TechnoServe Ethiopia Country Director 45 views

TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. As a nonprofit organization operating in multiple countries, we work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities. With over 50 years of proven results, TechnoServe believes in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

Job Summary:

The Country Director leads all aspects of TechnoServe’s country level strategic branding and operations to achieve sustainable economic development in a cost-effective manner. This position serves as TechnoServe’s legal representative in Ethiopia and will provide overall management of TechnoServe Ethiopia, including HR, procurement, finance and operations, ensuring efficient and effective and high quality implementation of programs, compliance with all donor and local legal requirements as well as TechnoServe policies, statutory and organizational laws and regulations.

Program Summary:

Over the past decade, TechnoServe has been working in Ethiopia to address key challenges in agricultural market systems, challenges in industries, and businesses. TechnoServe’s current portfolio in Ethiopia includes twelve active projects, which are implemented by our team of 166 full-time employees as well as over 180 farmer trainers who are from and reside in rural communities. The projects are funded by a mix of donors including bilateral donors, private sector partners and foundations. TechnoServe Ethiopia is currently focused on strengthening a variety of value chains, including coffee, honey, vegetables, as well as supporting Ethiopian agro-processors to improve quality and business practices, and supporting growth sector firms to improve business practices and efficiency in order to create more jobs. Our work actively engages thousands of farmers, hundreds of primary cooperatives, and dozens of unions and agribusinesses. TechnoServe has also built a robust network of local partnerships in Ethiopia. We partner with the Ethiopian government, farmers, cooperatives, input suppliers, agro-processors, and other public and private sector firms as well as financial institutions.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

Accountable for effective, efficient and compliant financial, administrative and operational functions in TechnoServe Ethiopia, and high quality execution of Ethiopia’s projects.

Leadership: Manage Ethiopia’s Senior Management Team, currently Program Managers, Deputy Country Director s and leaders of the HR, Finance and Procurement functions. Develop among staff a principled commitment to TechnoServe’s mission and build a working culture that aligns with organizational values of integrity, collegiality; foster a working environment for in-country staff that makes TechnoServe a priority destination for motivated local professionals and develop a team spirit among the staff.

Human resources: Execute authority to: (a) Manage personnel subject to TechnoServe’s one-over-one approval process and Human Resources policy, and (b) Hire independent consultants in accordance with TechnoServe’s procurement policy; ensure timely completion of HR-related reports including performance appraisals and annual salary adjustments, among others.

Regional Coordination: establish and maintain strong working relationships with divisional, regional and HQ teams; ensure information is shared and flows transparently within the country project team and to the regional program management team.

Stakeholder Representation: Establish and maintain strong relationships with relevant stakeholders in Ethiopia, including government ministries, private sector companies, business associations, and civil society organizations; securing their support as needed; represent TechnoServe Ethiopia at internal and external functions.

Legal Compliance: Represent TechnoServe in all legal matters at the country level, and ensure TechnoServe retains and consults with qualified local legal counsel as needed; ensure that TechnoServe is properly registered in Ethiopia and complies with all local laws; establish and manage a board of directors if required. Execute agreements with local government, bilateral and multilateral institutions, and client groups.

Finance: Review and approve expenditures to ensure compliance with country and donor budgets and TechnoServe’s procurement/finance policies; ensure submission of high quality reports and documents to TechnoServe’s HQ on a timely basis in accordance with the corporate calendar, including monthly financial close, annual and mid-year budgets; monitor burn rates on a monthly basis and course correct spending as needed and/or ensure donor and internal budget realignments are requested and approved when required. Ethiopia Program Oversight: Coach and supervise leaders / managers of Ethiopia’s programs for successful delivery of results; ensure timely submission of internal reports including PSRs and corporate measurement; ensure timely submission of high quality donor reports with support of the divisional backstopping team; support country-level adaptation and use of program management tools; work with program staff to identify and address technical assistance needs in Ethiopia.

Program Development: In collaboration with East Africa leadership and program development teams, execute a new business strategy aligned with TechnoServe’s global and regional strategies, maintain strong relationships with a wide range of donors, and develop a robust pipeline of new program opportunities to grow the Ethiopia platform and scale TechnoServe’s impact.

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in economics, international relations business or related field, with a minimum of 12 years of experience; or Master’s degree in economics, international economics, international relations/policy, with a minimum of 10 years of experience.

5 years’ implementation and management experience relating to large-scale projects with responsibility for all aspects of operations.

Experience working in developing countries.

Preferred Qualifications:

East Africa country and program management experience is strongly preferred

Significant operations experience, including experience in budget development and management; private sector experience; donor and stakeholder management experience.

Required Languages: Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English, including report writing and presentations

Travel Ability to travel domestically up to 20%, and internationally as necessary

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Entrepreneurial and inspirational, with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain a high-performing teams in a stressful contexts.

Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.

Supervisory Responsibilities – Supervises 7 direct reports including program and operations staff.

Success Factors:

Competency is a combination of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) directly related to successful performance on the job.

Core Competencies include:

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.

Team Work/ Relationships:  Works co-operatively 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 include:

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 connection 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 fulfill 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. (SPI+R)