Job Title               Program Manager, AINFP Ethiopia

Location               Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Grade                   10

Reports to:        Chief of Party, with dotted line to Deputy Country Director

Travel:                up to 50% local travel and occasionally in the region

TechnoServe Background:

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. We are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital and markets. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

Program Description:

TechnoServe is implementing the USAID-funded Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) regional program in collaboration with Partners in Food Solutions (PFS). The program leverages the power of the private sector to create better nutritional outcomes for base-of-the-pyramid consumers and more profitable market opportunities for local farmers. This is achieved by supporting local food processing companies in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia through remote technical assistance and training from world leading food processing companies under PFS to increase the availability of safe, affordable and nutritious food.

Position Description:

The Program Manager will be overall responsible for leadership of the AINFP program, including country program strategy, quality and impact. S/he will manage the staff and guide them to develop and implement appropriate strategies to optimize impact in line with donor priorities. S/he will represent the programs and the organization in Ethiopia to external stakeholders, particularly the donors, relevant government ministries, industry stakeholders to increase visibility and organizational reputation. S/he will represent the organization at stakeholder events, actively seeking to promote the work of the organization, and will seek alliances to maximize opportunity and build upon relationships with other stakeholders in the business and food & nutrition ecosystems, to multiply impact and deliver value for money.

Additionally, the Program Manager will be responsible for program representation to internal stakeholders including the Country Director/Deputy Country Director, HR, Finance, and Procurement functions. S/he will be a member of the TNS Ethiopia Senior Management Team, participating in strategic decision-making for the overall country program.  S/he will lead on ensuring that the program generates learning on how the program model can most effectively transform food systems in Ethiopia and build resiliency across the food value chain.

Key Roles & Responsibilities:

Stakeholder Management and Representation

• Cultivate and maintain strong relations with key external stakeholders including donors, government, industry bodies, growth sector firms and other development actors working in this space
• Maintain good relations with the USAID mission team, ensuring timely delivery of contractual obligations and responsiveness to any issues raised
• Ensure regular communication with all program partners, and challenges (if any) are timely addressed.
• Participate in regular calls/meetings with program partners to ensure mutual understanding and alignment.
• Represent the programs and TechnoServe at relevant country level fora and coordination meetings, ensuring a high level of awareness of the programs and their achievements
• Builds reputation of the program through sharing of evidence-based impact and participation in key stakeholder events
• Build trust and confidence in TechnoServe as a key player in support to growth sectors, food and nutrition systems
• Regular meetings with the Deputy/Country Director to inform her/him of program progress, align with country objectives, administrative and compliance requirements and to receive support and assistance from the local office as required
• Coordination in-country with Finance, HR and Procurement functions as required to ensure smooth implementation of the program.

• Ensures clear and effective communication with all internal program stakeholders including clients and PFS

Program Strategy, Quality and Impact

·         Develops, presents, and implements the strategic vision, annual goals, and objectives for the programs in line with the overall strategy and objectives

·         Strategically selects areas of work, partnerships, and methodologies that contribute to effective delivery of a high impact portfolio

·         Takes ownership and accountability for improved quality, impact and effectiveness

Program Coordination & Sector Leadership

• Ensures high quality management of the program portfolio, overseeing the timely and impactful implementation of AINFP within the program resources and delivering agreed outcomes
• In coordination with the Chief of Party, develop annual work plans
• Overall accountable for delivery of program outputs and objectives against targets
• Proactively review, make recommendations and report on programmatic activities to deliver the agreed plans and contribute to success of the broader programs/portfolio
• Hold regular coordination meetings with the implementation team and partners to ensure implementation is on track and to course correct as necessary
• Identification of new opportunities for synergy with other programs, within TechnoServe and beyond, to further the aims of the program and grow our impact in these sectors
• Ensure strict compliance with TechnoServe and USAID regulations, policies and procedures
• Coordinates with Capacity Building Team, M&E Manager, Budget & Finance Analyst and other country team members to ensure learning across the team

Technical Leadership

·         Lead the process of client recruitment for AINFP program in Ethiopia

·         Ensure onboarding of high quality clients in line with the program result areas

·         Ensure that high quality project charters, other forms of technical assistance and interventions of AINFP contribute to program outcomes

·         Ensure that AINFP has a strong knowledge base of the food processing sector in Ethiopia

·         Support the Business and Market Linkages Specialist; the Grant and Access to Finance Specialist and the Senior Food Processing Specialists in managing the technical components of the project towards achieving project results

·         Ensure documentation of program performance based on TechnoServe’s corporate program quality management standards and AINFP specific documentation requirements

Budgeting & Financial Management

• Review program expenditures on a monthly basis to identify and explain any budget variances
• Coordinate with the Finance and Budget Analyst in timely tracking of country expenditures, budget management and forecasting
• Ensure direct expenditure in accordance with approved budgets
• Ensure that the country team is complying with financial procedures, including timely reporting on expenses and use of correct task codes
• Lead teams in annual work-planning and budgeting

Monitoring and Evaluation

·         Ensure preparation and timely submission of high quality monthly program update reports for sharing with the Chief of Party, M&E Manager and PFS.

• Ensure preparation of good quality quarterly Program Status Report (PSR) and participation in calls to discuss.
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of good quality semi-annual and annual reports to donors in coordination with M&E Manager
• Ensure timely collection, analyses and reporting of program data in coordination with M&E Managers, including success stories, case studies and outcome harvest reports

Knowledge Management & Learning

• Learning from within the program, TechnoServe practice areas, and from other programs ensure the application of best practice across the portfolio
• Support the teams to critically analyze their work and to adopt business advisory approaches to respond and adapt proactively to clients’ needs
• Ensure high standard of program performance based on TechnoServe’s corporate program quality management standards and specific program/donor requirements
• Contribute proactively to learning and constant improvement at a program, country and regional level
• Active participation on regional team meetings and program reviews, sharing learnings, challenges faced and solutions identified

Staff Management & Talent Development

• Direct line and performance management of the senior program staff, delegating responsibility as appropriate
• Team leadership and motivation, ensuring a cohesive and harmonious team
• Establish a culture of excellence in which the team strives for constant learning and improvement, where success is celebrated, communication is open, and everyone’s contribution is valued
• Ensure that SMART goals are established for each of the staff and that these are reviewed on a regular basis
• Ensure team buy-in to the program strategy and workplans, with each team member clear on their specific responsibilities and accountability
• Provide coaching to the staff for professional and personal growth, encouraging learning opportunities

Gender Equality

·         Ensure that program implementation adhere to TechnoServe’s Global and Country specific gender policies

• Ensure that at least 40% of the program clients and participants are women and/or women led enterprises
• Ensure greater uptake of opportunities by female and male interns in the program
• Advance gender equality within the team, with partners and target groups
• Build knowledge of how women and men can distinctly benefit from the program and seek for continuous improvement of methods to ensure that women and women in the targeted sectors can better benefit from the program

New Business Development

·         Actively seek out opportunities for new programs or program expansion in the areas of food & nutrition systems, growth industries

·         In collaboration with the CD/DCD and PD team develop an opportunity pipeline and nurture relationships to capture new funding

Country-level strategic management

·         Active participation in the TechnoServe Ethiopia Senior Management Team contributing to strategic discussions and decision making

·         Leadership on specific tasks assigned from time to time by the Country Director/Deputy Country Director

These are the requirements for any qualified candidate.

·         A Master's degree in Food Science, Nutrition, Food Engineering, Business, Economics, Agriculture or other relevant discipline.

·         At least 10 years of professional experience in a relevant area i.e. food science, business, economics, agriculture, development and agricultural value chains

·         Good knowledge and understanding of the business and/or technical challenges of agro-processing in Ethiopia

·         Familiarity with USAID private sector engagement or Feed the Future

·         Strong project management skills

·         Significant experience of managing multiple and complex stakeholder relationships

·         Strategic planning and innovation

·         Basic knowledge around relevant topics an asset, such as: food production and processing, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), finance for growing businesses, and food systems value chain development.

●        Ability to work independently and diplomatically in a multicultural environment

●        Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Core Competencies include:

●        Communication:  Expresses ideas effectively in individual and group situations. Listens effectively; shares information, ideas and arguments; adjusts terminology, language and communication modes to the needs of the audience; ensures accurate understanding; acts in a way that facilitates open exchange of ideas and information; uses appropriate non-verbal communication.

●        Leadership:  Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team and effectively plans, schedules, and prioritizes activities to achieve a common goal.

●        Decision making/Problem Solving:  Is able to analyze situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical and acceptable solution.  Is able to make effective decisions on a day-to-day basis, taking ownership of decisions, demonstrating sound judgement in escalating issues where necessary.

●        Team Work/ Relationships:  Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team with a full understanding of the role to be played as a team member and/or leader, to achieve a common goal.  Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.

●        Integrity and honesty: Is widely trusted; seen as a direct, truthful individual; presents truthful information in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; does not misrepresent himself or herself for personal gain.

●        Learning attitude:  Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn. Actively identifies new areas for learning; applies and shares new knowledge and skill appropriately.

●        Diversity/Inclusiveness:  Demonstrates an understanding and appreciation for diversity and supports diversity efforts. Interacts effectively with and inclusively with people of all races, cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, ages, and genders.

●        Results Oriented/ High Quality Deliverables:  Stays focused on the efforts necessary to achieve quality results consistent with programmatic or departmental goals. Demonstrates the ability to achieve effective results; works persistently to overcome obstacles to goal achievement. Accomplishes tasks by considering all areas involved, no matter how small; showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and tasks.

●        Planning & Time Management:  Establishes a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal. Effectively plans, schedules, prioritizes and controls activities; identifies, integrates and orchestrates resources (people, material, information, budget, and/or time) to accomplish goals. Prioritizes work according to the program or department’s goals, not just own job responsibilities; manages own time effectively.

●        Business Acumen:  The ability to use information, ask the right questions and take decisions that make an impact on the overall business performance.

Job Specific/Technical Competencies include:

●        Financial & Resource Management: The ability to estimate, justify, and manage appropriate funding levels to support goal accomplishment. Managing Resources is about understanding human, financial, and operational resource issues to make decisions aimed at building and planning efficient project workflows, and at improving overall organizational performance.

●        Computer Literacy: Demonstrates knowledge and ability to use specific computer programs or applications for own functional area. Has the ability to improve performance by integrating new and existing technology into the workplace.

●        Donor/Partnership Management: Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, or organizations to help achieve business goals.

●        Analysis, Research, Report Writing: Experience in business planning and analysis, modeling for feasibility and execution. Able to analyze and express oneself clearly in business writing.

●        Innovative Mindset: Curious inquiries, asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources, learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.

Managerial Competencies:

●        Emotional Intelligence: The act of knowing, understanding, and responding to emotions, overcoming stress in the moment, and being aware of how your words and actions affect others.  Emotional intelligence consists of 4 attributes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

●        Strategic Thinking: Managers should recognize key actions, underlying problems, make connections and patterns, see consequences and implications. Anticipates obstacles realistically and plans ways to deal with them.

●        Staff Development: managers are required to work with employees to plan on the development of skills and abilities so that they can fulfil current or future job/role responsibilities more effectively.

●        Trust to Delegate: managers should have trust and willingness to assign responsibilities to direct reports and give them discretion and authority to carry them out.

●        Feedback/Coaching (mentoring): managers should give instructions, suggestions, explanations, and feedback to subordinates.