Senior Director

Position Summary: 

The Senior Director will lead the ATI Regional Team and will have a primary responsibility of closely engaging with ATI senior management to plan and implement a portfolio of integrated initiatives towards increasing efficiency in crop production, marketing value to agriculture and livestock produces while striving for operational excellence in finance, procurement, logistics and human resources management. The Senior Director shall primarily collaborate and closely work with the Regional Bureaus of Agriculture and Livestock Resources and shall engage with all strategic regional stakeholders including the regional hierarchies of the zonal, woreda and kebele offices. The Senior Director will seek to strengthen the collaboration and capabilities of federal and regional institutions. The ideal Senior Director will be passionate about his/her work on improving the lives of rural people, particularly smallholder households. S/he must possess a deep familiarity with Ethiopia’s socio-economic and political environment and Ethiopian agricultural systems. Also, s/he must possess deep familiarity and extensive knowledge of agricultural extension system and institutions operating in the sector. The Senior Director will lead and oversee all programmatic functions such as clusters, and other projects and administrative (Finance, audit, procurement, logistics and HR) while integrating the regional office work with that of the ATI headquarter.

He/she will also work closely with other Senior Directors at ATI 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 ATI’s broader strategy to agricultural transformation and supports evidence-based decision-making.

This position will report directly to the ATA’s Deputy CEO and will be based in Hawassa with frequent to regions.

 MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The main responsibilities of the Senior Director include but are not limited to the following:

 Leadership

• Lead ATI’s Regional Team and engage with the Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock Resources, and other relevant regional and federal institutions in the implementation of ATI’s targets and deliverables
• Develop thought partner relationship with ATI’s SMT in the development of organizational strategies, policies and procedures to enhance organizational capacity and capabilities
• Articulate ATI’s vision, mission, values, strategic initiatives, programs and plans to the regional presidents, regional cabinets and other implementation partners
• Effectively manage the regional programmatic as well operational component of the regional office
• Ensure the strengthening and operationalization of transformation platforms
• Align strategies and programs with regional priorities to deliver increased results in effectively impacting the agricultural sector
• Support effective cross-sector and public-private stakeholders' coordination and problem-solving issues at the regional and federal level, including alignment of ATA’s priorities with other national and regional strategies and programs
• Provide effective timely upward reporting to the Regional Transformation Council, chaired by regional presidents as required
• Provide effective timely upward reporting to the ATI’s CEO, Deputy CEO, and Senior Management and leadership on programmatic and operational issues
• Ensure effective regular communication and reporting with the various government offices, and key public, private and development partner stakeholders
• Lead the regional enhancement program while instilling a transformational mindset to regional staff and beyond
• Participate in SMT discussions and provide strategic input, contributing to decision-making and the direction of the organization

Project Management

• Ensure stakeholder coordination, planning, reporting, problem-solving, and implementation support activities are seamlessly executed
• Ensure annual plan and established KPIs are met at the regional level for nationwide impact Ensure effective capacity-building support to Regions on issues related to ATA Initiative
• Lead process of performance management from the Kebele, Woreda, cluster, regional levels in connection with annual plans and regional targets
• Lead process of work plan development and is responsible for execution to meet set KPIs at agreed timeline and budget

Operations

• Ensure regional budget utilization is according to the plan
• Optimize organization resources to drive impact on smallholder farmer’s livelihood
• Ensure both financial and operational standards are maintained to meet government and partners’ audit requirements
• Commit in people development plan to ensure the regional office is staffed with only high caliber staff

Job Requirements

• Minimum Master’s degree in Public Policy, agricultural economics, or closely related fields from a reputable University is required.
• At least 14 years of relevant and combined experience is required in the agriculture sector, structuring, and managing policy analysis within the government, at a research or think-tank organization out of which 6 years should be in leadership and managerial positions.
• Significant experience and proven success of leading and delivering high-impact, challenging policy-related drafting and analysis, stakeholder consultation, and engagement with policymakers is required.
• Proven ability to develop credible, evidence-based policy advice and effectively liaise with senior policymakers, as well as development partners, non-governmental and private sector organizations
• Exceptional ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a range of stakeholders in a cross-cultural environment (fluency in English is essential)
• Highly collaborative management style and demonstrated success in managing and developing high-performance policy staff and teams
• Strong understanding of the country’s broad economic reform program, the rationale, and what it will mean for agriculture and rural development
• Strong set of personal values including integrity, honesty, and desire to be of service.

How to Apply

We invite all candidates meeting the required qualifications to submit

1. a cover letter
2. a CV (maximum 5 pages) to https://apply.ata.gov.et

It is mandatory to mention the position title under the subject line of your application/cover letter.

Please DO NOT submit scans of certificates with your application.

Women are highly encouraged to apply.

NB: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.