Senior Project Manager

Role purpose:

The Senior Project Manager (SPM) is responsible for the overall leadership, management, successful delivery, and achievement of results of the Ethiopia Local Governance Project (ELGP). The position provides strategic, technical, operational, financial, and partnership oversight to ensure that project objectives, outcomes, donor requirements, and Helvetas quality standards are achieved across the Amhara and Sidama regions. The SPM directly supervises the Governance Officer and the two Partnership and Capacity Development Officers, and oversees the performance, compliance, and capacity strengthening of sub-grantees (i.e. local CSO implementing partners).

The role serves as the primary focal point for engagement with government signatories, including regional councils, planning bureaus, bureaus of finance, sector offices, and other strategic stakeholders, ensuring strong collaboration, ownership, and institutionalisation of project approaches. The SPM provides leadership in adaptive management, risk management, conflict-sensitive programming, Gender and Social Equity (GSE), localisation, and accountability processes, while promoting the sustainability and scaling of Integrated Community-Based Participatory Planning (ICBPP), social accountability, and participatory local governance systems. The position is ultimately accountable for the effective utilisation of project resources, achievement of project results, organisational learning, and the overall success of ELGP.

Key Responsibilities:

1.      Provide strategic leadership and ensure effective delivery of ELGP results in Amhara and Sidama regions:

• Lead the overall planning, implementation, coordination, and adaptive management of ELGP in line with project objectives, donor requirements, annual work plans, budgets, and Helvetas policies.
• Provide strategic direction to project staff, sub-grantees, and partners to achieve project outcomes related to citizen participation, effective council oversight, and responsive public service delivery.
• Oversee project progress against targets, milestones, budgets, and contractual obligations, ensuring timely delivery of outputs and outcomes.
• Lead annual, quarterly, and monthly planning processes and ensure quality implementation across all project locations.
• Assess operational, programmatic, political, and security risks and ensure appropriate mitigation measures are implemented.
• Ensure Gender and Social Equity (GSE), conflict sensitivity, safeguarding, accountability, and localisation principles are integrated throughout project implementation.

 2.      Strengthen partnerships, institutional capacity, and local governance systems for sustainable impact:

• Provide leadership and oversight for engagement with regional councils, planning bureaus, finance bureaus, WCSA offices, sector bureaus, CSOs, CBOs, and other strategic stakeholders.
• Supervise and support Governance, Partnership and Capacity Development Officers and other project staff to ensure quality technical assistance and partner support.
• Oversee the selection, management, performance monitoring, and capacity strengthening of sub-grantees and local partners.
• Promote institutionalisation of Integrated Community-Based Participatory Planning (ICBPP), grievance redress mechanisms, Financial Transparency and Accountability (FTA), Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), and other governance approaches within government systems.
• Facilitate collaboration and learning among government institutions, civil society organisations, community structures, and development partners.
• Represent Helvetas and ELGP in steering committee meetings, GO-NGO forums, Communities of Practice on Local Governance (CoP-LG), donor meetings, and other strategic platforms.

3.    Ensure quality assurance, accountability, learning, and evidence-based decision-making:

• Lead project performance monitoring, review progress against indicators, and ensure effective use of MEAL data for decision-making and adaptive management.
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of high-quality technical, financial, donor, and organisational reports.
• Oversee budget management, financial compliance, resource allocation, and efficient use of project funds.
• Ensure implementation quality standards, operational procedures, manuals, and technical approaches are consistently applied across project locations and partners.
• Promote documentation and dissemination of lessons learned, best practices, success stories, and governance innovations from ELGP and its predecessor ALGP+.
• Support evidence-based advocacy, policy engagement, and scaling of successful governance approaches to strengthen accountable and participatory local governance systems in Ethiopia.

Education, Studies and Further Training:

• Master’s degree in governance, Development Studies, Political Science, Public Administration, Public Policy, Economics, International Development, Social Sciences, or related fields.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline with substantial relevant experience may be considered.
• Formal training in project cycle management, programme management, decentralisation, local governance, or public sector reform.
• Training in Gender and Social Equity (GSE), safeguarding, localisation, conflict sensitivity, or social accountability processes is highly desirable.
• Training in Conflict-Sensitive Project Management (CSPM), Do No Harm (DNH), security risk management, or humanitarian-development-peace nexus approaches is an advantage.
• Professional certification in project management, MEAL, financial management, leadership, or organisational development is an added value.

Professional experience, experience of life

• Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience in governance, decentralisation, local governance, civic engagement, social accountability, public sector reform, or democratic governance programmes, with at least 3 years in a project/programme management role.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder and donor-funded development programmes involving government institutions, CSOs, CBOs, and local partners.
• Experience working with regional, zonal, woreda, and kebele government structures in Ethiopia and a strong understanding of the Ethiopian decentralised governance system.
• Experience in strengthening councils, participatory planning, citizen engagement, accountability mechanisms, and public service delivery improvement initiatives.
• Knowledge and experience of Integrated Community-Based Participatory Planning (ICBPP) and/or similar participatory governance approaches is a strong added value.
• Experience in applying Gender and Social Equity (GSE) approaches and Conflict-Sensitive Project Management (CSPM) and/or Do No Harm (DNH) principles is required.
• Proven experience working in and for conflict-affected, fragile, and highly volatile operating environments, including maintaining programme continuity during periods of insecurity.
• Demonstrated experience in risk management, scenario planning, contingency planning, and adaptive programme management in response to political, security, and operational changes.
• Experience monitoring security situations, analysing context developments, and identifying operational windows to ensure safe and effective implementation.
• Proven experience revising workplans, budgets, and implementation strategies in accordance with donor, government, organisational, and sub-grantee requirements.
• Experience managing partnerships and sub-grants and strengthening the institutional capacity of local organisations.
• Familiarity with Austrian Development Agency (ADA) rules, procedures, and reporting requirements is a distinct advantage.

Organisational and methodological competencies

• Strong programme planning, coordination, implementation, and results-based management skills.
• Excellent budgeting, financial oversight, resource allocation, and donor compliance capabilities.
• Ability to conduct governance, political economy, conflict, stakeholder, and organisational capacity analyses.
• Proven experience in risk identification, mitigation planning, adaptive management, and scenario-based decision-making.
• Strong monitoring, evaluation, learning, accountability, and reporting skills.
• Excellent facilitation, negotiation, representation, and partnership management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results under complex and rapidly changing conditions.
• Strong documentation, knowledge management, and evidence-based reporting skills.

Leadership competencies

• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic leadership for multi-regional and multi-stakeholder programmes.
• Proven experience leading and motivating multidisciplinary teams in complex operating environments.
• Strong people management skills, including coaching, mentoring, delegation, performance management, and staff development.
• Ability to influence and engage senior government officials, development partners, civil society leaders, and community stakeholders.
• Strong decision-making, problem-solving, and negotiation skills under pressure and uncertainty.
• Ability to foster teamwork, accountability, innovation, and a culture of continuous learning.
• Demonstrated commitment to localisation, partnership strengthening, and empowering local actors.

Social and personal competencies

• High level of integrity, accountability, professionalism, and adherence to safeguarding principles.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, diplomacy, and relationship-building skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion, participation, gender equality, and social justice.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse cultures, institutions, and stakeholder groups.
• Resilience and emotional maturity to work in high-pressure, insecure, and rapidly changing environments.
• Flexible, solution-oriented, and proactive with strong initiative.
• Ability to maintain neutrality, credibility, and trust in politically sensitive contexts.

Languages

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Fluency in Amharic is required.
• Knowledge of Sidaminya is desirable.
• Ability to prepare high-quality technical, donor, and management reports in English.
• Knowledge of other Ethiopian languages spoken in project areas is an advantage.

IT skills:

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams).
• Strong skills in budgeting, financial tracking, and data analysis using Excel or related tools.
• Experience using MEAL, project management, and digital collaboration platforms.
• Proficiency in virtual facilitation, online coordination, and remote team management tools.
• Familiarity with KoBo, Power BI, or other data collection and visualisation tools is an advantage.
• Experience using digital solutions to support governance, accountability, citizen engagement, and programme monitoring is desirable.