Position: Senior Director, ACC

Term of Employment:  Full Time

Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa

Required Number: One

Salary & Benefits: Competitive

Application Deadline: May 20, 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 smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, contributing to a transformed agriculture by 2030.

The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and its federal and regional affiliate institutions, and other partners to identify and address systemic bottlenecks within sector’s development plan. 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) Program.

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, with regional office representations 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 ACC Senior Director is a Senior Executive at the ATA, serving on the Senior Management Team of the Agency. ACC is a market-driven value chain (VC) development approach to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers through an inclusive and environmentally sustainable approach. His/her role primarily involves leading the ACC Program vertical which includes crops (cereals, oilseeds and horticultural commodities including rotational crops) and livestock related projects, managing and supporting teams and projects on Production, Inputs, Agribusiness and Markets, Power Access, Project Management Office, and overseeing the overall direction and impact of the ACC program.

The Senior Director guides and refines ACC strategies, aligns and integrates ACC strategies with national priorities (Agro-industrial parks, Ag reforms, AGP and others), represents the ACC in strategic platforms (inter-ministerial, parliament, development partners meetings, command post, etc.), engages with development partners at high-level, identifies risks and mitigation strategies to implementation and impact, and ensures that the ACC program is planned and implemented as per the concept of clustering approach and it is in the right track to achieve its strategic goals so as to contribute to the transformation of the agricultural sector. 

He/she will also work closely with other Senior Directors at the ATA in order to leverage and maximize synergies across different programs. To this end he/she will support and guide implementation plans and strategies along priority program areas in his/her oversight He/she must possess and be able to demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills and relationship building abilities. As part of the Senior Management Team, the Senior Director supports the steering of the ATA’s broader strategy to agricultural transformation, advising the CEO and the Deputy CEO and supporting evidence-based decision-making.

This position will report directly to the ATA’s Deputy CEO and will be based in Addis Ababa.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Lead on the delivery of the ACC Program:
• Direct supervisor of team and project directors under the ACC program, overseeing solution development, implementation, M&E, reporting and documentation of programs and projects:
• Guide team and project directors on the implementation of their projects, driving effective and efficient delivery, decision-making and ensuring project’s performance against targets
• Ensure that project documentation, plans, budgets, reports in the ACC vertical are developed at high-standard and within relevant time frames, in line with ATA’s project management standards
• Facilitator of the required financial, human and organizational resources for the successful implementation of programs and projects
• Drive collaboration and synergy across teams and projects within the ACC vertical, optimizing delivery and impact
• Ensure delivery against the ACC Crop Results Framework and livestock program deliverables and their effective implementation and performances of projects and interventions, anticipate and mitigate risks:
• Ensure that efforts from all projects and teams under the ACC vertical are effectively contributing to the indicators and targets in the ACC program
• Ensure that all regional planning and implementations are supported, track and review their performances regularly, initiatives are coordinated, and aligned to the overall program targets, and resources  
• Identify gaps in delivery against expected outcomes and impact, and steer the design of new initiatives to address those
• Anticipate and mitigate risks to the full achievement of program targets
• Ensure the ACC program’s innovative approach to agricultural transformation, championing the deployment of new solutions, the latest, most effective methods in agriculture and program management

Represent the ACC program and the ATA before multiple stakeholder groups, including but not limited to:

• Engage with donors and the ACC National Steering Committee, conducting high-level discussions on the program’s success, challenges, resourcing, clarifying concerns and strengthening relationships with development partners
• Engage with senior stakeholders in the public sector at the Federal and Regional levels such as the Ministry of Agriculture, regional bureaus of agriculture and other relevant ministries and public sector partners for the successful implementation of the ACC program deliverables
• Represent the ACC program and the ATA in national program forums including the Integrated Agro-industrial Parks, and other relevant initiatives
• Serve as the ambassador of the ACC program to different groups of stakeholders as required

Lead the operations of the ACC Program vertical:

• Ensure vertical and project resources and budget utilizations are managed efficiently and according to plan
• Oversee and approve annual budgeting within the ACC vertical
• nsure effective management of resources
• Optimize the deployment of resources for enhanced impact and optimal delivery of the outcomes of the ACC program
• Ensure both financial and operational standards are maintained to meet government and partners’ audit requirements
• Oversee talent management within the ACC vertical, and ensure that all staff are of the highest calibre
• Advise on ACC vertical HR planning
• Identify and source the skills and capabilities required for the successful delivery of program
• Engage on the recruitment of senior members of the ACC vertical as required
• Directly manage senior members of the ACC team
• Provide guidance to and manage output of the staff within the ACC and related programs, and contribute to performance reviews and planning for their continued professional development

Serve as a member of the ATA Senior Management Team, contributing to the development and delivery of the ATA strategy:

• Support the CEO in the creation and delivery of strategies and programs to enhance the ATA, and where appropriate obtain external expertise and counsel
• Participate in SMT discussions and provide strategic input, contributing to decision-making and the direction of the organization

Review and input on strategy documents, concept notes, design of initiatives and other content related to the delivery and the operations of the ATA as a whole

Job Requirements

• Master’s degree in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, Development Economics, Agribusiness, Business Administration or other relevant fields
• At least 12 years of experience with a minimum of 10 years in a management role within government, an international organization or the private sector, including:
• Planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of agricultural growth initiatives
• Market-led value chain development and upgrading activities
• Excellence in organization management, and capacity building
• Leading diverse, senior-level staff and establishing an environment of professional development
• Managing resources including budget
• Ensuring value for money and driving impact in the agriculture sector
• Demonstrated ability to support market-led value chain development and stakeholder management across selected agricultural value chains.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced corporate environment
• Deep understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural, trade and Industry system with a good perspective on how public, private and informal actors interact within the system
• Practical experience in implementing solutions at a both the federal and regional level
• Experience in developing and building relationships between the public and private sector
• Demonstrable track record of success with program design, performance management, learning systems and monitoring & evaluation.
• Strong team player with outstanding management skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work under pressure and in a constantly evolving and challenging environment
• Self-starter and self-motivated person
• 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 Recruitment@ata.gov.et Make sure to mention the job title in the subject line of your email  Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.