Vacancy Announcement
ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY
Position: Senior Transformation Agenda Specialist – Inputs Marketing (Re-advert)
Term of Employment: One year with possibility of extension
Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa
Required Number: One
Salary & Benefits: Competitive
Application Deadline: December 08, 2019
BACKGROUND:
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) is a strategy and delivery-oriented government agency created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of the country’s agriculture sector. The ATA envisions that, by 2025, smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, contributing to Ethiopia’s achievement of middle-income country status.
The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources (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 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, 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 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.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Senior Transformation Agenda Specialist (STAS) being based in the MOA Delivery Unit (DU) in the Inputs and Crop Protection Program focusing on agricultural input marketing will primarily be responsible for providing local grounding and technical content support to the director of the Program in mapping out and strengthening the agricultural inputs marketing systems from producers to end markets. The STAS will assist and work closely with the MoA, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), Regional Bureaus of Agriculture (RBA), (Regional Bureaus of Trade (RBoT) in engaging with other key stakeholders including logistic enterprises and transporters, farmers’ cooperatives, farmers’ cooperative unions, Farm Service Centers, traders, wholesalers, retailers and other actors. The primary aim will be to increase the production and productivity of the crops sector through the creation of enabling environment for ease of market transactions, decrease market dysfunctions, and ultimately increase small-holder farmer income while also addressing the issues related to the price and health issues of end consumers.
The STAS will be involved in supporting the MOA input directorate on effective input supply gap analysis and demand estimation and possible interventions in inputs marketing and distribution. The STAS recruit will also work closely with other technical staff in the DU team and partners at the regional level in order to create synergies and maximize outputs and outcomes at regional level. Along this line, s/he will guide and provide support on implementation plans and strategies for value addition and access to markets of seed, fertilizer, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals efficiently to the small holder farmers. The STAS will work closely with relevant teams in ATA such as RFS, Cooperative, Marketing, etc. towards fulfilling the objectives of creating a full-fledged distribution of the most critical inputs for crop productivity.
The ideal STAS would possess a passion for improving the lives of small-holder farmers, a deep familiarity with Ethiopia’s agricultural system and extensive knowledge of production, agricultural marketing preferably input marketing and input producers. S/he would likewise possess the entrepreneurial ability to visualize transformation, to mobilize stakeholders across system, to be innovative and to drive practical change on the ground. S/he will also possess as strong interest in pursuing a career in the public sector and in continuing to share the analytical, content and leadership/management learning’s gained through the position with future colleagues within the public sector.
This position will officially report to the Transformation Agenda Advisor Markets I, of the Delivery Unit. The STAS will be hired by the ATA on a government contract, towards the ATA’s intention of building public sector capability.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
- Assist in the conception, launch, and support over time of a portfolio of initiatives designed to measurably improve the agricultural inputs marketing system in Ethiopia.
- Support the Director in building the capacity, as necessary, of key government, private and actors in Ethiopia’s markets system to enable long term improvements within the agricultural inputs markets system.
- Ensure creation of multiple channels for the delivery of inputs timely, efficiently and accountably to farmers through by reducing bureaucratic hurdles and improved household productivity.
- Assist in liaising the regional directorate and ACC with all stakeholders (international, Ethiopian, public and private) to remove systemic bottlenecks that hinder the development of efficient input marketing in view of the social and environmental integrity of technologies promoted by the organization.
- Actively participate in diagnosis, design and implementation of strategies and systems for smooth operation of the input marketing in key or priority commodities identified by ATA.
- Facilitate and support the RD in coordinating and harmonizing the design, formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of input and crop protection programs and projects in key priority areas of ATA.
- Assist in building the capacity, as necessary, of key government, private and development actors in the production, value addition and marketing continuum associated to management of the agricultural inputs in identified key commodities
- Align with all necessary stakeholders on the ATA marketing vision and road map.
- Produce regular reports to the input and crop protection director on progress, challenges and constraints related to the discharge of his work.
- Undertake any other activity as it may become necessary for the fulfillment of ATA’s objectives.
Job Requirements
- Minimum Bachelors or master’s degree (PhD degree preferred) in areas of Marketing Management agricultural inputs, Business Administration, Agricultural Economics or other relevant subject in Social Sciences.
- Minimum of 8 years’ experience for bachelor’s and 6 years for Master’s in a senior program leadership role in government, non-government, international or private sector preferably in the field of agricultural markets.
- Deep understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural market system, with a broad perspective on how the entire system operates and how public, private and non-government organization operate within the system.
- An extensive network, and relationships with the key market players, both locally and internationally, within seed, fertilizer, pesticide and related markets.
- Practical experience in implementing solutions at the local level and the zeal to work with rural communities to change their situations.
- Experience with program design, performance management, learning systems and monitoring & evaluation.
- Strong team player with good people management skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work and perform under pressure and changing environment.
- Creative thinker, self-starter and a self-motivated person.
- Passion and skill in networking, partnership, collaboration and alliance building.
- Strong operational, organizational and managerial skills.
- Experience in prioritizing and sequencing both programmatic and operational activities.
- Demonstrable track record in program and systems design and implementation.
- Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty and desire to be of service.
- Fluency in English and Amharic is essential. Fluency in one additional Ethiopian language is a plus.
More Information
- Job City Addis Ababa
