Job Summary

Advisor on ‘Business Linkages’ Component

GIZ-Internal/External Vacancy Announcement #026/2021

Sustainable Industrial Clusters (S.I.C.)

• The Ethiopian government has adopted an Industrial Development Policy to transform the currently agricultural-led economy into an industry-based one, aiming to lift the population out of poverty and becoming a middle-income country by 2025. The textile and garment industry are considered a priority sector on the path to industrialization. The sector is, however, often characterized by precarious working conditions, low wages, non-compliance with human rights, social and ecological standards and poor business linkages between companies operating in Industrial Parks (IPs), international and local suppliers.
• In line with the Ethiopian transformation agenda, the United Kingdom and Germany are supporting the country’s pathway towards industrialization through the implementation of a joint project named Sustainable Industrial Clusters (S.I.C.). The project will be implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under a co-financing agreement between the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
•  S.I.C. has the objective to address the current challenges in the IPs and focus on increasing job-effective growth and improving the social and environmental sustainability of Ethiopia’s textile and garment industry. It will contribute to closing the gap between results and aspirations of the parks by tackling issues such as: improving park operations; satisfaction of labor; environmental and social regulatory framework and their enforcement; as well as business linkages into the wider textile and garment sector.
• Linkages between FDI investors in IPs and domestic businesses are very low, and this is limiting the impact of FDI on the broader economy. S.I.C will support the creation of business linkages between the selected industrial parks and local enterprises. Innovative and practical interventions will be designed and implemented to support business linkages along the supply chain. 
• In order to realize the business linkage interventions the S.I.C. project GIZ is looking to hire an Advisor for the Business Linkage component.

Responsibilities and Duties

Work together with the Business Linkage- and S.I.C. project team, companies, organizations, consultants, specifically to:

• Support supply of information, data, and links to local and international companies for future interfacing with international investors FDIs in the IPs
• Support the identification of potential business linkages between IP investors and local companies based on international practices
• Support interface between local producers and / or service providers and the FDIs
• Implement interventions to strengthen the capacity of local companies to enable their integration into the global value chain of the textile and garment sector
• Deliver direct support to local companies to develop and provide tailored products and services for companies in IPs, including in areas such as: product development, quality standards & certification, marketing, sales, or customers relationship development
• Organize Business-to-business (B2B) events, draft presentations and content to promote matchmaking, direct business linkages towards the local and international supply chain
• Support and realize cooperation with selected educational institutions such as the University of Bahir Dar, Institute of Fashion and Textile (EiTEX), and organizations as: ETGAMA, etc.

Job Requirements

Qualifications

• University degree in International Development/Social Studies/ Economics/ Business Administration / Business Logistics or Similar fields (Master is preferred)
• Excellent knowledge of Amharic & English language both in speaking and writing, German language knowledge is an asset
• Good working knowledge of IT (E-mail, internet and applications such as MS Office)

Professional experience

• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the Ethiopian textile and garment industry with the private sector or sectoral organization
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas: promoting business-to-business linkages, supply chain management, sourcing with preference in the textile and garment sector
• Prior experience in being a seconded staff in a business promotion agency or an institution on behalf of a development cooperation is a plus
• Ability to liaise between development cooperation and SME companies with high integrity and diplomacy
• Excellent presentation, oral and written communication skills
• Good organizational and time management skills to prioritize workloads 
• Eye for details, work capability and strong team spirit

Other knowledge and additional competencies

• Very good knowledge of MS Power point and / or other presentation or layout software skills are strong plus

 How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates shall submit their motivation letter along with their non-returnable recent CV via Ethiojobs or Email: hreth@giz.de

Note: Please make sure you mention the Vacancy Number ‘Advisor on ‘Business Linkages’ Component #026/2021’ in the subject line of your email application.

Due to large number of applications we categories applications with the vacancy numbers.

Applications without vacancy numbers in subject lines might not be categorized in the appropriate folder and could be disqualified.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted

We encourage persons with disabilities to apply for the position. In case of equal qualification, persons with disabilities will be given preference.

Applications from qualified women are encouraged.

 “Please refer to our brochure to learn more about GIZ’s attractive benefit package.”