ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION INSTITUTE

Terms of reference Job Title: Regional ACC and Program Director - OATC  Term of Employment:  One year with the possibility of an extension

Duty Station(s):Addis Ababa (Oromia)

Required number: One

Application May 28, 2023

BACKGROUND:

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) is a strategy and delivery-oriented government Institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of the country’s agriculture sector. The ATI envisions to be the leading center of innovative solutions for the transformation of Ethiopian Agriculture by 2030.

The Institute focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture (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 the 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, Sidama, South-West, 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 ATI, 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 Regional ACC and Program Director will lead the refinement of regional ACC strategies, integrate ACC strategies with national and regional priorities (Agro-industrial parks, AGP, and others), represent regional  ACC in strategic platforms (ACC plan preparation, Package revision, Regional field days etc.), develop capacity building plan for regional ACC and project staffs, serve as an independent voice to the regional  ACC team and the Regional SD to gage the progress of cluster strategies implementation on ATI priorities.  In addition, the Regional ACC and Program Director will create regional-level platforms to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors to maximize the commercialization of small farmers’ output. The ACC and Program Director will report to the Senior Director of the Regional office.

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

The main responsibilities of the ACC and Program Director include: 

• Lead the refinement of ACC/cluster strategies with the support of the regional ACC team and the Regional SD

• Align ACC strategies with national and regional priorities and flagship programs to enhance the integration of ACC strategies to the transformation of the agricultural sector

• Lead ACC stakeholder interaction with regional and other implementation partners

• Plan and deploy technical expertise to the zones and cluster areas in an optimal manner to ensure Value chain interventions are executed in a pre-set standards

• Develop capacity-building regional plans to ensure skill transfer in increasing production and productivity and marketing while a transformational mindset is instilled in regional staff

• Co-coordinating regional public-private stakeholders' alignment on ACC strategies and deliverables

• Ensure effective regular communication with the various government offices, the  private sector and development partner

• Support the Project Management Office to achieve its intended results

• Support the mobilization of regional resources for the ACC Initiative, including the development of project proposals, as necessary

• Support the facilitation of private sector investments in the region and provide ongoing problem-solving support by closely working with the concerned stakeholders

Job Requirements

• Master's Degree or equivalent in Agricultural sciences, Economics, Agribusiness, Business Management, or other relevant fields

• At least twelve (12) years of professional experience supporting areas such as Planning and implementation of activities at an organizational level as well as Market-led value chain development and upgrading activities (preferably including project management of large-scale agricultural development, agro-processing, and/or agribusiness-focused initiatives).

• At least six (6) years of leadership and/or managerial experience

• Good experience of working at regional government offices and civil society or private sector sectors

• Excellent stakeholder management skills including thorough knowledge and understanding of various regional level and federal level institutions; extensive experience in facilitating dialogue with relevant public and private stakeholders.

• Fluency in English and the local language is required.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with highly collaborative working style.

• Experience in working with multi-cultural teams preferred.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and reporting skills.

• Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty and desire to be of service.

• Ability and willingness to shoulder responsibilities under hectic conditions (in terms of overlapping assignments that may happen occasionally)

• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment, with an emphasis on high performance, teamwork, accountability and results

How to Apply

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter and (ii) a CV (maximum 5 pages) to https://apply.ata.gov.et

It is mandatory to mention the position title under the subject line of your cover letter.

Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

NB. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.