing their income and climate resilience, while supporting the growth and stability of the Acorn team.
You & Your Role
As Acorn Project Developer Africa, you will become part of an energetic and collaborative team, headquartered in Utrecht, dedicated to advancing agroforestry initiatives across Africa. In this role, you will play a pivotal part in enabling smallholder farmers to transition to agroforestry systems, helping farmers to increase their incomes, strengthen their resilience to climate change, and promote sustainable land use practices.
Your responsibilities will involve close cooperation with a diverse array of stakeholders, including local partners, government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and international validation & verification bodies or certifiers. Together, you will design, implement, and scale impactful projects, ensuring that robust plans are in place for expanding the number of farmers involved, increasing the area of land converted to agroforestry, and maximising the number of trees planted each year. You will work hands-on with communities in countries such as Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, and São Tomé and Príncipe, providing guidance and support tailored to local needs and challenges.
Through your efforts, you will help hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers access the economic and environmental benefits that Acorn offers, while also contributing directly to Rabobank’s mission of growing a better world together. You will benefit from a supportive, international working environment that values innovation, knowledge sharing, and personal development. As you work alongside a team of six colleagues in the Project Development Team Africa, you will have opportunities to develop your professional skills and expand your expertise in sustainable agriculture, project management, and stakeholder engagement, making a tangible difference both locally and globally.
Examples from Practice
Together We Achieve More Than Alone
We believe in the power of difference. By combining our diverse backgrounds, we become a stronger bank. We are curious about what you will bring to our Acorn Project Development Team Africa.
“We have in the past period grown tremendously in scale and team. We look forward to welcome other pragmatic, result-oriented team players that contribute to Acorn in the years to come.”
Jelmer van de Mortel, Head of Acorn
The 6 people in the Africa team bundle forces, intelligence, and experience to realise innovation strategies. Working together is our way of working; as one problem-solving team at Rabobank.
Work on Yourself & the World Around You
At Rabobank, your development and that of society go hand in hand. We invest in you and work together for a better world. At Rabobank, you work on yourself and the world around you.
This is reflected in your personal development budget, our hybrid working environment, and a healthy work-life balance. You will work on banking for our private and business customers, as well as on societal issues such as food and energy transitions.
Why Everyone is Welcome at Rabobank
Rabobank believes we are stronger when we complement each other. By embracing our differences, we bring out the best in each other. We seek diversity in knowledge, skills, experience, gender, background, and culture. Every department strives for variety and the space to be yourself – whoever you are. That is what diversity and inclusion at Rabobank is all about.
You & Your Talent
- Gross monthly salary between €3,869 and €5,526 (scale 08)
- Thirteenth month's salary and 8% holiday allowance
- 10% Employee Benefit Budget
- EUR 1,400 development budget per year
- Hybrid working: balance between home and office work (possible for most roles)
- A pension, for which you can set the maximum amount of your personal contribution
Acorn Project Developer Africa
Enabling smallholder farmers in Africa to transition to agroforestry, increasing their income and climate resilience, while supporting the growth and stability of the Acorn team.
You & Your Role
As Acorn Project Developer Africa, you will become part of an energetic and collaborative team, headquartered in Utrecht, dedicated to advancing agroforestry initiatives across Africa. In this role, you will play a pivotal part in enabling smallholder farmers to transition to agroforestry systems, helping farmers to increase their incomes, strengthen their resilience to climate change, and promote sustainable land use practices.
Your responsibilities will involve close cooperation with a diverse array of stakeholders, including local partners, government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and international validation & verification bodies or certifiers. Together, you will design, implement, and scale impactful projects, ensuring that robust plans are in place for expanding the number of farmers involved, increasing the area of land converted to agroforestry, and maximising the number of trees planted each year. You will work hands-on with communities in countries such as Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, and São Tomé and Príncipe, providing guidance and support tailored to local needs and challenges.
Through your efforts, you will help hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers access the economic and environmental benefits that Acorn offers, while also contributing directly to Rabobank’s mission of growing a better world together. You will benefit from a supportive, international working environment that values innovation, knowledge sharing, and personal development. As you work alongside a team of six colleagues in the Project Development Team Africa, you will have opportunities to develop your professional skills and expand your expertise in sustainable agriculture, project management, and stakeholder engagement, making a tangible difference both locally and globally.
Examples from Practice
- Supporting partners in planting millions of trees each year.
- Enabling thousands of hectares of agricultural land to transition to agroforestry.
- Helping hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers access the benefits of Acorn.
- 40 hours per week.
- Join a team of 6 colleagues in the Project Development Team Africa.
- Rabobank serves 9.5 million customers worldwide
- Collaborating with local partners to develop and implement plans that grow projects in terms of farmers, trees planted, and hectares transitioned to agroforestry.
- Ensuring all projects meet the quality standards of the Acorn Framework and relevant carbon certification standards.
- Overseeing the complete end-to-end process of onboarding, measurement, and monitoring of projects.
Together We Achieve More Than Alone
We believe in the power of difference. By combining our diverse backgrounds, we become a stronger bank. We are curious about what you will bring to our Acorn Project Development Team Africa.
“We have in the past period grown tremendously in scale and team. We look forward to welcome other pragmatic, result-oriented team players that contribute to Acorn in the years to come.”
Jelmer van de Mortel, Head of Acorn
The 6 people in the Africa team bundle forces, intelligence, and experience to realise innovation strategies. Working together is our way of working; as one problem-solving team at Rabobank.
Work on Yourself & the World Around You
At Rabobank, your development and that of society go hand in hand. We invest in you and work together for a better world. At Rabobank, you work on yourself and the world around you.
This is reflected in your personal development budget, our hybrid working environment, and a healthy work-life balance. You will work on banking for our private and business customers, as well as on societal issues such as food and energy transitions.
Why Everyone is Welcome at Rabobank
Rabobank believes we are stronger when we complement each other. By embracing our differences, we bring out the best in each other. We seek diversity in knowledge, skills, experience, gender, background, and culture. Every department strives for variety and the space to be yourself – whoever you are. That is what diversity and inclusion at Rabobank is all about.
You & Your Talent
- At least 3+ years of professional experience.
- Hard requirement: you have experience with at least one of the following:
- Carbon Markets
- Nature-Based projects
- Agricultural development
- Agroforestry
- Work experience within Africa (2+ years) is hard requirement, as is focus on smallholder farmers.
- Experience in project management with a focus on portfolio quality and growth.
- Strong communication skills in English (spoken and written), and either Portuguese or Swahili is essential.
- Ability to adapt to changing circumstances, including supporting projects outside Africa if required (Asia or Latin America).
- Cultural awareness and sensitivity, with the ability to navigate diverse environments and work effectively in multicultural teams.
- Advanced relationship management skills, including the ability to build and maintain partnerships with local and international stakeholders.
- Positive, constructive, and problem-solving attitude, with a focus on achieving results in challenging contexts.
- With your application, please include answers to the following 3 questions. Applications without these answers may be rejected automatically. Please add your name at the bottom of this document.
- Give a short motivation (max 200 words) for this position.
- Indicate (max 200 words) your experience with the following topics: Carbon Markets, Nature-Based projects, Agricultural development, Agroforestry and smallholder farmers
- Do you speak Portuguese, Swahili, both, or neither?
- For questions about the job content: Cathy Tran, Project Development Lead Africa, via Cathy.Tran@rabobank.com.
- For questions about working at Rabobank and the process: Ingrid Dillen, Corporate Recruiter, via ingrid.dillen@rabobank.nl.
- We will close this vacancy once we think there are enough candidates. Applications after that via mail will not be taken into consideration.
- You will receive a response after the vacancy closes. If there is a match, interviews will take place via Microsoft Teams or at our Utrecht office. An assessment may be part of the selection procedure
- If you are invited for an interview, Bo, our virtual assistant, will contact you via SMS and email to schedule the interview.
- Answers to frequently asked questions can be found at rabobank.jobs/en/faq.
- A reliability assessment is part of the procedure.
- We respect your privacy.