Position:        Senior Project Officer I- Business Development (AgriHub ) 

Term of Employment:    Until July 7, 2025

Duty Station(s):        Bahir Dar 

Required Number:    One 

Salary & Benefits:    Competitive 

Application Deadline:    December 16, 2024

BACKGROUND:

The Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) was established by the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) to identify systemic bottlenecks, conduct studies, and provide recommendations, provide implementation support, manage projects, create linkages and coordination among activities and agricultural development programs. The Institute 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 that, to be the leading centro of innovative solutions to catalyse and contribute to the transformation of the Ethiopian Agriculture by 2030 where smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability.
ATI provides a unique platform for people who want to achieve their highest potential and make a meaningful contribution in changing the country’s agricultural sector. The programmatic focus of the Institute responds to a core set of needs identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and other sectors along commodity value chains. Across the programs, the ATI engages public, private, and non-governmental stakeholders to support strategic planning, manage and strengthen implementation capacity and test innovative models. Currently, ATI is tasked to coordinate the revised Agriculture and Rural Development policy agendas of the sector and such sectoral level delegation requires high level expertise in the policy areas and skill sets in coordination and networking with multiple stakeholders.

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:

The Business Development Expert – SPO I will be one of Agrihub team members, responsible for a number of strategic and operational workstreams critical to leverage the project’s supports to help capacitate the MSMEs across ATI projects.  He/She will play an integral role in developing deep understanding of the capabilities and needs of MSMEs across ATI projects in order to design and implement the highest impact Agrihub capability building and networking programs. In the most immediate future, the Business Development Expert will lead detailed design and operationalization of Agrihub supports in terms of business skill development and group networking. Once these services are implemented, He/She will contribute to designing the fuller set of Accelerator-type of services to be offered by Agrihub in the longer term.  The Business Development Expert will report directly to Project Team Lead I-Agribusiness and Systems

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Capacitate ATI Supported Agricultural Firms for better Integration and sustainability  
•    Assess and identify ATI supported agricultural firms (MSMEs, Cooperatives, AOSS, CBSP, etc) with viable business model for AgriHub intake
•    Develop deep understanding on the existing capabilities and training needs of ATI supported agricultural firms; and manage the designing, developing and customization of impactful training topics and contents.
•    Ensure effective operational planning of interventions and activities, budgeting, reporting, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
•    Diagnose the business models of ATI supported agricultural firms and provide with applicable recommendations.
•    Develop implementation plan and organize quality and effective business skill development trainings, suitable for each ATI supported agricultural firms; and report performance and brief progress updates for Agrihub project team
•    Organize and conduct group networking workshops for ATI supported agricultural firms to support with business linkage and experience sharing among each other; and report performance and brief progress updates for Agrihub project team.
•    Work closely with implementing partners and build their capacity in business development related interventions.
•    Conduct due diligence to select SMEs having a potential to graduate into the next tier (center of conception, center of competence, capability booster and accelerator) from bottom to top
•    Provide integrated and sustained business support package for value addition and exporting SMEs within and linked-to ACC
•    Consulting study to select value chains for support to Exporter and Value addition SMEs
•    Conducted post training and group networking progress evaluation to measure performances; and share key outputs and learnings with Project team and regional partners
•    Facilitate the Update/development of Environment and social management systems of ATI via the hired consultant

Manage communications and coordination with ATI project teams, regional partners, and outsourced BDS providers to ensure effective planning, implementation, and Networking activities       
•    Collaborate with ATI project teams, and regional partners to set KPIs and success metrics for CoE and Networking workstreams
•    Work with regional implementation partners to resolve strategic and operational issues that arise over the course of the project lifetime
•    Foster backward and forward linkage between value chain actors and strengthen private sector involvement in the value chain.
•    Organize and conduct group networking workshops for ATI projects MSMEs to support with business linkage and experience sharing among each other; and report performance and brief progress updates for Agrihub project team.
•    Communicate key issues, learnings, and priorities of firms to ATI project teams, regional partners and BDS providers to co-design initiatives
•    Make the learning publicly available through different communication outlets.

Own and manage work stream to ensure timely delivery of support to ATI Supported Agricultural Firms      

    
•    Strictly follow the guidance provided from AgriHub Team Lead and develop action plan and checklist for effective implementation of planned activities
•    Provide technical support to ATI supported agricultural firms for preparation of their business plans and facilitation of linkages with potential buyers  Provide technical support to ATI supported agricultural firms for preparation of their business plans and facilitation of linkages with potential buyers  
•    Facilitate and provide ToT training for bureau experts at all levels, and for other public and private agricultural firms on business development.
•    Plan, implement and monitor the project activities with effective and efficient budget utilization.
•    Provide business advisory service for selected Agri-SMES on the ground to sustain their business and make them profitable
•    Collect and analyze the feedback of the SMEs provided with business advisory service and identify areas of improvement
•    Identify potential partner and service providers and develop networking/partnership
•    Categorize the value addition and exporting SMEs into AgriHub BDS tiers and provide them with relevant business development service.

Responsible for compiling, analysing, reporting and assume potential risks for effective project implementation

•    Prepare regular reports on own work streams and guide other project staff in the utilization of reporting tools
•    Prepare consolidate biweekly, quarterly, annual and on demand performance reports and submit to director of production.
•    Compile regular and special update reports related to the implementation status of the project in the region
•    Identify potential risks in the project and develop risk managing strategies.
•    The job holder is responsible also for additional interventions by his/her immediate supervisor.

Documentation of efficient methodologies & tools, and development of a network of partners and service providers

•    Document and communicate lessons learned/best practices to the project team, partners, and stakeholders
•    Develop an interactive website/App For AgriHub  for knowledge and best practices sharing
•    Develop network with partner and service providers for project efficacy and efficiency
•    The job holder spends several hours in field where his or her tasks are largely carried out. There are frequent travels to field (zones, weredas and kebeles, agricultural firms). There are insignificant hazards with the job holder when working demonstration on the field requiring safety materials.

Languages

Proficiency in verbal and written English and Amharic

Job Requirements

Field of study:  MA/MSC  IN Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, management, Development Economics, Agribusiness, or other relevant fields.

Experience: At least 6 years of work experience in either one or more of the following: consulting, strategy, business development/management/administration, program/project coordination, investment facilitation, agribusiness, corporate finance, stakeholder management.
Behavioral competencies   Result /outcome oriented, Teamwork, Passion for rural development  Strategic thinking, Networking, Communication Skill

Technical competencies Planning, implementing, and monitoring, Stakeholders’ Management, Knowledge and skill on business development

How to Apply

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit (i) a cover letter and (ii) a CV (maximum 5 pages) using THIS LINK
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.