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Project Manager – Ethiopian Agribusiness A. Project

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ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY
Position: Project Manager – Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Project
Term of Employment: Project – initially one year with possibility of extension
Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa
Required Number: One
Salary & Benefits: Competitive
Application Deadline: January 31, 2017
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 Natural Resources Development and is Secretary to the Transformation Council chaired by the Prime Minister.
Theprogrammaticfocus of the Agency responds to a core set of needs identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Development and the Transformation Council. Within the Agency, issues are divided into four different pillars: Production and Productivitywhich includes Inputs and Crop Protection, Livestock, ResearchandExtension, MechanizationandRural Finance; Environmentally SustainableandInclusive Agricultural Growthincluding Sustainable Irrigation and Watershed Management, Sustainable Land Management, Gender and Nutrition, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Targeted Livelihood Support, Biodiversity and (temporarily) Planning and MLE; AgribusinessandMarkets including Market Support Services, Commercial Farming, Agro-processing & Market Development, and Cooperatives Development; andEnhanced Implementation Capacity which includes ICT, Private Sector, and Organizational and Human Capacity. *In addition, the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters Initiative is another critical focus area for the Agency. Across the programs, 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 ameaningful contribution 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.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Government of Ethiopia (GoE) has made the transformation and commercialization of the agriculture sector a key tenet of its second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). At the very core of the strategy to achieve this transformation is the transition of smallholder farmers from subsistence orientation to market focused production systems and activities that better integrate them into domestic and global supply chains. The full development and competitiveness of the entire agricultural value chain is thus critical to ensure that smallholder farmers can make the necessary market linkages that allow such supply chain integrations to happen.
Agriculture oriented enterprises that are so essential to make value chains competitive are however largely missing, in particular across the downstream end of the value chain. A number of challenges have contributed to the absence of sufficient number of agriculture enterprises in Ethiopia, chief among them an under-developed business ecosystem “building blocks” such as access to appropriate and timely financial products and services, talent, support businesses, and under-developed downstream processing/manufacturing capabilities. There is thus a need for targeted support to spur the growth of agriculture oriented enterprises that can address this gap.
In many other countries, well-designed and well-financed Agribusiness Accelerators have shown the ability to fill such gaps through comprehensive business development services and funding for start-ups and growth agro-enterprises. The Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Project (the “Project”) will test and validate the accelerator concept for Ethiopia. The Agribusiness Accelerator will be very targeted in its initial years in terms of both value chain focus as well as product and service offerings to demonstrate its impact. It will anchor its activities around identification and operational capacity building of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for investment readiness and scale up, and provision of matching seed grants to the most promising SMEs. The value chain focus for testing the accelerator model will be on Honey given agro-ecological strengths, strong existing demand sinks, high degree of investment attractiveness, strong government support, and other parallel investments that create opportunities for significant leverage.
The Agribusiness Accelerator Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the Project and effective day-to-day management of team members, providing best practice project management, analytical, technical, operational and problem solving support on a range of areas that include, but not limited to: development of detailed implementation plans, value chain analysis, market and investment research, training module development, business opportunity identification, and operational capacity building.
The Agribusiness Accelerator Project Manager will work closely with Program Teams within ATA’s Agribusiness & Markets and Enhanced Implementation Capacity Verticals as well as across other ATA Program Teams, and with external stakeholders such as the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Federal and Regional level government bodies, relevant associations, and other private sector market actors to further develop the Honey value chain and expand the domestic and internation market positon of Ethiopian Honey.
This position will officially report to the Senior Director of the Agribusiness & Markets and Enhanced Implementation Capacity Verticals.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
  • Along with the Project Lead, assume overall responsibility for the implementation of the Project, working with multiple partners
  • Plan, organize, and guide Agribusiness Accelerator activities of all partners to ensure on-time completion of tasks and accomplishment of the Accelerator’s strategic vision
  • Mobilize needed financial, human or organizational resources for the Project execution
  • Manage the performance of the Project, developing detailed implementation plans, setting key performance indicators, milestones and targets; engage all relevant stakeholders to creatively solve problems and overcome obstacles to achieve desired results
  • Mainstream use of best practice program management approaches in implementing the Project in areas like team capacity development, stakeholder coordination, planning, reporting, problem solving and implementation support
  • Actively manage Agribusiness Accelerator participants search, engagement, and entry to the Accelerator platform
  • Steer the Project to establish a foothold in the growing domestic and international Honey market and widely promote an “Ethiopian Honey” brand in the international market
  • Engage a wide range of stakeholders across the Agricultural system (federal and regional governments, smallholder farmers, technical experts, traders, businesses, investors, cooperatives, etc.) to foster effective linkages and promote local value addition for Honey before export
  • Align the Project with other national and regional policies, strategies and programs focused on the Honey value chain
  • Integrate the Agribusiness Accelerator Project with other ATA programs and projects to achieve synergies and outcomes that impact the broader agricultural system
  • Draw and document lessons and experiences from the Project and contribute to the development of an institutionalized knowledge base for the ATA
  • Regularly report to the Senior Director of Agribusiness & Markets and Enhanced Implementation Capacity Verticals on progress, challenges and constraints of the work
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Bachelors and/or Masters degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Development, Agribusiness, Finance, Commerce, Management, Marketing or other relevant field
  • At least 8 years (Bachelor’s) or 6 years (Master’s) experience in either one or more of the following: business development/management/administration, program/project coordination, investment facilitation, agribusiness, corporate finance, stakeholder management
  • Fluency in English and Amharic, written and spoken, is essential; knowledge of other local and/or foreign languages a plus
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Proven experience in directly managing large number of staff with different roles and responsibilities, including in management roles
  • Demonstrated track record of success with program design, performance management, learning systems, and monitoring and evaluation
  • Outstanding track record in a leadership and management capacity on a range of client and/or senior management engagements
  • Practical experiences in piloting, implementing, scaling up ideas/solutions
  • Strong capabilities in problem solving, project and stakeholder management
  • Strong experience of managing work programs, teams and their individuals, as well as liaising with senior decision-makers
  • Experience in creating partnerships at the national and international levels with public and private sector partners
  • Exceptional ability to communicate consistently, clearly and effectively with a range of stakeholders in a cross-cultural environment
  • A proven ability to lead, inspire, coach and develop others, including people from different backgrounds and culture
  • Familiarity with 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 a plus
  • Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty and desire to be of service
  • Excellent proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint tools

HOW TO APPLY:
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to send (i) a cover letter, (ii) CV (maximum 5 pages), and (iii) a completed ATA Application Form, which can be downloaded athttp://www.ata.gov.et/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Application-Form2.pdf
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.**
Please email (i) cover letter, (ii) CV (maximum 5 pages) and (iii) the completed application form toRecruitment@ata.gov.et and include “Application for Project Manager, Agribusiness Accelerator” in the subject line.
Women are highly encouraged to apply.
NB. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.
Application Deadline: January 31, 2017

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