Country: Ethiopia

Organization: Ayuda en Acción

Closing date: 16 Jan 2022

MISSION STATEMENT:

Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia is seeking experienced candidates for the position of Country Director in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. The Program is designed to manage both, long-term development and humanitarian with Nexus approach way to support the most vulnerable groups, children, youth and women in contexts prone to emergencies and affected by the effects of the intensifying climate crisis. Based on our long-term commitment and a high-quality people-centered programming, the country program is aimed to strengthen capacities at local level to enhance community resilience and draw pathways towards sustainable development. At the same time, by generating evidence and with the added value built in the framework of our activities, the organization intends to play a meaningful role with authorities, academy, private sector and other stakeholders in influencing changes at local and national level.

The Country Director is member of the Senior Management Team in the Ethiopia Country Program, being directly accountable to Headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The line management is directly with the General Director and Program Director of AeA, and will work and report to the Regional Desk for East Africa. The jobholder will liaise with others within the AeA on matters such as HR, finance, logistics, etc. when a technical backstopping is required. Moreover, it is required team leadership in a coordinated manner strengthening in country office capacities, empowering the staff, working majoring and directly with the management team formed by the Deputy Country Director, the Head of Programs and the Head of Finance.

MAIN RESPONSABILITIES:

1. General tasks with regard to the AeA position in the Region:
2. Represent AeA in Ethiopia and neighbor countries of Horn of Africa in accordance with the principles, mission statement and strategy of AeA.
3. Strengthen the partnership between AeA and different stakeholders, based on the AeA Strategy, for a better positioning of the organization at country and regional levels.
4. Lead and be responsible for the annual update of AeA country vision in an innovative manner, the development and implementation of the Country Strategy in Ethiopia as well as its annual action plan by ensuring the achievement of the associated benchmarks and expected results.
5. Support on the design and implementation of Regional Strategy (Horn of Africa).
6. Specific tasks with regard to the AeA position in the country:

Strategy, business development and institutional representation.

• Define together with the management team, in coordination with the HQ in Madrid and other parties, the AeA Strategy for the consolidation and enhancement of the program in Ethiopia and a Regional level.
• Ensure Country Strategy performance, and monitor and identify and inform about internal or external risks, which affect the strategy implementation as well as contingent opportunities to be taken for program strengthening and development. Propose corrective measures in case of deviations.
• Identify opportunities to enhance the institutional positioning, visibility, strategic alliances, and funding opportunities related to the Country Program.
• Ensure the sustainability of the Program through the develop and implementation of a Institutional Fundraising strategy which include the current institutional donors supporting AeA and others.
• Ensure the participation of Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia in interinstitutional spaces for coordinating actions at Ethiopia and Regional level and the active engagement of the organization within multi stakeholders’ platforms, task forces and working groups, attending meetings as per relevant sectors, especially (but not only) on rural development, resilience and food security as well as humanitarian sector.
• Manage relationships in country with all relevant stakeholders, such as local and international NGO’s, Universities and Research institutes, private sector, Embassies and its cooperation agencies, ECHO/EU offices, UN agency, local authorities, among others, which may lead to a greater impact of the strategy and the country program, better levels of positioning as well as to generate business development opportunities.
• Promote and participate in campaigns and events to raise awareness, advocacy, or funds.
• Facilitate sharing and learning across other international and national organizations working in Ethiopia and/or other African countries.
• Work with the management team in Ethiopia in cultivating strategic partnerships or relationships with new/existing donors to further strategic development opportunities.
• Represent Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia at Alliance2015 meetings in the country and within the region.

Consolidation and strengthening of the Country Program.

• Ensure the application of the policies and the general strategy of Ayuda en Acción in the National Office, in accordance with the HQ in Spain.
• Ensure and support the AeA team in developing innovative and strategic project proposals, based on the meaningful participation of the local partners, community, and other relevant stakeholders to consolidate and expand the AeA Country Program under a regional approach.
• Take part in the AeA regional meeting to make good use of relevant experiences and expertise from Ethiopia and vice versa.
• Coordinate current and future Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia projects with different international donors, especially with the Spanish Agency for Cooperation and Development (AECID) and decentralized cooperation.
• In coordination with the management team and other relevant staff and local partners, lead the identification of new initiatives and opportunities that respond to identified needs of the country strategy and support resource mobilization activities for new opportunities identified in coordination with AeA HQ.
• Support AeA team, field program staff and partner organizations on proposal development and design, including gathering information for concepts and proposals and serving as primary lead or coordinator of proposals and needs assessments.

Objectives and operations.

• Support Head of Programs on the program and project development; validate project budgets, operational plans and assure that the interventions are aligned with the country strategy, objectives and budget allocated for the cooperation activities and approved by AeA HQ.
• Management and technical support, to ensure high quality of the interventions aiming synergy and complementarity among projects and partners.
• Ensure that the projects count with a proper MEAL plan and supervise its implementation. Identify deviations and/or opportunities to be taken and proposing or approving corrective measures.
• Ensure proper reporting (technical and financial) to HQ using the institutional monitoring and reporting tools.
• Responsible for the open and effective communication between team members to ensure timely implementation of project activities and reporting to donors.
• Ensure that effective financial administrative systems governing the project activities are in place and are in line with AeA and donor requirements.
• Ensure adequate information flow regarding ongoing operations for both management and external communication.

Talent and team development

• Validate the AeA structure in Ethiopia and manage with HQ the human resources dimension proposal (incorporations, promotions or terminations) of the country in order to maximize the efficiency of the country team.
• Participate in the recruitment process for key positions looking after for the respect of diversity and gender promotion.
• Identify training and capacity building needs for team professional growth and efficiency.
• Conduct performance evaluation; identify key people in certain areas and, if necessary, assign them to national or international cross-cutting projects.

Compliance

• Ensure compliance with all legal obligations of the Organization and internal regulations. Lead and supervise the performance of the country team with transparency, integrity, control, and quality; to provide timely and accurate internal and external accountability.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by Ayuda en Acción institutional strategy, policy and Country Security Plan.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Maintain oversight of the larger context and humanitarian developments in Ethiopia and ensure that AeA HQ is able to concisely remain informed of the pressing humanitarian issues and current challenges.

REQUIREMENTS

Education

• Bachelor's degree in social science, management, international development or other relevant field. Specialty in Economics or Agronomy preferred. MA/S desired.
• Postgraduate studies in planning and project development in Local Development and/or Economic and/or Development Cooperation.
• Excellent English communication skills. Spanish is desirable, but not compulsory.

Experience

• At least 10 years of previous experience working with international cooperation organizations.
• Up to 5 years of senior-level leadership and management experience in large and complex programs.
• Experience in planning and technical and financial management of rural development and/or food security programs and management of international cooperation funds.
• Experience in managing/linking humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and long term interventions and/or transitional programs in areas affected by conflict and insecurity.
• Prior experience with funding from international donors (EU-ECHO, EU-DEVCO, SDC, USAID) as well as from the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation (AECID) and other leading agencies.
• Proven record of accomplishments in proposal writing (both technical and financial) in terms of rural development, resilience and food security
• Strong understanding of gender, disability and social integration perspective would be desirable
• Experience managing programs in relevant technical area(s) including Resilience, Food Security, Economic Recovery or Market Development, WASH, Cash programming, and/or Conflict/Governance
• Previous experience working in Africa is preferred and knowledge of the Ethiopian context: national legislation related to development actions, political, social, economic and environmental trends in the country
• Strong analytic skills and ability to develop solutions to complex issues required
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members

How to apply

If you are interested in this offer, please attach your updated CV CLICK HERE indicating your salary expectations.