Administrative Assistant -Hawassa, Ethiopia

As an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, the federally owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supports the German Government in achieving its development-policy objectives.

In Ethiopia, GIZ has been working for more than 40 years in bilateral cooperation on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and on commission of the Ethiopian government and international donors.

In order to strengthen agricultural productivity and production and to modernize agriculture in Ethiopia, the Ministry of Agriculture is pursuing strategies for nationwide land consolidation and strengthening land sector institutions. The widespread fragmentation of agricultural land is a major challenge for a more productive agricultural sector. However, legal and social framework conditions for the fair and participatory reorganization of the agricultural area are limited. The responsible regional authorities also lack the required capacities and expertise to implement land consolidation procedures. The population is skeptical towards the government’s reform intentions, mainly due to negative experiences and less participatory processes in the past.

In order to strengthen agricultural productivity and production and to modernize agriculture in Ethiopia, the Ministry of Agriculture is pursuing strategies for nationwide land consolidation and strengthening land sector institutions. The widespread fragmentation of agricultural land is a major challenge for a more productive agricultural sector. However, legal and social framework conditions for the fair and participatory reorganization of the agricultural area are limited. The responsible regional authorities also lack the required capacities and expertise to implement land consolidation procedures.

The Land Governance project supports the Ministry of Agriculture ( MoA ) and regional Land Administration and Use Bureaus to implement participatory land consolidation and voluntary land exchange as instruments of sustainable land governance. The project follows a multi level process engaging with local authorities and communities in the planning, reallocating, and registering land parcels. Simultaneously, closely work with federal and regional actors to develop legal frameworks and build institutional Capacity.

In the newly founded regions of Southern Ethiopia, capacities of land administrations to plan and implement measures against land fragmentation are still insufficient. The project therefore supports land administrations in Southern Ethiopia in Institution-Building and Capacity Development to be able to implement measures against land fragmentation in the future.

The Office Assistant will report to the Component Lead of Output III of the project

Responsibilities

• Assists experts in matters of logistics and related matters
• Responsible for all office upkeeping matters
• Registers and keeps files
• Supports workshop logistics; preparation of contracts for organizing events, hotels; Preparation of contracts for short term experts
• Coordinates travel, accommodation and transfer requirements for the staff
• Manages incoming and outgoing correspondence (post, fax, email) and prioritises and organises it
• Keeps the office open to clients at working hours
• Responsible for any office items and it is upkeeping
• Stocks and maintains office supplies and materials; and carries out procurement in accordance with guidelines
• Procures materials and equipment locally, monitor markets, issues invitations to tender and processes orders in accordance with GIZ regulations
• Controls organization vehicles and fuel
• Handles other tasks and assignments as prescribed by the Component Lead
• Other tasks, as assigned by the supervisor

Other duties/additional tasks

• Reports without delay to the Component lead on core responsibilities and matters needing attention
• Participates in internal and external meetings and workshops and assists with documenting, e.g. taking minutes
• Is responsible for filing documents and treating information confidentially

Qualifications

• BA in office administration or related fields
• Fluent command of the English and Amharic/ Afu Sidama languages,
• Computer literacy (MS package, MS Teams)
• Expertise in setting-up video call and online meeting systems

Professional experience

• At least 3 years of work experience in office administration or a related field.
• Experience with intern. organisations, government entities and NGOs is a advantage.

Other knowledge, additional competencies

• Willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed – corresponding measures are agreed with management.
• Ability to cope with stress and to organize/prioritize workload timely.
• Discipline and punctuality
• Resilience and patience
• Availability for in-country duty travel to project sites