The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a Specialized Agency of the United Nations. Its mandate is to promote and accelerate sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition, and is to work towards improving living conditions in the world’s poorest countries by drawing on its combined global resources, international and national expertise. This assignment will be under the supervision of the Agro-Industries Technology Division (PTC/AGR/AIT) part of the Agribusiness Development Department (PTC/AGR). This Division is responsible for all technology aspects of the agro-based industries in textile, leather, wood and agricultural mechanization systems. Emphasis is placed on the design and implementation of programmes serving sustainable development requirements of the agri-businesses and related industries, including its environmental needs to be developed by Governments, industries, private sector agencies, and NGOs targeting poor communities to become more resilient. Furthermore, this Division also provides technical support to enhance demand-oriented vocational technical skills for employment creation and entrepreneurship for sustainable development.

PROJECT CONTEXT

The present proposal is inserted within the EU Action Fiche “Leather Initiative for Sustainable Employment Creation (LISEC) in Ethiopia”^[1]. The overall objective of the action is to create greater economic and decent employment opportunities, especially for young men and women through the development of the Ethiopian leather industry and the Modjo leather industrial park. LISEC’s intervention logic is to contribute to the reduction of irregular migration from Ethiopia by creating greater economic and decent employment opportunities for young men and women through the development of Modjo Leather City Industrial Park and Ethiopian leather industry value chain, one of the sectors identified in the Ethiopian’s Growth and Transformation Plan II (GTP II) as having the potential to boost the growth of the economy. As such, this programme proposes a new vision towards inclusive and sustainable industrial development that protects the environment and supports social inclusion. In order to achieve the main programme goal, LISEC has been structured following a comprehensive approach with three main components aiming at:

• Advancing economic competitiveness by strengthening the leather value chain;
• Protecting the environment by facilitating financial investments towards the establishment of an eco-friendly leather industrial park in Modjo; and
• Strengthening social cohesion by supporting local economic and social development initiatives, especially for women and youth living in Modjo area; and enhancing industrial and labor relations in the MLC.

These three interlinked components will be coordinated and monitored closely by the EUD under a centralized management approach. UNIDO in close collaboration with the MoI and the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI) will implement component 1. UNIDO has been selected to implement this component due to its large experience in supporting the Ethiopian leather and leather products industry, its knowledge of national and regional leather institutions and its successful results on the sector.

The specific objective of the project is to enhance the economic competitiveness by strengthening an inclusive and sustainable development of the Ethiopian leather value chain. In this context, concrete actions will be undertaken in order to:

• Improve quality and quantity of hides and skins (H&S – including grading system, training, awareness raising) by supporting the leather value chain from slaughter houses to tanneries;
• Support tanneries (processing and producing finished leather) towards integration into the leather global value chain through competitiveness gains/environmental compliance, including the creation of a LIDI Regional center.
• Promote investments in/around Modjo Leather City (including MSMEs clusters) for both domestic and foreign companies.

This project initiative is totally in line with the Ethiopian National Development Strategy and specifically with the GTP II supporting the transformation of the Ethiopian agriculture-based economy into an industrialized one, thus becoming a middle-income country by 2025. Furthermore, this project proposal has been articulated by in-taking some of the Valletta Action Plan (elaborated by EU in November 2015) priority areas, mainly:

i) Launch projects to enhance employment opportunities and revenue-generating activities in regions of origin and transit of migrants in East, North and West Africa to enhance the professional skills and employability of young people, including the AU/NEPAD skills initiative, access to digital technologies, support to micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises in the formal and informal sectors and increased access to finance.

ii) Facilitate responsible private investment in African agriculture, agri-business and agro-industries and boost intra-African trade and exports of agricultural products through agricultural finance initiatives and by working with like-minded organizations, with immediate effect, with a view to contributing to rural economic transformation, taking due note of the African Union’s Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods.

The services of a full time experienced Ethiopian NPC, a senior technical professional with excellent knowledge of key institutional stakeholders involved in the project, who understands the implementation requirements and its management implications of the project, is essential for the following:

He/She will closely work with the CTA and all other team members to provide details for 6-monthly  planning exercises which need to be updated, technical inputs within his/her Terms of Reference (TOR) and to oversee/manage the project implementation logistics. In the absence of the CTA, the NPC is also expected to manage the Project Team. The NPC is to link up with different stakeholders and local project partners at several levels during day-to-day project implementation, in line with the planned outputs/results. Specifically, he/she will be expected to:

• Based on Project Document update with the CTA and the local counterparts an work plan and activities to be undertaken including division of responsibilities
• Assist the TC in supervising the day-to-day field operations of the project, including devising work plans and supporting project procurement, guided by the project document, work plan and budget
• Assist in the evaluation of the performance of national staff and the tracking and quantifying of input usage rates for project funded activities and resources
• Provide assistance on the various reporting requirements to assess the quality and effectiveness of workshops, training activities, distribution of inputs, etc.
• Liaise and coordinate with UNIDO representative in relation to the UNIDO related activities
• Coordinate field activities with counterparts LIDI and ELIA Leather Association, and NGO’s operating in the target region.

Expected Results

• Work plan and scope of activities agreed by all partners
• Assisted the TC in supervising the day-to-day field operations of the project, including devising work plans and supporting project procurement, guided by the project document, work plan and budget
• Assisted in the evaluation of the performance of national staff and the tracking and quantifying of input usage rates for project funded activities and resources
• Provide assistance on the various reporting requirements to assess the quality and effectiveness of workshops, training activities, distribution of inputs, etc.
• Liaised and coordinated with UNIDO representative in relation to the UNIDO related activities
• Coordinated field activities with other agencies and NGO’s operating in the target regions.

Location: Addis Ababa with regular (e.g. daily /weekly)  travels to Modjo (about 50 km from Addis Ababa)

Start of Contract (EOD): 1 October 2018

End of Contract (COB): 30 September 2019

MINIMUM ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION

• Advanced University Degree, preferably in Leather Technology, Chemical Science or similar from a well-recognized Technical College.

TECHNICAL AND FUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of 10 years of practical experience in the field of leather technology (both tanning and finishing) and environmental issues related to the tanning operations. Experience in training and education (particularly leather technology and environmental issues) will be considered a strong advantage. Sound knowledge of project management activities and coordination; including project monitoring and evaluation. Analytical thinking; planning, organizing and problem-solving abilities; good inter-personal and team building  skills; cross-cultural  and gender sensitivity; excellent verbal and written communication skills; excellent presentational skills; report writing skills; willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the relevant technical and business fields

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in written and spoken English is highly required. Strong knowledge of written and spoken Amharic. Working knowledge of Oromiffa is desirable.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

CORE VALUES:

• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Respect for diversity

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Results orientation and accountability
• Planning and organizing
• Communication and trust
• Team orientation
• Client orientation
• Organizational development and innovation

MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES (AS APPLICABLE):

• Strategy and direction
• Managing people and performance
• Judgement and decision making
• Conflict resolution