SaaS Cloud Infrastructure & Security Consultant (TeleCloud Focus)

sequa gGmbH

sequa is a globally operating non-profit development organisation. Since 1991, sequa has carried out programmes and projects of international cooperation in close collaboration with the German private sector. sequa offers know-how and long-term experience in capacity development for chambers and associations (BMOs), vocational education and training, private sector development and trade promotion. The organisation is based in Bonn, Germany. sequa employs more than 100 persons (2025) and reported a turnover of EUR 56 m in 2024.

PROJECT-BASED ASSIGNMENT

Position: SaaS Cloud Infrastructure & Security Consultant (TeleCloud Focus)
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Assignment Period: July 13, 2026 – November 30, 2026
Working Time Scope: up to 20 days
Project: SME Support Scheme in the GIZ-Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition”
Job Code: ETH-1013 SaaS Cloud Infrastructure & Security Consultant

THE PROJECT

Within the GIZ Program Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition”, sequa implements the “SME Support Scheme targeting growth-oriented SMEs” project in Ethiopia. With this, sequa aims to facilitate business growth and job creation of Ethiopian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by increasing their competitiveness and productivity so that their products and services will satisfy demand in local and international markets.

A specific focus is provided for women-owned SMEs, job creation, and employability training for women.

Benefiting companies receive flexible and demand-oriented funding (management consulting, technical training, financial competence/business plan development, qualification, applied research activities, etc.). A special focus is on advisory services to improve access to finance. The support scheme is expected to contribute to change management and business growth of SMEs.

sequa has selected Marakisoft Technologies PLC through a vetting process. The company’s activities focus on providing locally developed ERP solutions tailored to Ethiopian businesses. Specializing in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point-of-sale (POS) systems, Marakisoft’s flagship product, MarakiERP, offers comprehensive modules designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and control. MarakiERP serves over 5,000 businesses across sectors such as retail, manufacturing, construction, and finance. The company also offers MarakiPOS, a point-of-sale system compliant with Ethiopian tax regulations, facilitating seamless sales and inventory management.

Marakisoft is developing a modern SaaS platform featuring ERP, Electronic Invoicing (E-Invoice), and POS systems targeted at businesses in Ethiopia and broader Africa. They are currently hosted primarily on TeleCloud (Ethio Telecom). The main objective of the consultancy is to assess, optimize, and strengthen the company’s infrastructure to scale operations while recommending the right team structure and roles for long-term maintenance and operations.

TASKS / RESPONSIBILITIES

Infrastructure Assessment & Optimization

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of current TeleCloud and local vendor setup (performance, cost, security, reliability).
• Perform resource right-sizing and cost optimization analysis.
• Deliver recommendations for improved utilization of TeleCloud services.

Scalability & Architecture Design

• Design a scalable multi-tenant architecture supporting growing transaction volumes.
• Define auto-scaling, load balancing, caching, and database optimization strategies.
• Recommend hybrid/multi-cloud approaches where beneficial.

Security & Compliance

• Perform a full security assessment and provide hardening recommendations (encryption, IAM, Zero Trust, WAF, secrets management).
• Ensure compliance with Ethiopian data protection laws and e-invoice requirements.

Backup, Disaster Recovery & Reliability

• Review and improve backup strategies with point-in-time recovery.
• Develop a comprehensive Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity plan.

Monitoring, Observability & DevOps Practices

• Evaluate and recommend monitoring, logging, and alerting tools.
• Advise on Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and CI/CD best practices.
• Define required team structure and headcount for ongoing operations.

DELIVERABLES

• Current-state assessment report focused on TeleCloud
• Optimized target architecture and roadmap
• Security & compliance improvement plan
• Backup, DR, and monitoring strategy documents
• Cost optimization report with projected savings
• Long-term Infrastructure Operations Handbook including:
  • Recommended team organogram
  • Detailed job descriptions for each role
  • Skill matrices and hiring criteria
  • Onboarding and ongoing training plan
• Final presentation and handover sessions with knowledge transfer

QUALIFICATION / SKILLS

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, software engineering, cybersecurity, network engineering, or related fields.
• Deep knowledge of Huawei Cloud Stack (TeleCloud’s underlying technology) is a strong advantage.
• Expertise in AWS / Azure / GCP for hybrid architectures.
• Strong background in security, scalability, and cost optimization.
• Familiarity with e-invoice systems in Africa is a plus.

WORKING EXPERIENCE

• 10+ years in cloud infrastructure for SaaS, ERP, or Fintech platforms.
• Strong experience with TeleCloud (Ethio Telecom) or similar sovereign/local clouds in Africa.
• Proven experience designing long-term DevOps / SRE team structures for growing SaaS companies.