Project Background
Policy LINK will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad- based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

Policy LINK in Ethiopia
C4FS is a five-year activity with the overall objective of supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other policy system actors in their aspiration to develop an inclusive policy development process. Specifically, the activity will facilitate the transition towards a policy development paradigm driven by multiple stakeholders. A significant part of C4FS programming will be dedicated to supporting the coordination amongst actors working on resilience-building.

Ultimately, the activity seeks to build the capacities actors and institutions involved in general food systems policy and resilience building to work collaboratively; these actors include academia, financial institutions, the judiciary, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector representatives from the national, regional, and local levels.

This approach is underpinned by Policy LINK’s overarching theory of change focused on increasing human and social capital, engaging policy system actors in collaborative processes, and developing mechanisms for collaborative governance and dynamic learning systems and platforms to sustain collective action.

As part of its work, C4FS will build and strengthen the backbone system for the coordination of development programming among actors involved in Resilience-building in selected regions (Afar, Oromia, Somali and South Ethiopia). These efforts are intended to support the sequencing, layering and integration of activities amongst multiple actors to enhance their collective impact. C4FS will therefore not directly implement resilience programs but support the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands build collaboration and collective action amongst multiple stakeholders implementing Resilience building activities in selected lowland areas.

Position Objectives and Responsibilities
The Program Director, Resilience will be responsible for leading the work on resilience-building efforts. In particular, the position will be responsible for overall activity design processes, leading implementation and maintaining important relationships with other actors for the resilience activity portfolio.

Position responsibilities are summarized as follows: 

1. Under the guidance of the Country Lead, and in collaboration with other technical staff, play a lead role in conceptualizing, designing, and implementing activities.

2. Develop a deep understanding of the activity and its theory of change.

3. Lead or support development of annual and ongoing work plans for key technical activities at national and regional levels.

4. Work with stakeholders to identify critical gaps to address and opportunities for C4FS to further strengthen coordination of resilience activity in project sites.

5. As necessary, provide guidance and mentoring to technical staff working within the team.

6. Provide leadership and guidance in managing technical activity implementation in line with Policy LINK and USAID procedures. Specific tasks include support to meetings, supervision of team members, tracking implementation, among others.

7. Develop and maintain strong relationships and lines of communication with USAID Missions, project counterparts, and collaborators.

8. Contribute to CLA, M&E and communications outputs including definition of relevant indicators (in consultation with M&E lead) and the development of communications output (in liaison with communications team), ensuring overall proper documentation, monitoring, and reporting of the status and performance of resilience activities.

9. Provide regular updates to Policy LINK leadership team.

10. Ensure effective management of consultants and service providers to ensure appropriate design and production of high-quality deliverables.

11. Other duties as may be assigned in the course of evolving programmatic priorities.

S/he will continually reinforce Policy LINK’s agreed-upon core purpose and principles, and ensure all decision-making is rooted in those purpose and principles. S/he will contribute to foster a learning environment in which personal and team growth is supported, with a shared understanding that the “team” always comes before the “individual.”

Performance Criteria
C4FS is a performance-based project, highly dependent on individuals and team core competencies. Each staff member will participate in an annual evaluation and receive feedback.

Supervision and Reporting
The Program Director, Resilience will report to the Country Lead. This position will provide technical leadership and supervisory oversight for all staff working on resilience related activities. The Program Director, Resilience will be directly responsible for supervising the Regional Program Managers in resilience regions, and, indirectly, Woreda Coordinators in the Oromia, South Ethiopia, Somali, and Afar regions.

Contract Name:    USAID/Feed the Future Policy LINK Champions for Food Security (C4FS)
Status:    Long Term Technical Assistance
Supervision:    Country Lead

Job Requirements

Qualifications

Education:

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in agriculture, rural development, natural resources management and development or relevant field; Master preferred.

Work Experience:

• At least ten (10) years of progressive/leadership experience in program management, international economic development, agriculture and rural development, pastoral areas development, and emergency response.

• Deep familiarity with the Ethiopian context, including public sector institutions, civil society and private sector institutions, local NGOs, and relevant national, regional, and/or local government counterparts, and willingness to travel throughout the country.

• Previous experience and/or understanding of USAID or other donor projects and their compliance requirements.

• Strong leadership, program management and coordination skills with ability to mentor and build strong cross-functional and cross-organization teams; and to design and roll out program activities.

• Demonstrated experience in building partnerships and collaborative processes with multiple partners and organizing and facilitating multi-stakeholder planning and learning events and conferences.

• Strong strategic thinking and organization skills with ability to work in complex, rapidly changing environments and respond to changing donor and partner demands.

Skills:

• Knowledge or understanding of social, economic, and political context governing food security issues in developing countries.

• Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict and ethical management skills.

• Strong project management skills.

• Ability to develop and implement effective computer-based tools for project planning, design, implementation, and monitoring.

• Good computing capabilities with working knowledge of MS Word and Excel.

• Good communication and report writing skills including writing and speaking, and ability to produce quality reports.

How To Apply

Please submit applications electronically via this website:

CLICK HERE

Application Deadline: August 16th 2024

Candidates will be required to answer certain qualifying questions before uploading their CVs and cover letters to the application form for consideration.

Only candidates who are shortlisted for interviews will be contacted. No email enquiries please.