Position: Senior Director, ACC
Term of Employment: Full Time
Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa
Required Number: One
Salary & Benefits: Competitive
Application Deadline: May 20, 2021
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 smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, contributing to a transformed agriculture by 2030.
The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and its federal and regional affiliate institutions, and other partners to identify and address systemic bottlenecks within sector’s development plan. 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) Program.
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, with regional office representations 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 ACC Senior Director is a Senior Executive at the ATA, serving on the Senior Management Team of the Agency. ACC is a market-driven value chain (VC) development approach to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers through an inclusive and environmentally sustainable approach. His/her role primarily involves leading the ACC Program vertical which includes crops (cereals, oilseeds and horticultural commodities including rotational crops) and livestock related projects, managing and supporting teams and projects on Production, Inputs, Agribusiness and Markets, Power Access, Project Management Office, and overseeing the overall direction and impact of the ACC program.
The Senior Director guides and refines ACC strategies, aligns and integrates ACC strategies with national priorities (Agro-industrial parks, Ag reforms, AGP and others), represents the ACC in strategic platforms (inter-ministerial, parliament, development partners meetings, command post, etc.), engages with development partners at high-level, identifies risks and mitigation strategies to implementation and impact, and ensures that the ACC program is planned and implemented as per the concept of clustering approach and it is in the right track to achieve its strategic goals so as to contribute to the transformation of the agricultural sector.
He/she will also work closely with other Senior Directors at the ATA in order to leverage and maximize synergies across different programs. To this end he/she will support and guide implementation plans and strategies along priority program areas in his/her oversight He/she must possess and be able to demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills and relationship building abilities. As part of the Senior Management Team, the Senior Director supports the steering of the ATA’s broader strategy to agricultural transformation, advising the CEO and the Deputy CEO and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
This position will report directly to the ATA’s Deputy CEO and will be based in Addis Ababa.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES: