Managing Director – Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Platform Project 6 views0 applications

Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position: Managing Director – Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Platform Project

Term of Employment: Project based

Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa

Required Number: One

Salary & Benefits: Competitive

Application Deadline: February 28, 2017

BACKGROUND:

The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) has been established by the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) to identify and address systemic bottlenecks to Ethiopia’s agricultural development. The Agency does this through problem-solving, implementation support, and capacity building of stakeholders involved in implementation of interventions that address the systemic bottlenecks. The Agency reports to the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Development and is Secretary to the Transformation Council chaired by the Prime Minister.

Theprogrammaticfocus of the Agency responds to a core set of needs identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Development and the Transformation Council. Within the Agency, issues are divided into four different pillars: Production and Productivitywhich includes Inputs and Crop Protection, Livestock, ResearchandExtension, MechanizationandRural Finance; Environmentally SustainableandInclusive Agricultural Growthincluding Sustainable Irrigation and Watershed Management, Sustainable Land Management, Gender and Nutrition, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Targeted Livelihood Support, Biodiversity and (temporarily) Planning and MLE; AgribusinessandMarketsincluding Market Support Services, Commercial Farming, Agro-processing & Market Development, and Cooperatives Development; and Enhanced Implementation Capacity which includes ICT, Private Sector, and Organizational and Human Capacity.* *In addition, the **Agricultural Commercialization Clusters Initiative is another critical focus area for the Agency. Across the *programs, the ATA engages public, private and non-governmental stakeholders to support strategic planning, manage and strengthen implementation capacity and test innovative models**.*

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 ATA, 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.

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

The Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Platform Project (the EAAP) is a demand-driven, value-chain focused business accelerator that will help high-potential agribusinesses to scale. It is launching with an initial focus on the honey and wax value chain and will operate from Addis Ababa, with plans to establish a regional presence in strategically important honey and wax markets. The apiculture (honey and wax) value chain is the starting point because of its favorable value chain economics and comparative advantage, strong potential for multiplied economic and social impact, and the relatively stable policy environment. At its founding, the EAAP will be housed within ATA

POSITION SUMMARY:

The GoE has made the transformation and commercialization of the agriculture sector a key tenet of its second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). At the very core of the strategy to achieve this transformation is the transition of smallholder farmers from subsistence orientation to market focused production systems and activities that better integrate them into domestic and global supply chains. The full development and competitiveness of the entire agricultural value chain is thus critical to ensure that smallholder farmers can make the necessary market linkages that allow such supply chain integrations to happen.

Commercial enterprises that are so essential to make value chains competitive are however largely missing, in particular across the downstream end of the value chain. A number of challenges have contributed to the absence of sufficient number of agriculture enterprises in Ethiopia, chief among them under-developed business ecosystem “building blocks” (such as access to appropriate financial products and services, access to talent, access to expertise and access to markets).

In many other countries, well-designed and well-financed agribusiness accelerators have been used to fill such gaps through provision of comprehensive business development services and facilitation of access to the key “building blocks.” The EAAP will test and validate the accelerator concept for Ethiopia.

The Managing Director of the EAAP will be responsible for the overall management of the EAAP and effective day-to-day management of team members, providing operational management and problem solving support on a range of areas that include, but not limited to, designing and executing the EAAP’s scaling strategy, driving platform membership and entrepreneur development, identifying new business opportunities, raising sufficient funding (grant, debt, equity), and ensuring the development of talent.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

EAAP management

• Leading and managing the effective day-to-day operation of the Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Platform
• Recruiting and managing financial and human resources for execution of Platform activities and building a sustainable organization
• Leading and developing platform staff to deliver on EAAP’s strategy and targets
• Refining EAAP’s value proposition and marketing strategy to drive partner, funders and entrepreneurs/enterprises recruitment
• Building the ATA brand to represent successful incubation and acceleration, while personally becoming a thought leader in Ethiopia’s agricultural incubation and acceleration space
• Developing and monitoring detailed implementation plans, setting key performance indicators, milestones and targets
• Aligning the project with other national and regional policies, strategies and programs focused on Honey or other future focus value chains
• Coordinating EAAP activities with other ATA programs and projects to achieve synergies and multiply outcomes
• Providing regular updates to the Senior Director of Agribusiness & Markets and Enhanced Implementation Capacity Verticals, The EAAP Board and other relevant committees

Partner and stakeholder management

• Building and managing strategic relationships with private sector financiers, domestic and international honey purchasing companies and market partners, government, and development partners
• Developing and deepening domestic and international demand for Ethiopian honey (and other relevant future focus commodities) and coordinating ecosystem actors (federal and regional governments, farmers, technical experts, traders, businesses, investors etc.) as necessary to grow output of EAAP-supported enterprises
• Cultivating, growing and managing a high-quality, highly engaged network of mentors and experts

Entrepreneur support

• Approving strategies and plans for supported enterprises/entrepreneurs and providing guidance to help resolve potential business problems and/or capitalize on opportunities
• Facilitating and enabling entrepreneur success stories to inspire other entrepreneurs to get involved
• Continually managing and improving entrepreneurs’ accelerator experience

The Managing Director of the EAAP will work closely with:

• ATA’s Agribusiness & Markets and Enhanced Implementation Capacity teams
• Other ATA Program Teams
• External stakeholders such as the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Federal and Regional level government bodies,
• Relevant industry associations,
• Private sector market actors

This position will officially report to the Senior Director of the Agribusiness & Markets and Enhanced Implementation Capacity Verticals.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum Master’s degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Development, Agribusiness, Finance, Commerce, Management, Marketing or other relevant field
• At least 10 years post-Master’s experience (of which, at least 5 in middle to senior management positions) in one or more of the following: Business development/management/administration, agribusiness and consumer goods, program/project coordination, investment facilitation, business operations, corporate finance or related area

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with Ethiopia’s agricultural and business (especially food and beverage, consumer goods, agricultural commodity exports and/or retail) ecosystems, with a perspective on how the entire system operates (including public, private and informal actors)
• Outstanding track record in a leadership and management capacity and on a range of client and/or senior management engagements
• Entrepreneurial drive and experience in having successfully started and/or run a business
• Demonstrated track record of work on issues related to enterprise development e.g. Professional experience with a seed fund, business incubator, accelerator, or SME support organization
• Strategic management such as demonstration of growing responsibilities for strategic direction- setting and implementation
• Practical experiences in piloting, implementing, scaling up ideas/solutions
• Experience in creating public and private partnerships at national and international levels
• Exceptional ability to communicate consistently, clearly and effectively with a range of stakeholders in a cross-cultural environment
• Proven ability to lead, inspire, coach and develop others, including people from different backgrounds and culture
• Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty and service orientation
• Fluency in English, written and spoken, is essential. Knowledge of Amharic and other local and/or foreign languages a strong plus n

How to apply:

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to send (i) a cover letter, (ii) CV (maximum 5 pages), and (iii) a completed ATA Application Form, which can be downloaded at http://www.ata.gov.et/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Application-Form2.pdf

Please note that CVs, cover letter and other application materials WILL NOT be considered unless accompanied by a fully completed ATA Application Form. Also, please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application form.**

Please email (i) cover letter, (ii) CV (maximum 5 pages) and (iii) the completed application form to [email protected] and include “Application for Managing Director – Ethiopian Agribusiness Accelerator Platform Project” in the subject line.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

1. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.