Senior Policy and Partnership Specialist

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE: Senior Policy and Partnership Specialist

REPORTS TO:  Deputy Head of Programmes

REPORTING TO POST HOLDER: None

NUMBER: one

LOCATION:  Addis Ababa, with frequent travel (50%) to project areas.

DURATION: until August 2025, with a probation period of 60 working days with a high probability of extension based on availably of funds.

BACKGROUND

Farm Africa, founded in 1985, is an international non-governmental organization working in Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. We drive agricultural and environmental change to improve lives. Farm Africa works in partnership with communities, government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to innovate, learn and share best practices for the maximum impact of our projects. Farm Africa has the ambition to be the leading European NGO specializing in Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, and Market engagement. Farm Africa works in partnership with communities, government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to innovate, learn and share best practices for the maximum impact of our projects

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Farm Africa focuses on transforming agriculture and managing natural resources sustainably. We have an ambitious strategy to expand our work over the next five years. We’ll increase our impact, lift more communities out of poverty, work with more corporate partners who share our vision, open up more agricultural markets, provide more expertise, and make change happen. This requires collaboration and coordination and working with a range of stakeholders including donors, government, and communities.

A senior policy and partnership specialist is a key role within the Programme Coordination Core for the Forest for Sustainable Development (FSD) Programme at the Ethiopia country office and will be responsible for supporting the programme manager in partnership coordination, policy engagement, planning and providing technical expertise in the day to day FSD programme delivers. The position holder is expected to contribute to the FSD programme delivery to the highest standard and ensure compliance and alignment with donor requirements and policies and regulations of the Ethiopian Government. The position holder will hold responsibilities for helping Programme Manager, and FSD project Coordinators to organize partnership coordination and policy dialogues.  He/she will support the development of the detailed implementation plan, and annual donor report, and organize quarterly projects/program review meetings with project stakeholders.

He/she will play a leading role in project progress reporting, monitoring and evaluation of the project activities, outputs and impacts, coordination of activities with stakeholders, and liaising with government partners and the donor. He/she will be specifically responsible for stakeholder coordination and promoting best practices using various platforms to integrate the lessons and best practices into government development policies and strategies.

Key Responsibilities are;

• Lead the multi-stakeholder coordination platform and other workshops and meetings with stakeholders, including, government sectors offices,
• Conduct policy analysis on the development direction of the country and other related policies and strategies of the government.
• Preparing policy briefing documents for Farm Africa’s project interventions based on empirical evidence
• Provide hands-on support to PMs/PCs and all Projects of Farm Africa to ensure approved budgets are delivered according to the contractual requirements of donors or other stakeholders.
• Provide technical supervision, guidance, feedback, and support in resolving complex problems in the FSD program and relevant projects.
• Provide guidance in building a knowledge management system to collect information about gaps & weaknesses in FSD and FOW project staff and support in capacity building
•  Participate in monitoring of project implementation with team members and other partners and give heads up on a regular basis to the MEL expert
• Lead the team in the preparation and submission of draft periodical activity reports.
• Provide guidance in designing projects that align with the policies and strategies of the government of Ethiopia.
• Ensure implementation of programs and projects according to plan and devise and apply change management principles when required.
• Participate in monitoring of project implementation with team members and other partners and give heads up on a regular basis to the MEL expert
•  Provide guidance in building knowledge management system to collect information about gaps & weaknesses in FSD and FOW project staffs and support in capacity building
• Review and provide detail inputs and feedback to the progress reports, annual reports, monitoring and evaluation reports prepared by Coordinators against a plan to determine next action plan and provide technical support and follow up on the implementation of action plans
• Organize and facilitate training and events such as donor and high-level field visit programs, partners meetings, quarterly/annual partners review meetings, PPR, Q reviews, and workshops.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the line manager.

These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job-related duties as required.

Investing in smallholder farming is the number one way to combat poverty in rural Africa. Farm Africa is a leading NGO specialising in growing agriculture, protecting the environment and developing businesses in rural Africa.

EXPERT. Deep expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.

GROUNDED. Positive change starts with Africa’s people, so our experts work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.

IMPACTFUL. We take a long-term view so we can deliver lasting changes for farmers and their families.

BOLD. We model innovative new approaches and are not afraid to challenge strategies that are failing.