Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position:                          Investment Expert (Re-advert)

Term of Employment:   One year with possibility of extension

Duty Station(s):              Office of the President of Oromia Regional State, Finfinnee

Required Number:         One

Salary & Benefits:           Competitive

Application Deadline:    June 08, 2020

BACKGROUND:

The Ethiopian 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. 

The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) is an autonomous federal government institution established under Proclamation No.769/2012 cum Council of Ministers Regulation No.313/2014 to carry out an efficient investment administration system and to encourage foreign and domestic investments in Ethiopia through promotional, support and aftercare schemes. Functionally, the EIC operates under the direct supervision of the Ethiopian Investment Board (EIB), chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of various government stakeholders including the Ministry of Trade and the National Bank of Ethiopia.

In recognition to the Investment and Job Opportunity challenges that Oromia Regional State is facing, the Office of the President of the Oromia Regional State dedicated to establish an Investment Advisory team that will support the Office with evidence-based policy inputs and interventions. The Investment Advisory Team is mandated with the responsibility of generating policy inputs that will help the government push the social and economic structural transformation agenda forward.

Though the national economy has been one of the fastest growing economies for the last 10-15 years, it did not show any sign of structural transformation. On the other hand, demographic transition that could have helped the nation benefit from demographic dividend has been very slow. As a result of lack of economic structural transformation and slow demographic transition, the number of jobs created every year has not been catching up with the new entrants into the labor force. Moreover, jobs created were not “quality jobs”. This led to large and increasing youth unemployment that is posing a lethal threat to the economic, social, and political stability of the nation and beyond. Though youth unemployment is currently one of the global challenges, the magnitude in countries such as Ethiopia is unprecedented in history. The challenge has been compounded by the weakening of the economy with both export earnings and foreign direct investment decreasing.

In recognition of the challenges, the federal government has embarked on various reform initiatives that might serve as a shock-therapy to the economy. Since Oromia is the pillar of the national economy, the success or failure of any reform initiatives at macro level heavily depends on what happens to the economic performance of this region. On the other hand, this economic importance of the regional state makes it destination of internal migrants for economic opportunities from all corners of the nation. This further exacerbates the employment problems of the region relative to other regional states. The government of the Oromia regional state, therefore, bears huge pressure to introduce interventions that are commensurate to the challenges. Furthermore, as the country has federal form of government, creation of enabling policy environment and enhanced implementation capacity of regional states are crucial for the success of the policy reforms of the federal government. It is within this context that the establishment of the Investment Advisory Team at the Office of the President of Oromia regional state is envisaged.

The team is expected to provide knowledge and evidence-based Investment Policy inputs that help achieving the goal of making Oromia center of highly productive and innovative economic units in Ethiopia and in the Horn of Africa in the short to medium run and notable social and economic entity in Africa in long-run.

Culture

The ATA has an exceptional team of employees with a proven track record of success in managing complex activities and achieving transformational results.  Its culture is one where talented individual are committed to doing their best and work together to achieve excellent results. 

The EIC has an exceptional team of employees and management team that recognizes individual talent and promotes a deeper sense of public service that delivers results, with a proven track record of success in managing complex investments and achieving transformational results.  The EIC strives to provide a rewarding work environment in a young, fast-paced organization and is committed to extend employees the opportunities and tools required to achieve individual career objectives.  

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position is a Secondment position to the Office of the President of the Oromia Regional State.

The Expert will be responsible for conducting impact analysis of investment policies and programs implemented by the regional government. In consultation with the administration, the expert will support efforts for a comprehensive, and thorough analysis of current economic challenges sector by sector and inform policy prescriptions.

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Carry out impact analysis of investment policies and programs implemented by the regional government to scale up what works well and rollout what does not work in time;

• In addition to the priority areas, the expert studies, surveys, investigates, and reports on selected economic issues of consequence on its own initiative in consultation of the Office of the President;
• Identify potential local and international institutions that might be interested in collaborating with the Office within the rules, regulations, and protocol of the Office; and
• Make assessment of possible implications of any federal government initiatives on the Oromia regional state and produce policy analysis to inform the President.
• Closely work with stakeholders and harmonies relationships including with investment commission, regional investment office, High Value Investors, Academics and others;
• Support the harmonization and swift communication channels between the Ethiopian Investment Commission, the Oromia Investment Office and other relevant stakeholders;
• Prepare Oromia Investment Map, Brochures and help the preparation / redesigning of a dedicated website or weblink;
• Help the preparation of Investors tick box list of actions with detailed contacts and responsible personalities;
• Engage the relevant Country sustainability and Credit rating agencies in a bid to address the information gap and providing expert feedback on scores and reports;
• Assist the Economic and legal structural reform impacting the Investment climate and help to scale up the Ethiopian Investment outlook;
• Support and work with ‘Ease of Doing Business’ team and scale up the PMO’s ambition of transforming Ethiopia as an attractive investment destination;
• Work on developing agendas as directed by the political leadership;
• The Expert will directly report to the Coordinator of Policy Advisory Team of Oromia President Office.   

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A minimum of bachelor’s degree in Development studies, Economics, Business Administration, Law, or other relevant disciplines.

• At least 8 years of combined professional work experience in either one or more of the following:

• Providing policy advice on economic development, industrial policy and/or investment related subjects in different developmental contexts.

• Teaching, academia.

• Team leadership, program/project coordination/support type roles,

• Investment promotion and facilitation,

• Institutional capacity building roles business and/or public administration roles

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong analytical skills in economic and social dimensions of development and investment;

• Basic understanding of Ethiopia’s economic policies and investment system, with broad perspective on how the entire system operates and how public, private and informal actors operate within the system;

• Experience in prioritizing and sequencing programmatic and operational activities;

• Experience in creating partnerships at the national level and (preferably) at international level;

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

• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, start-up environment, with an emphasis on high-performance, teamwork, accountability and results;

• Highly facilitative and collaborative leadership style;

• Excellent computer (ICT) skills, analytical and data gathering skills;

• Excellent oral and written communication skills;

• Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty and desire to be of service;

• Fluency in English, Amharic and Afaan Oromo is essential.