We are recruiting for an experienced expert in managing people to lead the agronomy advisory unit of a large-scale five-year program in Yirgacheffe. If you want to be a part of a project from its inception this is the opportune moment to join TechnoServe as we move to the next phase of impact within the Ethiopian coffee industry.

If you are highly-organized with proven experience designing and implementing M&L systems, if you are enthusiastic about collecting and analyzing data to improve decision-making, if you are a skilled team leader and effective communicator, and if you are an organized manager who is comfortable overseeing field-level data collection and analysis, then you may be exactly the person that we are looking for!

The role

As the M&L Manager you will report to the Chief of Party and collaborate closely with country, regional, and home office M&L teams to ensure the high performance of M&E and learning functions within the project. You will directly contribute to the Regrow Yirga program’s deep impact by promoting evidence-based decision-making and project adaptation. You will lead a team that guides the strategic design and rollout of project data collection systems that support technical team activities. Your team will analyze data and communicate findings to internal and external teams for learning and decision-making. You will also collaborate with other TechnoServe M&E teams to contract and manage an external evaluation and research firm to ensure high-quality and independent baseline, mid-term, and final evaluations and a targeted study of farmer financial diaries. Finally, you will be responsible for ensuring the the quality and effectiveness of a monitoring system to verify farmers who have stumped trees and are eligible for an incentive distribution under the innovative Farmer Stumping Fund. leading a team of agronomy advisors and farmer to train more than 42,000 coffee farmers over five years. You are responsible for ensuring well designed and managed data collection and analysis systems that enable project leadership and field teams to proactively improve the program and ensure greater impact for farmers, wet mills, and research partners.

The Project

The project will help farmers boost productivity and expand trade. Specifically, the Regrow Yirga program seeks to serve 42,000+ farmers, 45+ processing businesses, and coffee industry service providers. The project will launch an innovative Farmer Stumping Fund which will facilitate direct incentive (tools or cash) transfers to farmers to encourage tree rejuvination which has the potential to be scaled up to over 1 million coffee farmers nation-wide.

This USD 15 million project finds its roots in TechnoServe’s 10+ years of experience working with the coffee farmers in Ethiopia. Our work was recently honored as the “Origin Charity of the Year” by the National Coffee Association – the leading trade organization for the coffee industry in the United States.

 What we Offer

We offer competitive salaries and career growth opportunities. We offer online learning resources from top universities. We provide regular training to all our staff to equip you with the coffee-specific technical know-how for you to excel. We provide autonomy in your job and you get to be part of a stellar team and shape the project from its inception. You will be challenged and grow as a professional. We offer a diverse team environment and highly encourage women and underrepresented groups to apply. And of course… we serve great coffee and host regular fun team activities.

Job Requirements

Our ideal candidate -

• Holds at least a Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field of study such as economics, statistics, social sciences, or other related discipline.
• Has at least 5-7 years of experience developing and implementing M&E systems including specific experience with data collection, collation, and analysis using both paper-based and technology-based platforms and well-developed computer skills in statistical packages such as STATA, MS Office, and others.
• Is an excellent team manager with good communication skills that enable seamless collaboration with field-based teams and national, regional, and home office MEL staff
• Demonstrates high attention to detail and superb planning skills with a history of working independently and within agreed timelines and the flexibility to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while adapting to changing work situations
• Has excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Amharic (knowledge of Afan Oromo, Sidamigna, or Gedigna is an added advantage) with proven report writing, presentation, and data analysis skills
• Is passionate about working with farmers and rural development; willing to be located in Dilla town with frequent time spent traveling to project training sites in rural areas
• Embraces our values of collegiality (we stick our necks out for each other), integrity (doing the ‘right thing’ regardless), resourcefulness (solve problems) and results (bias for action)

How to Apply

Our hiring process

Interested? Click here to apply for this position and submit a cover letter and resume as a single document (either Word or PDF) by August 11, 2021. We are not accepting CVs that are not sent through the indicated link. Once you apply and are selected to move through one of our hiring rounds, you can expect a rigorous process that reflects our high baseline requirements for people skills. Our process reflects that and can take up to two months.