Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position:                          Advisor to the Commissioner

Term of Employment:  One year with possibility of extension

Duty Station(s):             Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), Addis Ababa

Required Number:        One

Salary & Benefits:          Competitive

Application Deadline:   November 13, 2020

BACKGROUND:

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) is a strategy and delivery-oriented government agency created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of the country’s agriculture sector. The ATA envisions that, by 2025, smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, contributing to Ethiopia’s achievement of middle-income country status.

The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources (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 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, 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 team work to achieve excellent results. 

At ATA, we provide an exceptional platform for people who want to achieve their highest potential and make a meaningful 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: 

This position is a secondment position to the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC).

Over the years, the EIC has pursued a series of policy, legal and institutional measures with the goal of effectively realizing national investment plans and targets proposed under Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plans. Clearer strategies have been put in place and a fairly enabling environment has been instituted, positioning the country to strengthen the competitive edge of its private sector, to attract foreign direct investment and to develop labor intensive industries and an export–oriented manufacturing sector. Yet, the transformation of the national economy continues to be hampered by organizational and operational limitations availed within the EIC; particular problems include an overstretched capacity of senior personnel, the non-existence of active outreach system targeting potential investors, lack of relevant and pre-packaged information needed to attract quality investments, a nascent One-Stop-Shop service and the absence of an adequate number of qualified and purpose–driven human resources pool. To address these limitations, the EIC, together with the ATA, has developed the ‘Strengthening Investor Engagement, Advisory Roles and Regulatory Powers of the Ethiopian Investment Commission’ Program. The main objectives of the Program during the GTP II are to carry out strategic development of EIC’s institutional infrastructure and human resources portfolio and thereby augment its capacity to attract quality investment, to better support private sector stakeholders and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services rendered to investors.

Currently the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) has the duty and responsibility of promoting investment across the nation, creating conditions conducive to the acceleration of industrial development; provision of support to industries considered of strategic importance; creation of an enabling environment for domestic and foreign investment. On day to day bases, the commission serves different clients mostly in industry, service and agriculture, development partners, associations, researchers, etc. Besides, it also entertains lots of correspondences requesting for facilitation and information in investment and related matters. Its staffs are required to provide quality services, and evaluate changes and impacts, greatly improve its efficiency and cost-effectiveness of export and investment facilitation services by facilitating, automating, and streamlining interactions among citizens, government employees, service providers, and other stakeholders. Besides, it targets on improving the daily tasks and interaction of its staffs inside the commission. It is, therefore, professional, and competent advisor in investment and aligned sector is imperative.

The assignment would require the advisor with a minimum profound experience in advancement of similar programs, in investment, business development and advisory services/ entrepreneurship development, investment, planning and development, business management incubation services and business development services management will be considered an advantage.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Advise in a way that the leadership possesses keen and exceptional abilities to synthesize complexity, make informed decisions in ambiguous and uncertain situations, develop strategic alternatives and actions.
• Recommend and bring options in a way that EIC leadership aligning the National- Regional vision & Development goals to be competitive in attraction of FDI.
• Propose and Keep that the EIC investment promotion and facilitation strategy are flexible enough to rapidly adapt to changing conditions and environmental dynamics,
• Suggest in a way that there are a better and alternative approaches to establish strong institutional partnerships (Collaboration) with stakeholders in marketing the country in Investors attraction.
• Establish common values in investment attraction, facilitation and beliefs exists and is widely shared within the Commission and stakeholders to achieve its mission.
• Develop corporate organizational culture, the extent of developing new ideas and commitment towards collective objectives.
• Create and enabling institutional framework that encourages domestic and foreign direct investment.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of master’s degree with profound experience in investment, business development, organizational planning, development, monitoring and evaluation and research skills. 
• More than 10 years of practical experience in planning and management
• Experience of industrial park project studies, monitoring and evaluation abilities.
• Confident and dynamic personality with strong creative outlook.
• Knowledge of stages of business growth processes for investment and ability to analyze and advise on complex business growth challenges on investment.
• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Profound experience, knowledge, and Supervisory skills and capacity to be a member of a multidisciplinary team.
• Adherence to integrity and confidentiality.
• Experience and sound understanding of Ethiopian political economy and investment policies.
• Practical knowledge of best practices and experiences of client management system development in the country and other countries.
• Ability to produce brief to-the-point analysis reports with accurate data and figures
• Willingness to go beyond the assignment given and inclusion of some additional tasks into the assignment.

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 emphasis on 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 and Amharic is essential.

How to Apply

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter and (ii) CV (maximum 3 pages) to https://apply.ata.gov.et

It is mandatory to mention the position title in the subject line of your application email.

Please DO NOT submit scans of educational and experience certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.