ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION INSTITUTE

Job Description and Job SpecificationJob Title:Project Officer II – eVoucher Term of Employment:  One year with possibility of extension  Duty Station(s):Addis Ababa, EthiopiaRequired number:OneApplication deadline:June 10, 2023

BACKGROUND:

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) is a strategy and delivery-oriented government Institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of the country’s agriculture sector. The ATI envisions to be the leading center of innovative solutions for the transformation of Ethiopian Agriculture by 2030.

The Institute focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture (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, Sidama, South-West, 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 team work to achieve excellent results. 

At ATI, 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:

Among the flagship deliverables of the Rural Financial Services Program, one is the implementation of the Input Voucher Sales System (IVS) for the distribution of agricultural inputs. Under this system vouchers for inputs (fertilizer, seed, chemical) are purchased by a farmer at a financial institution (MFI or RuSACCO) for either cash or credit and then redeemed at a multi-purpose cooperative. The system is designed to enhance the input delivery system to improve access to input credit to smallholder farmers, to remove the burden of handling large amounts of cash from the cooperative system and reduce the exposure of regional governments under the guarantee provided to secure a loan to import inputs. The system was successfully implemented in all woredas in Amhara, in 23 woredas in Tigray, 87 woredas in SNNPR and 6 woredas in Oromia reaching over 3.7 million farmers. In the coming 3 planting seasons, smallholder farmers of all woredas in Tigray, SNNPR and Oromia will be utilizing the system.

To ensure a successful and efficient scale up of the input voucher sales system, automation has been initiated and an application that uses low-cost smartphones and NFC tags has been developed to disburse fertilizer and seeds to farmers, replacing the manual system. The automated system has been successfully piloted in two woredas in Amhara and three woredas in Tigray.

ATI is looking to hire a Project Officer to be based in Addis Ababa ATI Office to work with the technology service provider, equipment vendors, MFIs, regional bureaus of agriculture and cooperatives to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the automated system. The ideal candidate has experience in finance and technology related projects in Ethiopia, preferably in the Ethiopian financial sector. The candidate will need to be able to work at a detailed level in the design and implementation of systems, and be adept at presenting complex ideas clearly and persuasively. The candidate should have a passion for improving the lives of smallholder farmers and improving financial inclusion in Ethiopia’s rural areas. Some travel within Ethiopia is to be expected.

This position will officially report to the Team Leader, RFS.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Apply agricultural finance knowledge, especially in input/output finance; financial literacy; and micro-insurance in implementing the e-Voucher project and supporting team members and stakeholders.

• Manage the automation of the manual input voucher sales system designing the features of the technology which uses Android phones and Near Field Communication (NFC) tags to register farmer profiles and entitlements.

• Design guidelines and policies for the change management of the automation project with regional stakeholders.

• Follow up with the technology service provider on deliverables, timeline and performance according to the contract.

• Oversee the work plan, procurement, training, payment and donations related to the E-voucher project implementation.

• Persuade senior regional stakeholders to get buy-in for the pilot and scale-up of the automation project by presenting the advantages of using this system.

• Supervise and provide continuous support to officers and agents of MFIs, RuSACCOs and primary cooperatives implementing the system.

• Handle change management issues that may arise from automating the manual system through a technical working group represented by all the relevant regional bureaus.

• Leads and supports team members in identifying, structuring, and prioritizing problems, and developing and applying appropriate frameworks across rural finance projects.

• oversee and coach project team members in identifying, structuring, and prioritizing problems, developing and applying appropriate frameworks and approaches, collecting data and high-impact analysis and drawing out robust insights and recommendations.

• Independently create and frame high-quality quantitative and qualitative analyses using multiple formats (excel, PowerPoint, etc.).

• Independently develop, validates and prioritizes actionable recommendations for rural finance projects.

• Develop high-quality output with minimum errors and minimal guidance required; leads and supports team members to do the same

• Manage own timelines and/or multiple workstreams to meet deadlines with high-quality output; oversees team members through prioritizing and assigning workstreams and tasks, overseeing stakeholder interaction, and regularly validating progress against deadlines

• Proactively identify major risks, issues, and potential opportunities affecting work stream or project delivery, and communicates to supervisor with solution options.

• Identify all required resources, including budgetary, human resources and logistics, to ensure deliverables are properly executed; develop solution options, and communicate upward as required

• Organize and lead regular communications and discussions with multiple project stakeholders; builds independent working relationships with up to mid-manager level stakeholders.

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of cultural and political dimensions of stakeholder, their impact on recommendations, and how to address these; supports team members in identifying and addressing sensitivities.

• Lead and support capacity building for regional counterparts, Fellows and other partners, through training, ongoing coaching and support.

Job Requirements

• Master’s degree in IT, Business, Economics, Agriculture, Public Policy, International Development and other relevant subject areas.

• 4 years (for Master’s) of experience in Rural Financial Services Projects and Initiatives (Preferably experience on IT-related projects).

• Interest in and familiarity with Ethiopia’s agricultural sector, agricultural and rural development.

• Genuine intellectual curiosity and desire to innovate and bring large-scale change.

• Excellent oral and written communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and data-gathering skills.

• Strong willingness to learn, and ability to be a real team player.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment, with an emphasis on high-performance, results and accountability.

• Strong personal values including integrity, honesty and desire to be of service.

• Fluency in English and Amharic required. 

How to Apply

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter and (ii) a CV (maximum 5 pages) to https://apply.ata.gov.et

It is mandatory to mention the position title under the subject line of your cover letter.

Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

NB. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.