The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) was established by federal regulation in 2010 to catalyze the transformation of Ethiopia’s agriculture sector. It does so by helping to identify and address systemic bottlenecks to agricultural development and proposing appropriate interventions.

The ATA is governed by the Transformation Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, and works closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources as well as a host of other governmental and non-governmental actors. Its supports the execution of a prioritized set of interventions known collectively as the Transformation Agenda, and implements the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters Initiative targeting high-potential geographies and crops.

Its mission is to catalyze the transformation of the agriculture sector by addressing systemic constraints and developing sustainable value chains. 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.

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:

The Director of Cross Cutting Initiatives is a leadership level position within the ATA administration reporting to the Senior Director of Implementation Support. His/her role will primarily involve managing and supporting experts focused on areas related to Gender, Nutrition, Youth and Climate & Environment.

The Director will be responsible for the coordination and strategic direction of the teams mainstreaming of cross cutting issues within all of the ATA’s projects, analytical studies and other activities. He/she will also work closely with other senior directorial staff within the ATA, in order to leverage and maximize on synergies across different program types. To this end s/he will support and guide implementation plans and strategies along priority systems and value chains as related to cross cutting initiatives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Supervise and performance manage the experts with the various cross cutting thematic areas.
• Provide direction, guidance and support to the experts with the program in order to ensure that high quality deliverables and outputs are created in line with the ATA’s overall goals
• Actively participate in diagnostic activities, solution design and development of policies, strategies and solutions developed by the project teams or analytical case studies to ensure that cross cutting issues are well integrated
• Support the other teams with the Implementation Support vertical to facilitate close and collaborative synergies and integration of cross cutting issues in the design, project management and evaluation of all ATA projects
• Ensure that the experts with the ATA’s Cross Cutting Initiatives program provide sufficient support in the execution of the Agricultural Commercialization Cluster (ACC) Initiative
• Support, enable and facilitate close and collaborative relationships between experts in the Cross Cutting Initiative program team and all ATA projects in order to make sure that problem solving and implementation support areas for cross cutting issues are well considered
• Critically assess capacity gaps that may hinder effective implementation of activities and develop solutions as required.
• Coordinate and harmonize the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of cross cutting issues with all ATA projects and analytical outputs
• Support the organization in other operations or roles as required by the Senior Director of Implementation Support and the CEO

• MSc in Agriculture, Rural Development, Development or other relevant subject.

• Minimum of 10 years in a senior program leadership role in government, international agency or private sector.

• Deep understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural system, with a good perspective on how the system operates and how public, private and informal actors interact within the system.

• Understanding of climate, gender, nutrition and youth related issues within the context of agricultural transformation.

• Practical experience in implementing solutions at a local level.

• Experience in developing and building relationships between the public and private sector

• Strong team player with outstanding management skills.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Ability to work under pressure and in a constantly evolving and challenging environment.

• Self-starter and self-motivated person.
• Fluency in English is essential.  Fluency in at least Amharic and/or one additional Ethiopian language is a plus.