Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position: Senior Director, Operations

Term of Employment: Fixed Term

Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa

Required Number: One

Salary & Benefits: Competitive

Application Deadline: May 21, 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, by 2025, smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, contributing to Ethiopia’s achievement of middle-income country status.

The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources (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, 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 teamwork 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 Senior Director, Operations will have primary responsibility for establishing and leading the organizational and operational systems critical for the ATA to realize its strategic objectives. The Senior Director, Operations will ensure that the ATA is a high-performing organization, with superlative internal systems (HR, Logistics and Admin, IT, procurement, Finance, subgrants) that are seamlessly coordinated and integrated.

This position will report to the CEO and form parts of the Senior Management of the Agency. The position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that core operational functions achieve their business objectives.
• Evaluate overall organization performance by gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data and metrics.
• Act as the organization’s point person on issues relating to operational functions and keep abreast of the latest developments to ensure that the organization maintains its competitive position.
• Develop and control operational budgets and ensure the organization has all the resources required to meet its objectives within agreed financial and legal parameters.
• Establish, manage, and maintain the basic internal systems the ATA requires for operational effectiveness, particularly for operational support teams (Finance, sub grant, human resources, procurement, logistics and admin, and information technology)
• Lead, build up, and mentor high-performing operational support teams.
• Organize effective internal communications and administrative systems, allowing for overall smooth and effective operations within the ATA.
• Manage the Agency’s human resource management system to the needs of the organization. The system shall cover a broad range of issues including hiring and orienting new staff; codes of conduct; protocols for compensation, benefits, termination, etc.
• Manage the Agency’s procurement in line with international and Government of Ethiopia standards, building a procurement system of exceptional integrity.
• Manage the Agency’s Information technology systems and infrastructure and ensure the ATA has an effective IT system that meets the needs of the Agency.
• Manage the Agency’s office and adapt physical infrastructure to the emerging needs of the ATA.
• Grow and oversee a fleet system that meets the working needs of the Agency’s leadership and staff.
• Ensure the long-term maintenance and management of logistics, communications, IT and other systems and infrastructure, adapting them over time as needs change.
• Manage the internal processes of the Agency to develop organizational culture, values, and norms and the performance management system and incentives that create and reinforce a high-performance orientation at the ATA.
• Support the CEO and the ATA Leadership Team (Senior Directors, Directors and Project Team Leaders) to identify, hire and orient an exceptional set of ATA staff.

Job Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s level in Business Administration, Business Management, Public Administration, organizational development, or related field.
• At least 12 years combined experience in Operations related role (Admin, HR, Finance, Procurement, Logistics, IT), of which at least 6 years worked in a leadership or senior management role (preferably as Chief Operating Officer, Operations Director, Senior Manager or similar position in government, international organization, or private sector)
• Deep knowledge of Ethiopia and at least 5 years of working experience in Ethiopia or on Ethiopia initiatives, with a strong understanding of legal, administrative, and operational standards and procedures in the Ethiopian context.
• Track record in organizational development, systems creation, and management, the leadership of complex organizations, etc.
• Demonstrable experience in developing, implementing, and managing HR, IT, procurement, logistics, and/or administrative systems.
• Experience in building a strong team to whom significant responsibilities are delegated.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, strong interpersonal skills.
• Flexibility, adaptability, and cultural sensitivity.
• Good working knowledge of communications systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary, diverse staff, and multi-sector environment.
• Strong team player, highly energetic, self-motivated, goal-oriented, and committed to shared goals.
• Excellent adaptive problem-solver in a challenging environment.
• A strong set of personal values, including integrity, honesty, and a desire to be of service.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment with emphasis on high-performance, accountability, and results.
• Ability to work under pressure, long work hours, and high workload.
• Ability to independently organize work and prioritize tasks.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• 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) a CV (maximum 5 pages) click here

Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.