Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position: Data Analytics Expert

Term of Employment: Fixed-term

Duty Station(s): Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), Addis Ababa

Required Number: Four

Salary & Benefits: Competitive

Application Deadline: August 29, 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 sectors 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:

This position is a secondment to the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC).

Over the years, the EIC has pursued a series of policy, legal and institutional measures with the goal of effectively realizing national investment plans and targets proposed under Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plans. Clearer strategies have been put in place to attract foreign direct investment and to develop labor-intensive industries and an export-oriented manufacturing sector. Yet, the transformation of the economy is hampered by organizational and operational limitations; particular problems include an overstretched capacity of senior personnel, a limited active outreach system targeting potential investors, limited availability of pre-packaged information needed to attract quality investments, and the limited number of qualified human resources pool. To address these limitations, the EIC, together with the ATA, has developed the ‘Strengthening Investor Engagement, Advisory Roles and Regulatory Powers of the Ethiopian Investment Commission’ Program. The main objectives of the Program are to carry out strategic development of EIC’s institutional infrastructure and human resources portfolio and thereby augment its capacity to attract quality investment, to better support private sector stakeholders and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services rendered to investors.

The Data Analytics Expert is expected to support EIC on a broad range of issues, including but not limited to:

• Design and maintain data systems and databases, including fixing coding errors and other data-related problems.
• Collaborate with programmers, engineers, and organizational leaders to identify opportunities for process improvements, recommend system modifications, and develop policies for data governance.
• Proactively plan and manage work for successful delivery and achievement of results.
• Identify issues and form hypotheses within the assigned scope of work, define data needs and potential sources, and structure work effectively.
• Conduct high-quality analysis by validating assumptions through engagement with stakeholders and/or using relevant methodologies.
• Communicate findings in a defined and organized manner tailored for the audience.
• Design and execute effective handover, integration, and mainstreaming processes.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

Execute a wide range of analyses and operational activities with end-to-end ownership.

• Plan, prioritize and manage workstreams from start to finish, including data collection, analysis and content development, stakeholder input and validation, and ensure required timelines and quality standards are met.
• Identify and structure problems, develop key hypotheses and innovative solutions, and apply suitable analytical frameworks and approaches to test this hypothesis and solutions.
• Identify and acquire relevant quantitative and qualitative data using a range of applied and pragmatic techniques, quality control data to ensure validity and accuracy.
• Execute a wide range of analyses drawing on best practice approaches used in public and private sectors, and from various academic fields, to generate critical and actionable insights for partners.

Engage with the relevant stakeholders to effectively obtain the needed information that supports the analyses and communicate outputs in a clear, logical, and well-structured manner.

• Organize and conduct interviews with up to mid-manager level stakeholders, plan and execute other critical stakeholder management activities.
• Produce high-quality presentations and/or written documents.
• Proactively and frequently engage with senior staff to seek input and enhance outputs, identify risks and issues affecting timely delivery of workstreams, and promptly communicate upward with solution options and recommendations.
• Present ideas and respond to queries clearly and concisely in internal and external discussions.
• Effectively manage operational activities (e.g. scheduling, logistical and financial organization of field trips and workshops, procurement processes, etc.) for delivery of workstreams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of master’s degree in areas related to Economics, Management, or any related field.
• At least 6 years of proven work experience
• Knowledge of investment is not required, but applicants should have a strong interest in investment and economic development in Ethiopia
• Genuine intellectual curiosity and desire to innovate and bring large-scale change
• Excellent critical thinking and analytical skills
• Collaborative mindset and a team player
• Strong desire to learn, highly coachable and values frequent, constructive feedback
• Fluent in English and Amharic, with strong written and oral communication skills

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Basic understanding of Ethiopia’s investment system.
• Highly facilitative and collaborative leadership style.
• Excellent computer skills, analytical and data gathering skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• A strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty, and desire to be of service.

How to Apply

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter and (ii) CV (maximum 5 pages) at the website

Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application. Women are highly encouraged to apply. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.