Senior communication officer 

The following career opportunity is now open to Internal and external applicants. Please help us in identifying potential candidates and/or distribute the job advertisements to your networks. If you or someone you know is interested in applying, please apply per the instructions below by the deadline date indicated. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who you think may be a good fit.

Vacancy Announcement

• Position:                                    Senior communication officer (Re-Advert)
• Term of Employment:               One year with possibility of extension 
• Duty Station:                             Addis Ababa
• Required Number:                    One
• Application Deadline:              December  5, 2024

Background

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), formerly known as the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), is a strategy and delivery-oriented government institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, which is a key contributor to the country’s GDP, exports, and workforce. The ATI’s work is centred on improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers (SHFs) across the country for improved income, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability. The ATI works to transform the agriculture sector in Ethiopia by conducting policy and analytical studies, providing technical implementation support and capacity building, coordinating platforms to better integrate partners and projects, and designing and directly leading several innovative/pilot interventions. The Institute joins forces with various stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, farmers, and development partners, to support the implementation of agricultural development programs and initiatives. In addition, the ATI collaborates with national and international partners to facilitate knowledge exchange and learning opportunities. The Institute plays a crucial role in generating and disseminating information to support evidence-based decision-making in Ethiopia’s agricultural sector.

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 ATI, 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.

Program and position summary 

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) has designed a program called “Agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia” (ADEY) to address youth and women unemployment rate and increase the participation of young people in the labor market, particularly in the agriculture sector. ATI has mainstreamed youth employment, gender equality, climate-smart, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture in all its programs and projects with the primary objectives of increased access to sustainable and inclusive job opportunities for youth, inclusivity, and the sustainable use of natural resources while building resilience capacities to shocks at all levels.

ATI, among others, currently works with more than 3 million smallholder farmers (540,300 are women and youth) engaged in the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) and digital agriculture programs designed to improve smallholder farmers’ production and productivity while supporting other actors along the value chain. Taking ATI’s reputable experience, ADEY program is designed to create inclusive and dignified work opportunities in ACC regions and Somali for over 600 thousand youth. The program will focus on several streams such as agriculture and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to strengthen access to agricultural input and output markets and finance; improve the competitiveness of youth-owned MSMEs through capacity-building activities; enhance the skills and mindsets of young women and men through technical and business skill development and create an enabling environment for work opportunities through policy interventions. Similar to ACC, ADEY will operate along the commodity value chain, largely using ACC infrastructures and complement the different ACC outcomes in general and outcome four in particular.

The ADEY program is seeking an outstanding and motivated candidate for the position of Senior Communication Officer.  The Senior Communication Officer is responsible for the design, planning and implementation of the communication and visibility initiatives of ADEY program. She/he is also responsible for identifying stories and leads for storytelling and media pitches; developing content for print as well as digital platforms; creating communications campaigns and products that raise visibility of the ADEY program among the public and media; and monitoring and reporting. She/he will directly report to the Communication Director. She/he will liaise closely with ATI management as well as with the Mastercard Foundation office for Ethiopia.  By interacting regularly with the program team regarding activities and milestones of the project, she/he will also be advising on the overarching communication strategies of the ADEY program.

Major Duties and Responsibilities 

• Design and implement the communication strategy and interventions of the ADEY program.
• Identify key messages and target audiences to effectively communicate the ADEY program’s mission and objectives.
• Draft consistent and appropriate communication materials such as brochures, press releases, web stories and presentations for various target audiences of the ADEY program, including the project partners, government institutions, media agencies, and the public.
• Lead or support the organization of events for the ADEY program, such as project launch, field days, regular team meetings, and press conferences or on an ad hoc basis.
• Build and maintain relationships with communications/public relations teams at key partner institutions.
• Work with members of the program team to assist their communications activities, particularly with regard to documentation, media engagement and storytelling.
• Develop and maintain an up-to-date contacts database of partners and donors of the ADEY program.
• Maintain and manage a database of key media houses and personnel and ensure a pool of agriculture-reporting journalists is developed.
• Facilitate media interviews with appropriate members of the program team.
• Produce and edit photos and videos that showcase the program’s activities.
• Work intensively with the ADEY program team and maintain regular updates on the ADEY program’s social media platforms.
• Communicate with the ADEY program team found at both HQ and RATCs to collect any updates and plans and post on the ATI communication Hub
• Write, edit, and proofread Amharic documents, as needed.
• Liaise with the ADEY program team to remain abreast of progress and developments and maintain up-to-date information relevant for the production of communications materials.
• Conduct media monitoring and report on any developments of concern or impact to the Deputy ADEY Director and the Communication Director.
• Use regular and new media tools to maximize the visibility of the ADEY program.
• Liaise with service providers such as consultants, external translators, photographers and printing companies, as needed.
• Take minutes at the ADEY program team meetings and archive all meeting notes.
• Track project timelines and develop plans to meet deadlines.
• Manage ADEY program Info and email accounts.
• Provide a wide variety of administrative support including complex calendar management, event planning, and other logistics such as assisting in procurement processes.
• Handle any other related tasks as requested, shifting roles with other team members as the need arises.
• Engage in other internal and external communication activities as assigned by the Communication Director or her/his designee.

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