Reginal Project officer I-ISGWID

Vacancy Announcement of  Internal /External   

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position:                             Reginal Project officer I-ISGWID

Term of Employment:      One year with a possibility of extension

Duty Station(s):                  SNNPR(Hawassa)

Required Number:            One

Salary & Benefits:             Competitive

Application Deadline:       June 19, 2021

POSITION SUMMARY:

The PO will lead the Irrigation and Drainage Program in working with RATA Integrated Shallow Groundwater Irrigation Development (ISGWID) Project lead to implement national priority initiatives within the household irrigation sub-sector. The PO will be responsible for the coordination and execution of high-impact initiatives across the entire value chain, as well as systemic activities in the ISGWID Project. 

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

 The Irrigation and Drainage Project Officer will be responsible for

• Problem Solving: Support the effort in the identification of critical bottlenecks, designing of different components of the ISGWID project, and defining implementable recommendations in the ISGWID project
• Implementation support: Identify areas where there is a need to support partners and design an implementation support strategy to enable partners to execute their deliverables in the required quality and timely manner.
• Work plan execution: manage the execution of the work plan with the support of a high-performance team of coordinators and contact persons from external implementing institutions, mainly the Ministry of Agriculture and LR, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, and Regional Bureaus of Agriculture and LR, Regional Bureaus of Water and other stakeholders through Regional ATA’s.
• Coordination: Ensure alignment of different stakeholders and follow-up implementation of interventions of different components of the project.
• Capacity building: ensure sharing of competencies for building the capacity of implementing institutions.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning:  support design and execution of MEL for each activity in the Irrigation and Drainage sector in accordance with ATA’s overall MEL framework
• Serve as an SPO, responsible for the overall implementation, values, culture, and management of the ISGWID project.
• Develop effective and collaborative partnerships with stakeholders across the ISGWID project (government, business, civil society, universities, cooperatives, farmers’ organizations, farmers, donors, etc.) in the delivery of priority sector objectives.
• Proactively identify opportunities to support stakeholders so that they can execute against their missions in the ISGWID project and support them in the mobilization of needed financial, human, or organizational resources for project execution
• Regularly report to the ISGWID project lead on progress, challenges, and constraints of the work
• Support the project lead in the preparation and manage the ATA ISGWID Project budget; obtain approval from the Director and monitor budget utilization against the allocation.
• Work collaboratively with other ATA programs to achieve synergies that impact the broader agricultural system 

Required qualifications, competencies, skills, training, and experience.

• BSc or MSc Degree in Agriculture science and its application to agriculture, or other relevant subjects.
• At least 5 years’ experience for BSc & 3 years for MSc in agricultural development, with deep expertise in household and/or small-scale irrigation
• Demonstrated expertise in the full value chain for high-value crops and energy efficient and water saving technologies.
• Deep understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural system, with a broad perspective on how the entire system operates and how public, private, NGO and informal actors operate within the system.
• Experience in piloting and scaling up relevant solutions at both national and local levels, while building productive partnerships across sectors
• Strong in-country network in Ethiopia in the agricultural sector, both at the national and the regional levels
• Oral and written fluency in English and local/regional language is essential.  Fluency in at least one additional Ethiopian language is a plus.
• Highly facilitative and collaborative style with the ability to build relationships with across diverse cultures and organizations.
• Passion for participation in cultivating and developing high-performance peer teams while incorporating cooperation, open communication, and social relationship.
• Excellent adaptive problem-solver in a challenging environment, with the ability to think strategically and prioritize program activities under dynamic conditions.
• Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty, and desire to be of service.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills including thorough extensive experience with government institutions, development partners, private sector stakeholders, and farmer groups.
• Demonstrated team player with good people management skills.