Position:  Project Coordinator – Team Lead II

Term of Employment:  One year with possibility of extension

Duty Station(s):  Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Required Number: One

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), formerly known as the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), is a strategy and delivery-oriented government institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, which is a key contributor to the country’s GDP, exports, and workforce. The ATI’s work is cantered on improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers (SHFs) across the country for improved income, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability. 

The ATI works to transform the agriculture sector in Ethiopia by conducting policy and analytical studies, providing technical implementation support and capacity building, coordinating. 

platforms to better integrate partners and projects and designing and directly leading several innovative/pilot interventions. The Institute joins forces with various stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, farmers, and development partners, to support the implementation of agricultural development programs and initiatives. In addition, the ATI collaborates with national and international partners to facilitate knowledge exchange and learning opportunities. The Institute plays a crucial role in generating and disseminating information to support evidence-based decision-making in Ethiopia’s agricultural sector.

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. 

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) has launched the Energizing Women and Youth in Agri-Food System (EWAS) project to tackle unemployment and promote green energy in the agricultural value chain, focusing on young women. ATI integrates youth employment, gender equality, climate-smart practices, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture across its programs to create sustainable job opportunities and build resilience. ATI currently works with over 3 million smallholder farmers, including 540,300 women and youths, through its Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) and digital agriculture programs designed to improve production and productivity while supporting other actors along the value chain. Additionally, the ADEY program also creates jobs for women and youths in ACC regions and Somali by improving access to markets and strengthening MSMEs. Leveraging ATI's experience, EWAS project aims to create employment opportunities for young women by establishing enterprises in three value chains namely grain milling, horticulture collection centers, and honey and wax processing, supporting through capacity-building, skills development, and provision of essential equipment. The project interventions are implemented in seven regions (Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, Sidama, South Ethiopia, Southwest Ethiopia, and Central Ethiopia). The component activities are designed to create employment opportunities for youths, exclusively 100% females, through engaging them in grain milling, horticulture collection centers, and honey and wax processing. 

The Project Coordinator (Team Lead-II) for the EWAS Project will be responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of the project, overseeing all the project activities, implementation, and stakeholder coordination and supporting the program director in problem-solving. Additionally, The Project Coordinator will focus on developing capabilities within the project team, embedding a culture of rigorous analytics, problem-solving, and program management. He/she will be based at the ATI head office and lead the component team to achieve the program objectives with measurable outcomes. He/she will be responsible for coordinating, leading and supporting the team in planning, implementation, monitoring/supervision and learning exchanges. He/she will closely support and work with the regional and partner teams to ensure alignments, quality of the program implementation and impacts. He/she will directly report to the ADEY Program Director with the major role of leadership and coordination to achieve project objectives efficiently. The position holder will closely work with the ADEY Deputy Director ensuring alignments with the program.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Plan and manage the technical program based on the proposal submitted to the donor and initiate innovative interventions that contribute to the objective of the project as required.

• Ensure the delivery of program outcomes, targets and KPIs effectively and efficiently with desired quality standards. 

• Manage and lead problem solving sessions, provide high caliber support to project team members and ensure team alignment, coordination, and build high performance culture and delivery on priority objectives.

• Supervise and manage project technical teams, including the preparation of annual work plans and budgets, establishing performance objectives and standards, and ensuring timely and appropriate feedback, guidance, and support for optimum performance.

• Oversee and manage Senior technical and Project Officers to ensure project deliverables are implemented in alignment with the project document and timeline.

• Provide technical and strategic advice to all members of the PMU and facilitate technical capacity building when needed.

• Oversee the monitoring of project progress and the evaluation of results.

• Monitor project risks, supervise implementation of risk mitigation measures, and update the risk and mitigation measures yearly.

• Identify needs for external technical support for effective implementation, organize and oversee short term missions.

• Oversee administrative and financial management, including procurement of goods and services, budget and expenditure analysis or contractual management.

• Liaise and coordinate with all project stakeholders 

• Coordinate the drafting of all project related reports in a timely manner (annual, semi-annual or quarterly progress and operational reports, as per requirements), including reporting to EWAS Steering committee. 

• Facilitate knowledge management, particularly in terms of lessons learned and best practices which may feed a dialogue with government authorities and other DPs as well as contribute to future interventions and policy making.

• Identify needs and oversee the design and elaboration of project related communication and capitalization material.

• Closely work with communication, and monitoring and evaluation teams to facilitate documentation and sharing of best practices, learnings and impacts.

• Engage with the crop and livestock commercialization program team and support them to ensure integration, build on and leverage its experiences for agribusiness development and job creation.

• Organize stakeholder meetings and workshops, value chain alliance platforms, and prepare and make high-quality presentations to expand program outreach and advocacy.

• Develop an outreach and advocacy plan for the EWAS project to engage stakeholders, raise awareness, and promote the project’s objectives to ensure successful participation and support across targeted regions.

• Closely work with ADEY, CCP, Livestock Commercialization (LC) and other related project teams. 

• Implement other activities as required by subprogram, ACC program or the ATI.

• Integrate and ensure implementation of young women centric design approaches in the program.

• Align and closely work with Women and Social Affairs and all other program teams at regional transformation center and all directorate and other verticals in ATI for planning and execution of all relevant activities to ensure collaborative Value Chain delivery. 

Job Requirements

Required Qualification, Competencies and Experience

•  PHD or master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Project management, Agricultural Science, Rural Development and other related fields, 12 years for master’s holders and 6 years for PhD. of relevant experience in implementation of young women focused employment creation initiatives along the agricultural value chains. 

• Experience in providing management guidance and technical oversight on regional level projects.

• Extensive experience in implementing and managing donor-funded projects.

• Experience in leading multi-dimensional teams and complex work programs.

• Experience in strategist and addressing programmatic and operational issues.

• Experience in crop - livestock - Agri business value chains and MSME’s

• Experience in dissemination and institutionalization of best practices and lessons with implementing partners. 

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

• Broad understanding of how public, private, and informal actors operate within the agricultural system.

• ​Experience in green energy project is a plus  

• Inclination towards participatory management (at team and beneficiary level), capacity to implement and experience of participatory planning methods.

• Desire of improving the lives of smallholder farmers.

• Willingness to undertake frequent field visits.

• Ability and willingness to work under pressure and deliver quality results.

• Strong team working skills.

• Strong Communication skills (writing, speaking, composing, presenting, etc.).

• Proficiency in computer and internet-based communication tools.

• Strong verbal and written English and Amharic languages communication skills.

Safeguarding risk level

• The role holder will have frequent or intensive contact with program participants as he/she will 

• be responsible for implementing and monitoring program activities. 

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) to THIS LINK. It is mandatory to mention the position title in both the subject line of your cover letter and the Outlook email subject line. Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply 

NB. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.