I.  TechnoServe Background:

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. Founded in 1968, we are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, jobs and wealth for their families and communities. In East Africa, we operate in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Across the region, we implement a range of large-scale value chain interventions, agribusiness programs and entrepreneurship/economic empowerment projects. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

II.  Program Description:

LI-WAY is a five-year program implemented by a consortium of partners composed of SNV Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), Mercy Corps (MC), TechnoServe (TNS) and Save the Children International by the financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).  The program got an expansion from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Ethiopia. The overall objective of the program is to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and social stability in Addis Ababa. The specific objective is to improve the livelihoods situation of 257,000 (additional 57,000 from the EKN extension) poor people, of which at least 50% are women and 75% youth, by increasing their income and access to economic opportunities. The program will achieve this through activating, catalyzing and promoting market-based solutions to address systemic constraints that undermine the potential of selected sub-sectors in creating jobs and increasing income for women, youth and the poor in Addis Ababa.

 The program began with a ten-month Inception Phase, on July 1st, 2017.   The Sida funded section of the project will end on June 2024, while the extension will end on June 2026.

III. POSITION SUMMARY

The Market Systems Development Specialist will be responsible to facilitate the implementation of intervention/s primarily across all MLE Sector and in close relation to consortium members and other potential private and public sector partners.

The Market System Development Specialist will work closely with TechnoServe Program Manager, Senior MSD Advisor, Program Coordinator, Senior program officers, Monitoring, learning and knowledge management advisor/s primarily within TNS and across consortium partners. She/he will engage in implementation of live interventions and an ongoing deep sector analysis to identify intervention ideas and provide inputs, data and information to design new intervention activities.

IV.  ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: 

The Market Systems Development Specialist is responsible for overseeing the implementation of ongoing and new priority intervention areas primarily in medium and large enterprises market systems and ensuring cross sectoral integration with other sectors led by other consortium partners. 

Key job functions include the following: -

 Design, launch and manage implementation of interventions

• Conduct sector research and analysis to design sustainable and scalable intervention ideas that would create employment opportunities

• Develop a concept note, including viable business model to create a sustainable market system

• Identify, assess and on board relevant key market players (implementing partners)

• Plan and organize timely implementation of intervention concept note among public and private sector partners in close coordination with senior MSD advisors

• Support developing and regularly updating of intervention strategies; logical framework, results chains

• Prepare partnership agreement (sub grant agreements) and facilitate the signing process.  

• Provide technical support and guidance for implementing partners during the implementation;

•  Follow up and update intervention implementation progress against work plans 

• Monitor, follow up and update progress of public and private implementing partner’s work plans against achievement and report against key monitoring and result measurement plans

Develop and manage external relationships with implementation partners and other stakeholders

• Proactively build and nurture partnerships with other organizations, key stakeholders and counterparts, including government offices and authorities as well as NGOs and private sector companies

• Manage relationship with partners in conducting capacity assessment, track performance, ensure activities are in line to address systemic problem, identify potential intervention areas for expansion and scale up

• Organize lesson learning workshops and other events and proper documentation for future programmatic actions

• Represent the LIWAY program and TechnoServe externally

Contribute to the leadership and learning

• Support in monitoring, evaluation, learning, research and communication activities across the MLE sector interventions primarily and in cross sectoral intervention activities

• Compile and update LI-WAY filing system, and other related documentation 

• Find opportunities to sharing transferrable insights and learnings with broader TNS Ethiopia team

Job Requirements

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Good understanding of Markets Systems Development (aka Making Markets Work for the poor-M4P) approach and facilitation including coaching, relationship building, communicating, open and willing to work on new initiatives.  

• Familiar with all aspects of the relevant market systems including key actors, information service providers, employers of different scale, micro-finance institutions (MFIs), banks, Insurance’s providers, inputs suppliers, producers, traders, intermediary and terminal markets governance frameworks (formal and informal); and all support markets and functions;

• Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Business Administration, Agribusiness or other related field, or commensurate private sector or field experience is required.

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in private sector or working with other agencies in market systems facilitation, livelihood programs, rural development, agribusiness or financial services 

• Excellent communication, organizational and prioritization skills and the ability to multi-task and support and/or fill multiple positions at one time. 

• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work both independently and cooperatively with team members.

VI.  SUCCESS FACTORS:

• Fluent in English and Amharic 

• Business minded, entrepreneurial, adaptive, curious, great problem-solving skills and results oriented. 

• Excellent communication skills, facilitation, and networking skills with a wide range of private, partner, Government and NGO-sector actors 

• Computer literate especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

How to Apply

Qualified and interested applicants should Click here to apply and submit a cover letter resume as a single document (either Word or PDF) by April 30, 2023. Applications will be reviewed and considered as received/on a rolling basis. Only applicants meeting minimum qualifications will be contacted. Please note that we are not accepting CVs that are not sent through the indicated link.  

TECHNOSERVE ENCOURAGES DIVERSITY AT ALL LEVELS AND ACROSS ALL FACETS OF OUR ORGANIZATION. WITH THIS COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, WE ARE PROUD TO BE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND DO NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF GENDER, RACE, COLOR, ETHNICITY, RELIGION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, AGE, DISABILITY, AND ALL OTHER PROTECTED CLASSES. 

Women are highly encouraged to apply

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