Country Manager _ Ethiopia

ABOUT SOLIDARIDAD EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

Solidaridad Network is an international solution-oriented civil society organization with over 50 years of experience in developing solutions to make communities more resilient and create more sustainable supply chains. We work throughout the entire value chain to make sustainability the norm. Our innovative solutions support the transition to an inclusive economy that provides sustainable livelihoods with fair and profitable business opportunities. This includes decent working conditions, a fair living wage, and production in balance with nature so that all people can thrive now and for generations to come. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Solidaridad East, and Central Africa (“Solidaridad”) has country offices and programmes in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda, and activities in Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Rwanda.

Title: Country Manager, Ethiopia

Duration: 1-year contract (extension based on performance)

Reporting line: Managing Director

Position level: Senior level

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Objective

To develop, implement and manage the global and regional Solidaridad multi-annual strategic plan (2021-2025) in the respective Country of operation, in this instance the county of operation will be Uganda. S/he is responsible for leading the development, implementation, monitoring and learning of the activities of the country office.

Position in the organisation

The Country Manager reports to the Managing Director of Solidaridad. The Country Manager provides management, leadership and mentorship to all employees of the country team.

Result areas

Management of the Country Office and Country Teams

1. Management of the country office in close collaboration with the regional operations team.
2. Management country teams.
3. Manage systems development and implementation for project management, financial controls, administration, HR management.
4. Ensure compliance to integrity, inclusivity, governance standards and statutory requirements in the country.

Fundraising and Proposal Development

1. Identify opportunities for fundraising in partnership with the fundraising teams in the region, Solidaridad global network, and develop tangible proposals.
2. Identify and pursue opportunities to mobilize resources in support of Solidaridad’s priorities and/or advocating for public and private sector stakeholders to scale Solidaridad’s demonstrated intervention models in the country.
3. Identify and secure opportunities for co – funding from the private sector.
4. Build strong partnerships with international donors in the country.
5. Ensure all new funding proposals have a strong linkage with the new global strategy of Solidaridad, including linkages with at least one of the new innovation topics (impact investment, climate innovation, landscapes innovation, gender, tech in agriculture).

Partnership Development and Management

1. Convene and build relationships with domestic government, private sector, donors, civil society organizations and others with a presence in the country, to build and nurture country-level partnerships deemed essential to Solidaridad’s mission in the country.
2. Serve as primary point-of-contact to donors in the country, furnishing them with required reports, day-to-day communications, and timely insights on program challenges and breakthroughs in a manner which maintains their positive engagement with the program.
3. Engage and build strong relationships with key stakeholders in the agricultural sectors, such as producers, associations, traders, NGOs, research institutes, government and private companies.
4. Relay feedback from Solidaridad’s partners, especially the government and development partners to other parts of the organization.
5. Develop and formalize partnerships with government institutions and the private sector linked to the various initiatives.
6. Take responsibility as main account manager to maintain good relationships in the current programme portfolio with key government institutions (Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries), private sector associations and other relevant institutions in the country (IFC, ILO).

Program Management Project Portfolio

1. Ensure that new program initiatives are being established in the country in an effective and professional manner, in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
2. Overall coordination of projects, including steering project commodity teams and main communication towards relevant donors.
3. Support in the preparation of annual plans, project proposals and reports to be submitted to the region, Solidaridad global network, and local/international donors.
4. Ensure that professional (result chain led) M&E systems are in place to effectively monitor the performance and indicators of all supply chain initiatives.
5. Advise and report to the regional management of Solidaridad on further design and development of the country strategy, direction, ambitions and vision in line with the multi-annual strategy plans.
6. Ensure that professional communication materials are in place and (with support from the regional and global communication teams) stories are being published about the work in the country in trade forums, conferences, social media, magazines and websites.
7. Provide support in hosting incoming trade missions or incoming visits from Solidaridad, partners and international donors.

Monitoring Deliverables

1. Develop and submit annual country reports and plans to the Managing Director for approval, demonstrating and showing the growth of the country office in terms of the program portfolio, funding secured, partnerships developed and HR capacity.
2. Quarterly meetings to present to the Managing Director and teams the progress of the country activities in the country.

Deliverables

1. Country programs coordinated and run smoothly in line with objectives ensuring growth targets are met in line with the multi-annual country plans and Solidaridad Network Ambitions 2020.
2. Country projects of Solidaridad in the country are successfully implemented in good

collaboration with main partners.

1. Projects monitored continuously and reported at predetermined intervals agreed with Solidaridad and international donors.
2. New concept notes and funding proposals written, evaluated and approved to fund new supply chain initiatives in the country.
3. Ensuring and leading the growth and expansion of the country office in country and country teams in a professional manner.

Knowledge and experience

1. Relevant academic level education, Master or higher – in relevant fields (e.g. Agriculture, Public Policy, Development Studies, Project Management, Strategic Management etc).
2. Eight (8) years experience – managing sustainability projects at a senior level in the region.
3. An understanding of the policy environment, issues and stakeholders in the agriculture and/or agribusiness sector in East and Central Africa.
4. Experience of leading and managing small teams.
5. Experience setting up new projects and programmes
6. Fluent in spoken and written English, other language skills (e.g. Arabic, French, Portuguese) proficiencies desirable.
7. Knowledge of strategic, human resource, financial and quality management.

Specific job requirements

1. Ability to identify and pursue strategic initiatives which provide the greatest value and sustainable impact. Balance long and short-term tradeoffs, communicate clearly and precisely the strategic goals and the strategies for achieving them.
2. Demonstrate ability to mobilize, focus, align, and build effective groups to enable them conceptualize and achieve collective objectives. Exhibit drive and commitment to Solidaridad’s mission. Help others understand how their daily work contributes to Solidaridad’s mission and inspire others to proactively meet Solidaridad’s strategic objectives in partnership with clients.
3. Maintain high personal integrity and provide support for professional development efforts linked to business objectives.
4. Develop the capabilities of Solidaridad through the acquisition of top talent and development of staff as per the organization’s stated objectives.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of the customers served by Solidaridad, competitors, suppliers, and the regulatory environment. Provide a balanced, responsive and proactive approach to meeting client needs, encourage staff to understand client needs and concerns, ensure provision of customized services and products as appropriate. Respond promptly and effectively to client and market needs. Add business value based on your own understanding and service of the customers and the market in which they work.
6. Demonstrate drive for improvement of organizational results, based on well-rounded understanding of general business principles and own activities’ commercial and financial implications.

Salary: Commensurate with experience