Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY

Position:                          Team Lead, Power Access

Term of Employment:   Full time

Duty Station(s):              Addis baba

Required Number:        One

Salary & Benefits:          Competitive

Application Deadline:    July 10, 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, by 2025, smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability, contributing to Ethiopia’s achievement of middle-income country status.

The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources (MoA), its affiliate institutions, and other partners to identify and address systemic bottlenecks within an Agricultural Transformation Agenda. Second, we support Regional Governments to accelerate the development of high-priority commodity value chains in clearly defined geographic clusters, through the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) Initiative.

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, and we have regional offices in Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and Tigray regional offices, allowing us to work closely with a wide range of public, private and development sectors 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 teamwork 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 to 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 Power Access project works with multiple external stakeholders to expand the availability of electricity to smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, starting with the piloting mini-grids systems in 10 horticultural Farmer Production Cluster (FPC) locations to deliver energy to FPC farmers to be used for the irrigation of horticultural crops in the ACC Woredas in Ethiopia and other productive use cases across the value chain.

The project will pilot mini-grids as a viable renewable energy solution for horticulture FPC farmers in ACC Woredas, promote the adoption of modern electrified irrigation modalities and other productive uses and ensure the continued sustainability of the business model, system and the environment. Owned by the Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Energy (MoWIE), the Mini-grid pilot will be implemented in partnership with the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), MoA and Veritas Consultancy.

The Power Access Team Lead is primarily responsible for planning, designing, and implementing the ATA’s delivery on the Power Access through piloting Mini-grids, coordinating and supporting the work with MoWIE and other involved stakeholders to drive the direction and governance of the Power Access/Mini-grid pilot. He/she will also actively identify and pursue other innovative solutions to expand access to power to ACC farmers.

He/she is expected to support the delivery of the Power access project by engaging stakeholders, and through rigorous and practical project management and problem-solving. He/she reports to the Deputy Director-General Programs. The candidate for this role will have superior project management and communication skills, experience delivering on energy and electricity access initiatives, proven expertise engaging with multiple stakeholders in the public and private sector, and demonstrate the focus, urgency, and ownership in his/her work.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

Responsibilities for the Power Access Team Lead are to lead the implementation of Power Access initiatives in the ATA, including the rollout of the Mini-grid pilot through effective stakeholder management, strong coordination with MoWIE and other implementing partners, and project management. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Leading on stakeholder management, coordination, and support for the successful rollout of the Power Access project pilot:

·       Work closely with MoWIE, MoA and other implementing partners on the design, planning and rollout of the Mini-grids pilot, bringing agricultural expertise and contributing to the successful launch of the project.

·       Work with stakeholders to understand infrastructural arrangements and availability issues, as well as the impact of increased access to power and irrigation.

·       Ensure that the different organizations working on the pilot are aligned with the vision of the ACC program, that the project is relevant to the Farmer Production Clusters approach and contributing to the results outlined in the ACC results framework.

·       Present ideas, respond to queries and represent the ATA clearly and concisely in internal and external discussions.

·       Work closely with ATA’s teams, particularly with the ACC crops teams both at the federal and regional levels.

• Lead Power Access project management, including planning, development, budgeting, prioritization of activities and workstreams, implementation and monitoring:

o   Project management of the Mini-grids work and further electrification opportunities for smallholder farmers in the ACC/FPC woredas

·       Lead annual planning, budgeting, oversee implementation, identify, and mitigate risks and track the progress of Power Access projects and initiatives.

·       Responsible to support in identifying and coordinating ACCs-FPC clusters and farmers, and irrigation infrastructures at pilot sites in the regions.

o   Successful delivery against project targets

·       Track performance of the mini-grid pilot and other projects, identify challenges to implementation and results, establish and roll out solutions, ensuring rigorous project implementation and impact to smallholder farmers.

o   Plan and implement ways to improve project delivery from start to finish. Prioritize activities and ensure required timelines and quality standards are met.

o   Design and oversee extension and capacity building services given to ACC farmers to support irrigation and horticulture production.

o   Conduct and/or coordinate studies on feasibility and business model of electrification opportunities and access to smallholder farmers

·       This will include assessing the feasibility of additional ACC mini-grids sites for the full roll-out stage of the Power Access project.

o   Coordinate data collection and analysis on soil, shallow water mapping, horticulture water demands and other relevant data necessary as needed to successfully implement the pilot project.

o   Development of future agricultural electrification strategy.

• Manage the Power Access team:

·       Identify required skills and lead on the recruitment of additional Power Access team members as required.

·       Directly manage Power Access staff, with a focus on superior performance and professional development of team members.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree required, preferred in Electrical Engineering, Irrigation Engineering, solar energy, Business/ Economics, Project Management or related fields.

• At least 10 years of managerial experience in delivery-focused roles in public, private, or development sector organizations.

• Strong project management skills, stakeholder engagement and problem-solving ability in the delivery of complex, impactful projects.

• Direct experience in the delivery of projects to expand electricity access.

• Knowledge of and experience of electrical infrastructure.

• Strong project management abilities, with proven experience in delivering projects.

• Ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with multiple departments and stakeholders across different organizations.

• Outstanding analytical, communication and presentation skills with ability to communicate, coordinate and manage engagements with senior stakeholders in the ATA and in other organizations.

• Strong core values of integrity and professionalism.
• Fluency in English and Amharic.