Job Description

Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position:              Delivery Manager, Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)

Term of Employment:  Full Time

Duty Station(s):             Addis Ababa 

Required Number:        One

Salary & Benefits:          Competitive

Application Deadline:   March 11, 2021

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:

The Delivery Manager works in the Minister’s office and provides high level technical and coordination support for the implementation of the Ministry’s strategic plan. The Delivery Manager will work directly with state ministers, and directors working on policy and systemic interventions within the MoA to ensure meaningful planning and implementation; continuous monitoring and tracking performance; timely and accurate reporting, and rigorous and practical problem solving and capacity building. In addition, the Delivery Manager will lead provision of analytical support to senior leadership on high priority requests, including trend analysis, strategic planning and/or policy analysis.

The Delivery Manager will serve as strategic thought partner helping MoA’s leadership to focus, solve-problems and succeed in priority areas. He/she works with closely with the Minister, State Ministers, and others to coordinate and derive deliveries. The Manager reports to the Minister’s Office.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Lead and coordinate strategic priorities of the ministry based on its approved strategic plan and evaluate progress and report periodically.
• Engage and coordinate with internal and external key stakeholders assess opportunities, evaluate, and propose if they fit with the sector’s priorities.
• Manage relationships with both internal and external stakeholders. 
• Develop and introduce performance monitoring metrices after aligning with senior leadership, implementers, initiative owners and relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage the design and roll out of enhanced planning, project management and reporting tools, processes and systems to track and report on progress of priority activities.
• Strengthen execution and day-to-day project and activity management capacity of MoA leadership to ensure effective delivery ofplans.
• Proactively identify and prioritize key issues and bottlenecks of implementation, through discussions with implementers. 
• Lead problem solving and solution development with the senior leadership for high priority requests from MoA senior officials.
• Coordinate studies on strategic issues for the delivery of systemic policy interventions in collaboration with the senior Leadership of the ministry and concerned departments in the Ministry.
• Manages and provide strategic capacity building support to key internal implementers of interventions,
• Manages the production of value-added reports for decision-making through analysis and synthesis of data, and provision of recommendations to asks/challenges: strengthen preparation, quality control and close follow up of activity reporting by MoA departments. 
• Support and serve as thought partner to the Minister, Delivery Unit Head, State Ministers, and other senior stake holders at the MoA and its affiliated institutions. 
• May manage additional experts that may be assigned to support in the execution of her/his responsibilities. 

Job Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of BA degree, preferably MBA, MA, MPA, or relevant master’s degree is required, preferably in management, leadership, business administration, project management, economics, development studies, public administration, and other relevant field of study
• At least 6 years of experience with a master’s degree, or 8 years with a bachelor’s degree, working in project management, strategy, business development, management consulting, project design or other relevant field, in the public, private and NGO sectors.
• Experience in both design/strategy and implementation/operations required.
• Excellent coordination, critical thinking and analytical skills, with experience applying these for both strategy and implementation/operations.
• Strong team player with excellent relationship management, sense of delivery, capacity building, facilitation, training and presentation skills, and a passion for change and delivery
• Experience navigating complex organizations with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Passion and commitment for improving the lives of smallholder farmers and pastoralists.
• Self-starter with strong motivation, ownership and commitment to drive change and transformation.
• Can act as a champion for change and can effectively support change management efforts.
• Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty, and desire to be of service.
• Very strong skills with Microsoft Office (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access)
• Fluency in English required, with Amharic a plus. 

How to Apply

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to send (i) a cover letter and (ii) CV (maximum 3 pages), at recruitment @ata.gov.et by mentioning the position tittle on the subject line.

Also, please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application form.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

NB. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.