Vacancy Announcement
ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY
Position: Project Officer II– eVoucher Project
Term of Employment: Project – One year
Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa
Required Number: One
Salary & Benefits: Competitive
Application Deadline: Dec 29, 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 a Transformation Council chaired by the Prime Minister and whose co-chair is the Minister of Agriculture.
The programmatic focus of the Agency responds to a core set of needs identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Transformation Council. Within the Agency, issues are divided into four different groups: Production and Productivity which includes Inputs and Crop Protection, Livestock, Research and Extension, Mechanization, Rural Finance & Agro-Processing Value Addition; Agribusiness and Markets including Market Services, Market Infrastructure, Commercial & Contract Farming, Domestic and Export Market Development, and Cooperatives Development; Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Agricultural Growth including Sustainable Irrigation & Watershed Management, Sustainable Land Management, Gender Equality and Nutrition, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, and Planning and MLE; and Enhanced Implementation Capacity which includes ICT, Private Sector, and Organizational and Human Capacity. 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:
Among the flagship deliverables of the Rural Financial Services Program is the implementation of the Input Voucher Sales System (IVS) for distribution of agricultural inputs. Under this system vouchers for inputs (fertilizer, seed, chemical) are purchased by a farmer at a financial institution (MFI or RuSACCO) for either cash or credit and then redeemed at a multi-purpose cooperative. The system is designed to enhance the input delivery system to improve access to input credit to small holder farmers, to remove the burden of handling of large amounts of cash from the cooperative system and reduce the exposure of regional governments under the guarantee provided to secure a loan to import inputs. The system was successfully implemented in all woredas in Amhara, in 23 woredas in Tigray, 87 woredas in SNNPR and 6 woredas in Oromia reaching over 3.7 million farmers. In the coming 3 planting seasons, small holder farmers of all woredas in Tigray, SNNPR and Oromia will be utilizing the system.
To ensure successful and efficient scale up of the input voucher sales system, automation has been initiated and an application that uses low cost smartphones and NFC tags has been developed to disburse fertilizer and seeds to farmers, replacing the manual system. The automated system has been successfully piloted in two woredas Amhara and three woredas in Tigray.
ATA is looking to hire a project officer to be based in Addis Ababa ATA Office to work with the technology service provider, equipment vendors, MFIs, regional bureaus of agriculture and cooperatives to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the automated system. The ideal candidate has experience in finance and technology related projects in Ethiopia, preferably in the Ethiopian financial sector. The candidate will need to be able to work at a detail level in the design and implementation of systems, be adept at presenting complex ideas clearly and persuasively. The candidate should have a passion for improving the lives of smallholder farmers and improving financial inclusion in Ethiopia’s rural areas. Some travel within Ethiopia is to be expected.
This position will officially report to the Program Director
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
The major duties of the Project Officer include, but are not limited to, the following: