Administrative & Grant Officer – Inclusive Capital Markets for Youth & Women Entrepreneurs Ethiopia (M/W) Full Time

As the Administrative and Gant Officer for the project “Inclusive Capital Markets for Youth and Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia,” you will be in charge of the administrative and logistical activities of the project. You will be responsible for the administrative (Call for projects development, follow-up of selection process, collection, verification, archiving, etc.), and financial management (compliance, efficiency, and transparency) of sub grants awarded to implementing partners in conjunction with the and the Project Support Unit and the Key Experts, who will be responsible for contractual follow-up. This position will be reporting to the project Team Leader. He/she will work in close collaboration with the Project team (composed of a Team Leader, three Key Experts, a Junior Project Officer, an Outreach Officer and MEAL Officer) and the EF Country Support Office in Ethiopia (especially the finance, procurement and logistical teams).

Key Responsibilities include:

• Administrative Management:

· Manage the project’s purchases and payments:

o Collect team’s purchases and missions’ per diem;

o Verify the conformity of expense vouchers, invoices, and reimbursements related to expert missions, prepare and monitor advances and their balances and forward them to the Project Support Unit finance team;

o Prepare timely and accurate request for payments to suppliers/ staff for processing by the financial team of EF office in Ethiopia ensuring correctness, validity of information and supporting documentation and forward them to the Project Support Unit finance team;

o Follow-up on payments in coordination with PSU finance team;

· Prepare contracts in collaboration with legal team at EF office in Ethiopia;

· Manage relationships with service providers;

· Ensures that all official documents are prepared and kept in the project files for retrieval and archiving.

• Logistics Management:

· Be experts’ focal point for all questions related to the organisation of missions;

· Manager service providers (hotels, caterers, translation services, etc.): pre-identification, follow-up of services, quotation negotiation, invoicing ad follow-up of payments in coordination with logistics and facilities unit at the PSU level

· Contribute to the organisation of seminars and meetings.

• Budgetary, Accounting and Financial Management:

· Support the Team Leader in budget preparation and updating/maintaining budget monitoring tools; Support the Team Leader in the preparation of financial reports for donors and internal accounting and budgeting exercises in collaboration with the Team Leader and the backstopping team in Paris; prepare required documents for audits, assessments and financial reviews, in conjunction with the Team Leader and the backstopping teams in Paris; assist with the review of the operating environment;

· Assist with risk assessment ;

· Assist with the regular review of the internal environment;

· Follow up on commitments (contracts and agreements);

Contribute to knowledge networks by sharing knowledge on financial management and best practices.Grants Management:

– Grant Cycle Management:

o Support the Key Experts in the design and launch of Calls for Proposals (guidelines, evaluation grids, eligibility criteria);

o Support the partner selection process: eligibility checks, technical and financial evaluations, preparation of subgrant agreements;

o Monitor the full subgrant management cycle (contracting, implementation, reporting, and closure);

o Ensure compliance with donor regulations and internal organisational procedures;

– Administrative and Financial Monitoring:

o Review partner budgets, financial reports after admin-fin unit first check, and supporting documentation;

o Identify and analyse discrepancies, propose corrective actions;

o Monitor disbursement schedules and financial forecasts;

o Support external audits and compliance reviews related to subgrants;

– Partner Support and Capacity Building:

o Organise training or coaching sessions of team members and implementing partners on the administrative, financial, and contractual management of grants;

o Provide regular technical support to implementing partners on management and monitoring tools;

o Participate in the evaluation of organisational capacities and the development of strengthening plans;

– Reporting and Coordination

o Produce consolidated reports on grant management for project coordination and support the admin-fin unit in donor coordination;

o Ensure good coordination with technical, financial, and MEAL teams;

o Maintain the grant tracking database and contribute to steering tools.

The following list is not exhaustive; the activities listed are not limited and will evolve as needed throughout the project.

Project or context description

Expertise France is France’s public agency and interministerial actor in charge of international technical cooperation, the second-largest in Europe. As a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group), it designs and implements projects that sustainably strengthen public policies in developing and emerging countries. Expertise France works in key areas of development: governance, security, climate change, health, education, and more. Alongside its partners, it contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The project “Strengthen the capital market to be MSME-friendly serving the needs of enterprises and startups owned and led by youth and women” is co-financed by the European Union (EU) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and implemented by Expertise France. The total budget of the project is EUR 10 million.

This project aims to enhance the Ethiopian capital market to better support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), particularly those owned or led by youth and women. By addressing barriers to finance, improving market infrastructure and financial literacy, and fostering inclusivity, the initiative seeks to empower these underserved groups, drive economic growth and decent work, and promote sustainable development in Ethiopia.

The expected outputs are:

• Output 1: Strengthened skills and capacities within the capital markets authority and other relevant institutions in serving MSME needs;
• Output 2: Increased knowledge among women and youth owned and led MSMEs, including startups, in participation in the stock exchange and alternative means of financing;
• Output 3: Increased knowledge and financial education among international and local investors to participate in capital markets.

The main stakeholders benefiting from the project include the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) and the Accounting & Auditing Board of Ethiopia (AABE), alongside the entrepreneurship ecosystem and SMEs to drive economic development, innovation, and job creation.

The project includes two large sub granting components:

• Grants to Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) or Chambers of commerce to develop and operationalise tailored training programmes for SMES on access to finance and investment readiness;
• Grants to ESOs/CCs to develop and operationalise tailored training programmes for startups on access to finance and investment readiness in a sustainable manner.

Qualifications and Competences:

· Master’s degree in accounting and finance;

· Excellent organisational skills, rigor, method and adaptability;

· Ability to listen and relate to others;

· Ability to work in a multicultural environment;

· Polyvalence;

· Teamwork ;

· Fluency in English and Amharic;

· Integrity and a high sense of accountability.

Technical Competencies:

· Excellent command of office automation tools, particularly Word and Excel;

· Good command of grant management rules (selection procedures, contracting, financial monitoring);

· Familiarity with budget management, reporting, and database tools;

· Good understanding of donor compliance principles.

Professional experience:

· At least 5 years’ experience in administrative, budgetary and accounting management;

· Significant work experience in similar positions in the field;

· Experience in grants management;

· Experience in the public/institutional sector and/or international cooperation/development assistance is an asset;

· Experience in Eastern Africa, especially in Ethiopia.

Additional information

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at Expertise France’s office;

Type of contract: Full time, contract under local law, via a third-party employer company;

Duration of the mission: initial 12-month contract, with the possibility of renewal or extension up to 48 months (total duration of the project);

Starting date of the position: The contract is expected to start on March 2nd, 2026 or on a mutually agreed date