Ethiopia: Senior Director, Production and Productivity Projects

Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position: Senior Director, Production and Productivity Projects

Term of Employment: Fixed

Duty Station: Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, Addis Abeba

Required Number: One

BACKGROUND:

The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) has been established by the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) to identify and address systemic bottlenecks to Ethiopia’s agricultural development. The Agency does this through problem-solving, implementation support, and capacity building of stakeholders involved in implementation of interventions that address the systemic bottlenecks. The Agency reports to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources, and is Secretary to the Agricultural Transformation Council.

Theprogrammaticfocus of the Agency responds to a core set of needs identified by theMinistry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources *and the Transformation Council. Within the Agency, issues are divided into three different pillars: Production and Productivity Projects which includes projects related to Agricultural Inputs, Irrigation and drainage, Livestock, Soil, Extension, and mechanization; Agribusiness and Markets Projects which includes ICT for Agriculture, Markets Development, Private Sector in Agriculture and Rural Financial Services; Implementation Support which includes program and project management, Evaluation and Learning, Analytics, and Cross cutting initiatives. In addition, the Agricultural Commercialization ClustersInitiative is another critical focus area for the Agency. Across the verticals, the ATA engages public, private and non-governmental stakeholders to support strategic planning, manage and strengthen implementation capacity and test innovative models.*

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 team work to achieve excellent results.

At ATA, we provide an exceptional platform for people who want to achieve their highest potential and make ameaningfulcontribution in changing the country’s agricultural sector. We offer rewarding work in a young, fast-paced growing organization with passionate, committed, motivated colleagues and excellent career development and training. We recognize our most valuable assets are our staff and are committed to providing our employees with the tools, training and mentorships necessary to achieve their career goals.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The Senior Director of Production and Productivity Projects is a senior executive level management position within the ATA administration with the Senior Director serving on the senior management team of the Agency. His/her role will primarily involve managing and supporting Directors of Inputs, Irrigation & Drainage, and livestock Programs each of which has different projects. The senior director will also manage and support leads of specific projects that are related to Soil, Extension, and Mechanization.

The Senior Director will work closely with other senior directorial staff within the ATA, in order to leverage and maximize on synergies across different program types. To this effect, he/she must possess and be able to demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills and relationship building abilities.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLITIES

• Supervise and performance manage the Directors of the various Production and Productivity projects within the ATA that are organized along key focus areas – Inputs, Irrigation & Drainage and Livestock, as well as the leads of projects focusing on Extension, soils, and mechanization.
• Provide direction, guidance and support to the Directors and project leads under the vertical in order to ensure that high quality deliverables and outputs are created within each project, in line with the ATA’s overall goals
• Support, enable and facilitate close and collaborative relationships between Directors and project leads and key stakeholders/partners in the course of implementation of projects
• Critically assess capacity gaps that may hinder effective implementation of activities and develop solutions as required.
• Coordinate and harmonize the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of projects within the ATA’s Production and productivity vertical
• Support the organization in other operations or roles as required by the CEO

Key functions

• Member of the Senior Management Team, which is responsible for organizational strategy within the ATA.
• Direct supervisor of Directors and project leads under ATA’s Production and Productivity vertical, spearheading solution development, reporting and documentation of projects.
• Facilitator of the required financial, human and organizational resources for the successful implementation of projects.
• Supporter to the CEO in the creation and delivery of strategies to enhance the ATA, and where appropriate obtain external expertise and counsel
• Provide guidance to and manage output of the staff within the Production and Productivity vertical and contribute to performance reviews and planning for their continued professional development

Required qualifications, competencies, skills, trainings and experience:

• 12 years in a senior leadership role within government, an international agency or the private sector

• Experience in a management or strategy consulting/fast-paced corporate environment

• Deep understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural system, with a good perspective on how the system operates and how public, private and informal actors interact within the system

• Practical experience in implementing solutions at a local level

• Experience in developing and building relationships between the public and private sector

• Demonstrable track record of success with program design, performance management, learning systems and monitoring & evaluation

• Strong team player with outstanding management skills

• Excellent communication skills

• Ability to work under pressure and in a constantly evolving and challenging environment

• Self-starter and self-motivated person

• At least an MSc degree in Agriculture, Rural Development, Development or other relevant subject. Fluency in Amharic and English is essential. Fluency in at least one additional Ethiopian language is a plus

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter, (ii) CV (maximum 5 pages), and (iii) a completed ATA Application Form athttp://apply.ata.gov.et.

Please note that CVs, cover letter and other application materials WILL NOT be considered unless accompanied by a fully completed ATA Application Form. Also, please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application form.

Womenare highly encouraged to apply.

NB. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.