Software Engineer

ABOUT FIRST CONSULT 

First Consult is a leading economic development consulting firm implementing projects in Ethiopia. Founded in 2006, First Consult (FC) has grown to design and implement projects across the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors. Our multidisciplinary teams combine a capacity to execute with clarity of the local context. We have delivered at-scale real impact in terms of jobs & wealth creation, business formation & growth, and investment attraction & mobilization.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME 

First Consult (FC) is contracted to provide management and technical support services to the Mastercard Foundation under the Resilience programme to the COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Guarantee Facility, a partnership developed under the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Programme. Partnership in 2020 was a ground-breaking success that is ready for adaptation and scale-up.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Recovery and Resilience (MESMER) Facility will scale up the successes of the existing programme across the whole country. As the economy faces multiple shocks and challenges (COVID-recovery, conflicts, soaring inflation and other macroeconomic challenges), MSMEs need to withstand them and stay afloat while building assets for long-term resilience. The unbanked need to be banked using the full range of services at their disposal to manage finances in turbulent times. They specifically need collateral alternatives (guarantee and later credit history as well as increased assets) with technical support (BDS, life skills), while banks need to build the business & evidence base for sustainably financing MSMEs.

POSITION SUMMARY

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Software engineer with a strong understanding of AWS cloud services, full-stack development (both frontend and backend), user interface (UI) design, and the ability to analyze, define, and implement system requirements to meet business objectives. The ideal candidate will have at least two years of experience in software development and be comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

As a Software Developer, you will play a critical role in designing, building, and maintaining web applications that are scalable, secure, and optimized for performance. You will work closely with stakeholders to translate business needs into technical requirements, ensuring that the systems you build are well-architected and meet both functional and non-functional requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable frontend and backend systems.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and programme team to gather and analyze business requirements and translate them into technical specifications and system development/enhancement.
• Use AWS services to build and manage cloud-based applications and infrastructure, ensuring reliability and scalability.
• Implement user-friendly and visually appealing UIs, following best practices in design and user experience.
• Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code using modern frameworks and technologies.
• Conduct code reviews and collaborate with other developers to maintain high code quality and best practices.
• Troubleshoot, debug, and improve existing systems, ensuring they are robust and secure.
• Support data migration, review and handover of source codes and manage all systems developed under MESMER Programme.
• Ensure proper implementation of security and data protection mechanisms.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously improve the system architecture.
• Manage and regularly maintain MEMSER application portal and database
• Manage, maintain and provide user support and back-end management of MESMER’s digital platforms such as digital lending, Digital BDS and PSS,
• Oversee MESMER portal and enhance user experience and data encoding, storing and retrieving mechanisms to ensure accurate program reporting and results tracking,
• Collaborate with MERL team to ensure programme results and participant data are properly recorded, and retrieved for analysis and reporting
• Ensure all data related to all programme components is properly recorded and updated
• Enhance system output by regularly updating dashboards and reporting templates