Position: Senior Project Officer I – Crop Value
Term of Employment: One year with possible extension
Duty Station(s): SNNP/ Hawassa
Required Number: One
Application Deadline: March 5, 2023
Job Description
BACKGROUND:
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) is a strategy and delivery-oriented government Institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of the country’s agriculture sector. The ATI envisions to be the leading center of innovative solutions for the transformation of Ethiopian Agriculture by 2030.
The Institute focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), its affiliate institutions, and other partners to identify and address systemic bottlenecks within an Agricultural Transformation Agenda. Second, we support Regional Governments to accelerate the development of high-priority commodity value chains in clearly defined geographic clusters, through the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) Initiative.
Our major activities include conducting strategic and analytical studies, providing technical implementation support, coordinating platforms to better integrate partners and projects, and designing and directly leading a number of implementation projects. Our headquarters are in Addis Ababa, and we have regional offices in Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, Sidama, South-West, and Tigray regional offices, allowing us to work closely with a wide range of public, private and development sector partners across the country.
Our Culture
We have an exceptional team of highly competent employees with a proven track record of success in managing complex activities and achieving transformational results. Our culture is one where talented, dedicated and adaptable individuals are committed to doing their best and exhibit great teamwork to achieve excellent results.
POSITION SUMMARY:
ATI in collaboration with its partners will do in depth analysis to define the critical bottlenecks in Irrigation and Drainage sector including and come up with implementable recommendations. Some of the interventions identified in Transformational Agenda deliverables could be managed by ATI as a project when these interventions have no natural host institutions, require engagement of different stakeholders, and these interventions are new. One of these projects in ATI is Integrated Shallow Groundwater Irrigation Development (ISGWID) Project under Irrigation and Drainage program. Integrated Shallow Groundwater Irrigation Development Project SPO I is responsible to the effort in the identification of critical bottlenecks, designing of different components of ISGWID project, and defining implementable recommendations in ISGWID project. This SPO will review policies and regulations pertinent to irrigation and drainage existing in the country and also review other countries experience in the sector. The SPO manages the execution of the work plan with the support of a high performance team of coordinators and contact persons from external implementing institutions, mainly the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, and Regional Bureaus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Oromia Irrigation Development Authority, Regional Bureaus of Water and other stakeholders through Regional ATi’s.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
The Senior Project Officer of ISGWID Project will be responsible for
- Problem Solving: Support the effort in the identification of critical bottlenecks, designing of different components of ISGWID project ,and defining implementable recommendations in ISGWID project
- Work plan execution: Manage the execution of the work plan of ISGWID project with the support of a high performance team of coordinators and contact persons from external implementing institutions, mainly the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, and Regional Bureaus of Agriculture, Regional Bureaus of Water and other stakeholders
- Coordination: ensure alignment and complementary primarily with other implementation areas of the irrigation and drainage program, and secondarily, with other program areas that have direct linkages with irrigation and drainage program with ISGWID project,
- Implementation support: Identify areas where there is a need to support partners and design an implementation support strategy to enable partners execute their deliverables with the required quality and timely manner
- Capacity building: ensure sharing of competencies for building the capacity of implementing institutions
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: support design and execution of MEL strategy/plan for each deliverables/activity in Irrigation and Drainage sector in accordance with ATA’s overall MEL
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- MSc degree in Agronomy, Crop Science, Crop Protection, Plant Breeding and related fields.
- At least 6 years for Master’s in a senior program management role in government, non-government, or private sector.
- Practical experience on linking farmers’ groups with potential markets.
- Additional experience in market intelligence is a plus.
- Deep understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural system, with a broad perspective on how the entire system operates and how public, private and informal actors operate within the system
- Strong team player with good people management skills.
- Ability to work and perform under pressure and changing environment.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills including thorough knowledge and understanding of various regional level and federal level institutions; extensive experience in facilitating dialogue with relevant stakeholders. Passion and skill in networking, partnership, collaboration and alliance building.
- Strong operational, organizational and managerial skills.
- Practical experience in implementing solutions at the local level and the zeal to work with rural communities to change their situations.
- Experience in prioritizing and sequencing both programmatic and operational activities
- Demonstrable track record in program and systems design and implementation.
- Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty and desire to be of service.
- Fluency in English and Amharic.
- Excellent technical/computer skills.
HOW TO APPLY
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
- We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter and (ii) a CV (maximum 5 pages) to https://apply.ata.gov.et
- It is mandatory to mention the position title under the subject line of your cover letter.
- Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.
- Women are highly encouraged to apply.
- NB. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.