Dairy Genetics Delivery Lead (Consultant)

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Deadline: May 10, 2026

Job Description

ROLE: Dairy Genetics Delivery Lead, Consultant

PROJECT: Expanding Dairy Genetics in East Africa (EDGE)

About the Organization:

Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) is an international non-profit organization with approximately 80 team members based in more than 10 countries worldwide. By leveraging the combination of programmatic and IT developer capacity and skills within DG, over the last 20 years we have researched data ecosystems, built digital tools to support those data ecosystems, and advised on data strategy and digital transformation to strengthen decision-making, transparency, and service delivery.

Project Summary:

Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) has awarded a sub-grant to Development GATEWAY to implement the Expanding Dairy Genetics in East Africa (EDGE) project activities through a four-year implementation period from May 2026 to Apr 2030. LIC and Development GATEWAY will reach the project’s goal of addressing supply, demand, and the enabling environment to sustainably increase dairy productivity through genetic gains by 1) strengthening last-mile delivery of improved genetics; 2) increasing farmer demand and adoption; and 3) improving the enabling environment.

Development GATEWAY’s role will be to build awareness and capacity of Small-scale Producers of artificial insemination (Conventional and sexed semen), strengthen artificial insemination technicians’ skills and reach and access to necessary inputs and infrastructure to sustainably increase dairy productivity through the adoption of the artificial insemination at scale. Strengthening the dairy genetic gain delivery system, continuing with the commercialization pathway and its accountability will be a focus, as well as innovation and scaling different approaches. Building on previous works with Gates Foundation, the Private-Public Partnership for artificial insemination Delivery and Sustainable Commercialization of Sexed Dairy Genetics (SCSDG) in East Africa projects, EDGE will work to improve market access to improved dairy genetics for youth, women and men dairy farmers of different scales.

Position Summary:

The Dairy Genetics Delivery Lead Consultant will lead technical activities of the EDGE project in Ethiopia and will work with business systems aspects of both Al and liquid nitrogen delivery and distribution as well as supporting Regional and Federal government initiatives.

The Consultant will conduct detailed assessments of targeted milksheds in Ethiopia namely Addis Ababa/Sheger, Hawassa-Shashemene, and Bahir Dar-Gonder with potential to expand to other milksheds, to identify opportunities and challenges for scaling dairy genetic gain through artificial insemination specific to the local context and identify geographical focus.

The Consultant will provide technical support to private sector partners, dairy cooperatives, cooperative unions, and processors as well as Agro-Input Dealers and commercial dairy farms in the three project target milksheds in extending quality Al service provision to dairy farmers. The support includes negotiating performance-based contracts between private sector partners, processors, dairy cooperatives, cooperative unions, and Agri-Input Dealers and Al technicians, and providing needed training in managing Al technician incentive programs. In addition, theConsultantwill work with external consultants to upgrade training curriculum to include business management approaches for Al technicians, and to create awareness of the business case and demand for sexed semen technology among dairy farmers.

The Consultant will collaborate with other private partners to establish semen distribution points for the Al technicians preceded by identification of liquid nitrogen partners. The Consultant will be responsible for providing continuous in-service trainings to Artificial lnsemination Technician Field Coordinators and artificial insemination technicians on business and financial management practices and performance data recording and communication. The Consultant will also identify which Al Technicians and artificial insemination Field Coordinators are performing excellently and meeting expected outcomes and targets and which are not necessary to motivate and develop. The Consultant will provide feedback quarterly within targeted milksheds on performance and problem solving to unlock the uptake in artificial insemination service delivery.

The Consultant will provide support to obtain and gather information on artificial insemination performance, by region and management of the commercializing accounts.

The Consultant will be responsible for supporting the National Coordinator with the delivery of the marketing and promotional campaigns at Federal and Regional levels, obtaining feedback and redesigning the material.

The Consultant is responsible for developing plans and implementation to achieve the targets as laid out in the annual work plan.

Reporting & Supervision:

The Dairy Genetic Delivery Lead will report to the Project Manager and will coordinate their work with the National Coordinator, with technical support from the Technical Director.

Position Responsibilities:

Primary responsibilities of the consultant include but are not limited to the following:

Lead technical activities of the EDGE project in Ethiopia
Prepare a private sector-related work plan, implement accordingly, and report regularly as required.
Train team on monitoring data collection needs and oversee the quality of the data collected
Coordinate with external consultants’ awareness and demand creation activities as well as specific assessments and studies.
Evaluate the financial feasibility of private artificial insemination service delivery (as a business venture); based on evaluation outcomes, suggest improvement options, and track these outcomes
Establish relations with other individual or collective private dairy value chain actors that are interested in private artificial insemination service delivery through employing or franchising private artificial insemination technicians while facilitating a partnership with the EDGE project
Coordinate with the project team to organize stakeholder meetings that would collect and synthesize stakeholders’ opinions as a means of improving artificial insemination technicians’ performance, sexed semen technology uptake among dairy farmers and success of the project.
Support Marketing and Promotional activities to create farmer demand for Dairy Genetics and improved calf rearing.
Develop and implement annual work plans.
Coordinate with Stakeholders both public and private to ensure their views and vision allies with plans.
Conduct regular meetings and ensure a shared vision.
Verify and manage performance-based commission system within the transformative artificial insemination service delivery.
Provide regular updates to ensure the project meets targets with scope, time and budget.
Explore and ensure coordination with other dairy genetic gain projects within the country.
Other deliverables as agreed between the Project Manager and Consultant

Required Skills and Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in statistics, economics, or another related field
At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in artificial insemination service delivery
Experience with private sector engagement when handling artificial insemination service delivery
Well-developed conceptual, analytical, and innovative problem-solving ability
Professional proficiency in Amharic and English with excellent speaking and writing skills
Strong attention to detail and organizational skills required.
Ability to work independently as an individual or as part of a team.
Marked interpersonal skills
Fluency in the use of commonly used MS applications and data processing software