Vacancy Announcement
ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY
Position: Project Team Leader – National Agricultural Market Information System
Term of Employment: Project based
Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa (with field travel as required)
Required Number: One
Salary & Benefits: Competitive
Application Deadline: July 2, 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.
The programmatic focus 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 Productivity which includes Inputs and Crop Protection, Livestock, Research and Extension, Mechanization and Rural Finance; Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Agricultural Growth including 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; Agribusiness and Markets including 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.
POSITION SUMMARY:
Ethiopia has set ambitious goals to reduce poverty and hunger of rural populations. The Second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII) provides a comprehensive strategy to achieve the transformation needed across various parts of the agriculture sector in a sustainable and equitable manner. An important component of GTPII is to increase smallholder farmers’ and other value chain actors’ access to and uptake of market information services so that:
While there are currently a number of agricultural Market Information Systems (MIS) in Ethiopia meant to provide such market information services, these MIS are owned and managed by different institutions at federal and regional levels, are not well coordinated or integrated, lack data completeness, accuracy and timeliness, as well as accessibility and transparency, and make limited use of ICTs in data collection, transmission and dissemination. Key stakeholders have therefore agreed to design, develop and roll out a National Agricultural Market Information System during GTPII, with the design now completed. The National Agricultural Market Information System Project will focus on development, rollout and ongoing operational management of the system over the next three years.
ATA is therefore seeking to hire a Project Leader to drive day-to-day leadership and execution of this project, including managing a team of dedicated project staff and data collection officers in various regions. The Project Leader will report directly to the Director for Market Infrastructure, and work very closely with a number of teams at the ATA including the Market Development Team, the ICT in Agriculture Team, the Analytics Team, and ATA Regional Offices. He/she will also oversee the work of IT service providers engaged to design, develop, roll out and support the National Agricultural Market Information System, and ensure effective engagement with coordination with a wide range of stakeholders at federal and regional levels.
The ideal candidate will therefore have significant experience in project and team management, coordination and working with public and private sector stakeholders in the agriculture sector. He/she will preferably have experience in agricultural marketing and market information, and ICT technologies, and possess a passion for improving the lives of smallholder farmers.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: