About TechnoServe

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Founded in 1968, we are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, job and wealth for their families and communities. In East Africa, we operate in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Across the region, we implement a range of large-scale value chain interventions, agribusiness programs and entrepreneurship/economic empowerment projects. With more than five decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

About the Project

LIWAY is a five-year program implemented by a consortium of partners composed of SNV Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), Mercy Corps (MC), TechnoServe (TNS) and Save the Children International by the financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The overall objective of the program is to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and social stability in Addis Ababa. The specific objective is to improve the livelihoods of 200,000 poor people, of which at least 50% are women and 75% youth, by increasing their income and access to economic opportunities. The program is achieving this through activating, catalyzing and promoting market-based solutions to address systemic constraints that undermine the potential of selected sub-sectors in creating jobs and increasing income for the poor women and youth in Addis Ababa. Program implementation is based on the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach.

TechnoServe is leading LIWAY’s “Growth Sector” interventions. We have defined the Growth Sector as medium and large manufacturing industries (food and beverage, textile and garments, footwear, chemical industries, pharmaceutical…etc.) and grade 1-3 construction companies that employ significant number of LIWAY’s target beneficiaries: poor women and youth. In LIWAY, TechnoServe is addressing constraints impeding the growth of these Growth Sector Firms to support the creation of more and higher-paying jobs for poor women and youth. Our current portfolio of live interventions includes:

• Improving manufacturing efficiency and production management
• Strengthening the Performance Management Systems of Growth Sector firms
• Developing HR professionals for the Growth Sector
• Building an information platform to match input supply with demand in textile sector
• Strengthening sales and marketing practices within Growth Sector firms

The Program Manager is responsible for overall LIWAY program strategy, team management, quality and impact. In charge of ensuring that the program optimizes impact in line with donor priorities, the manager closely works with the LIWAY Chief of Party and the other LIWAY consortium partners and developing a positive working relationship with the overall LIWAY teams. An intellectually curious but practical analytical thinker with strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, s/he will lead TechnoServe’s research into prioritized market systems and also develop and maintain important day-to-day relationships with public and private sector counterparts engaging, supporting and employing women and youth in Addis Ababa. The Program Manager will cultivate strong communication, collaboration and lead the TechnoServe LIWAY team to do their best work to chive results. S/he will be the main representative of the program for stakeholder engaging with internal and external stakeholders. S/he will lead in ensuring that the program generates learning on how the MSD approach can most effectively transform growth sector in Ethiopia and generate more jobs and income for women and youth.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Program Management

• Overall high quality LIWAY- Growth Sector program management, managing the implementation, working within the program resources and mandate to meet the objectives of their sector.
• In coordination with the Chief of Party and MRM specialist, develop strategic vision and goal as well as annual work plans to deliver outputs and objectives against agreed targets, agreeing work plans and targets with individual team members
• Strategically selects areas of work, partnerships, and methodologies that most effectively contribute to growth of the growth sector portfolio in LIWAY
• Overall accountable for delivery of program outputs and objectives against targets.
• Proactively review, make recommendations and report on programmatic activities to deliver growth sector plan and as part of the broader LIWAY program.
• Hold regular coordination meetings with the team and consortium as needed.
• Identification of new opportunities within the scope of work of the LIWAY growth sector program.
• Ensure strict compliance with TNS’s objectives, strategies, policies and procedures.
• Identification of opportunities for synergy for other programs, within TechnoServe and beyond, to further the aims of the program.
• Ensures compliance with TechnoServe and SIDA regulations

Technical Leadership

• Lead the process of standard intervention designs for LIWAY Growth sector program
• Actively review and provide feedback to interventions designed by other consortium members
• Ensure onboarding of high quality clients/partners in line with the program result areas
• Ensure that high quality interventions, and forms of technical assistance of the program in a way those can help to realize the project result targets
• Ensure that LIWAY has strong knowledge base of the growth sector in Ethiopia
• Ensure timely completion of project interventions of the program
• Provide technical leadership for all the tasks of senior program officers and program coordinator
• Ensure documentation of program performance based on TechnoServe’s corporate program quality management standards and LIWAY specific documentation requirements

Budgeting & Financial Management

• Review program expenditure on a monthly basis to identify and explain any budget variances.
• Assist the Finance and Budget Analyst in timely tracking of country expenditures, budget management and forecasting.
• Ensure that the country team is complying with financial procedures, including timely reporting on expenses and use of correct task codes.

Stakeholder Management and Representation

• Build and maintain strong relation with growth sector firms, industry associations and other stakeholders that are relevant to the program working areas
• Ensure that communications are intact with all project partners, and challenges (if any) are timely addressed  
• In close collaboration with DCD, manage relationship with key stakeholders in country, including SNV, relevant government ministries and industry bodies.
• In consultation with the Deputy Country Director, represent LIWAY/TechnoServe at relevant country level fora and coordination meetings, ensuring a high level of awareness of the program and its achievements.
• Participation in regular calls/meetings with consortium to ensure mutual understanding and alignment.
• Regular meetings with the Deputy Country Director to inform her/him of program progress, align with country objectives, administrative and compliance requirements and to receive support and assistance from the local office as required
• Coordination in-country with Finance, HR and Purchasing functions as required to ensure smooth implementation of the program.
• Ensures clear and effective communication of the program to all relevant parties
• Builds reputation of the program through sharing of evidence-based impact and participation in key stakeholder events

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Ensure preparation and timely submission of high quality monthly program report for sharing with the Chief of Party
• Ensure preparation of good quality quarterly Program Status Report (PSR) and participation in calls to discuss.
• Ensure timely submission of good quality semi-annual and annual reports to SNV and thus to SIDA
• Ensure timely collection, analyses and reporting of MRM data in coordination with the MRM specialist based on LIWAY broader M&E requirements.
• Ensure smooth regular coordination between TechnoServe MRM specialist and LIWAY M&E Manager as well as TechnoServe M&E Manager 

Staff Management

• Direct line and performance management of the Senior program officers and program coordinator in the LIWAY team
• Team leadership and motivation, ensuring a cohesive and harmonious team.
• Manage and motivate team: including administrative time reporting/vacation scheduling/approval; and performance: help each team member to establish annual goals, support goal review/tracking and evaluate performance on an annual basis 
• Working together with team members, develop and update quarterly TNS LIWAY team work plan
• Promote a “learning mindset”, professional growth and culture of collaboration
• Support recruitment and selection of additional team members as required and working with the Deputy Country Director
• Ensure TNS LIWAY team is well integrated into both the broader LIWAY team and TechnoServe’s team

Gender Equality

• Ensure that program implementation adhere to TechnoServe’s global and Country specific Gender policies
• Ensure that at least 40% of the program clients and participants are women and/or women led enterprises
• Ensure all interventions are maximizing impact for LIWAY’s target group: poor women and youth living in Addis Ababa; in particular; advance gender equality within team and with partners
• Build knowledge of how women and men can distinctly benefit from the program and seek for continuous improvement of methods to ensure that women and women in the food processing sector can better benefit from the program.

Success Factors:

Strategic and Innovative Thinker

• Identifies opportunities and builds strategic relationships with other organizations to help achieve business goals.
• Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn and actively applies new knowledge and skill.
• Analyses both successes and failures for clues to improvement.
• Innovative to try new ideas to find solutions
• Analytical, able to diagnose problems, identify the key issues, and think strategically to evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical, and acceptable solution. Works persistently to overcome obstacles
• Asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources, learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.

Leadership

• Able to take ownership of decisions but show sound judgment in escalating issues where necessary.
• Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team to achieve a common goal. Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.
• Effectively plans, schedules, and prioritizes activities; effectively manages resources to accomplish plans.
• Provides leadership and mentorship to the staff and clients to build their leadership and management capacities.

Effective Communicator

• Listens openly and effectively and ensures accurate understanding; able to adjust communication to the needs of the audience and work at multiple levels; facilitates the open exchange of ideas and information in individual and group situations.
• Transparent in dealings with others, admits mistakes, and is trusted. Inspires confidence in the team of honest intentions and fairness.
• Report writing; monitoring and data management

Program Management

• Understands and manages human, financial, and operational resource issues to improve overall organizational performance. Compliance with organizational policies.
• Able to analyze and express themselves clearly in business writing.
• Sound understanding of market systems and inclusive business models, including a strong client focus. Able to understand the client's concerns and priorities to provide appropriate business advisory solutions.
• Strong ability and commitment to team working and collaboration;

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• It is envisaged that this position will be managing at least two staff and consultants Strategically selects areas of work, partnerships, and methodologies that most effectively contribute to growth of the TechnoServe LIWAY team.

Job Requirements

 Required Qualifications and Capabilities

• Bachelor’s degree in business, economics or other relevance discipline with 7-10 years of work experience
• At least 5 years of professional team management experience – ideally a blend of private sector and development
• A passion for and commitment to economic empowerment of women and youth as well as a deep belief in the power of private enterprise to transform lives
• Ability to be a team player while leading their team
• Innovative mindset; creative thinker
• Experience working in Addis Ababa/Ethiopia and knowledge of the city/country
• Knowledge of and familiarity with private sector companies, entrepreneurship, labor market
• Experience analyzing sectors, in terms of economic opportunities and constraints and leading teams in this process; familiarity with a business plan
• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills; a self-starter
• Strong emotional intelligence, interpersonal/people management and organizational skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills a must, including report writing and presentations
• Ability to deliver highly polished, well-structured professional reports and presentations
• Strong skills in business software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Amharic

Preferred Qualifications and Capabilities

• A Master’s Degree in Business, Economics or other relevant discipline with 5-7 years’ work experience
• Knowledge of Human Centered Design
• Knowledge of and experience working with Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector
• Experience working with women and youth employment and entrepreneurship
• Experience with Human Resources planning and management
• Experience working closely with partner organization, especially in an international development program context
• Knowledge of market systems facilitation or Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) methodology
• Experience in system transformation initiatives and/or systemic approaches to market development

How to Apply

Qualified and interested applicants should follow the link and submit a cover letter resume as a single document (either Word or PDF) by April 24, 2021.

Note: Applications will be reviewed and considered as received/on a rolling basis. Only applicants meeting minimum qualifications will be contacted. Please note that we are not accepting CVs that are not sent through the indicated link.

The position initially has a duration until December 2024 with the possibility of an extension 

TechnoServe encourages diversity in all levels and across all facts of our organization with this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability and all other protected classes 

TechnoServe has the right to cancel this advertisement. Women are highly

encouraged to apply.