Project Officer II- DAR Enabling Initiatives Full Time NEW

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION INSTITUTE

Position: Project Officer II- DAR Enabling Initiatives

Employment: One year with the possibility of extension

Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Required Number: One

Application Deadline: August 31/2025

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 center 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.

Project and Position Summary

The Ethiopian Digital Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services (DAEAS) 2030 Roadmap aims to create a productive, inclusive, and sustainable agri-food system in Ethiopia by collaboratively providing customized digital services to all farmers. As part of this roadmap, the Digital Agriculture Roadmap (DAR) Enabling Initiative seeks to overcome major challenges related to farmer data, such as limited reusable datasets, poor data quality, gaps in data sharing, and a lack of integrated data access points. A key priority of this initiative is to create a comprehensive database of one million farmer profiles within three years. The success of this initiative is vital for delivering high-quality, farmer-facing digital services, including digital extension and advisory services, thereby fostering a more efficient and effective agri-food system in Ethiopia. Additionally, the project officer will be responsible for implementing the digital kiosk project, which is also part of the DAR Enabling Initiative and aims to provide smallholder farmers with access to devices and the internet.

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) is looking to hire a Project Officer II for its Digital Agriculture Roadmap (DAR) Enabling Initiative. The Project Officer will join a team responsible for creating and managing a comprehensive farmer profile database and implementing the digital kiosk project. This includes cleaning data from existing databases, conducting new farmer registries, and overseeing the installation and use of the digital kiosks.

The Project Officer will support the DAR Enabling Initiatives Team Lead by contributing to both managerial and technical aspects of the project. Key responsibilities include planning, implementing, and reporting on project processes, managing stakeholders, participating in system design and development, and overseeing overall project management. The ideal candidate will have experience in leadership and project delivery and will demonstrate a strong sense of urgency and ownership in their work.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

The Project Officer will be expected to assist the team lead in the implementation of the DAR (Digital Agriculture Roadmap), enabling Initiatives, Projects, pilot and unique ID initiatives through effective data collection, analysis, problem-solving, document preparation, reporting, stakeholder management, and delivering regular support to regional project teams. He/she will also oversee the introduction of various tools that might be utilized for upskilling and supporting smallholder farmers (SHFs) and development agents (DAs). Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Assist the project team lead in managing the project through the Farmer Profile initiative pilot and related activities, ensuring on-time completion of deliverables. Including:

• Assist the project team lead in planning, implementation, and execution of activities.
• Ensure effective operational planning of interventions and activities, budgeting, reporting, and monitoring and evaluation.
• Ensure effective day-to-day management and execution of relevant activities within the scope of the Farmer profiling pilot project.
• Follow up and facilitate ground-level project implementation and support.
• Coordinate implementation of data cleaning and consolidation activities, working closely with data enumerators and statisticians.
• Execute data collection, analysis, and problem-solving swiftly.
• Produce high-quality written materials and reports as required.
• Review project progress and develop and monitor actions to ensure timely and effective delivery of project outcomes.
• Assist implementation and provide support in resolving strategic and operational problems that arise throughout the project lifetime.
• Lead the development of communication plans for the project; monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the outreach plan and make adjustments as required to ensure its success.

Assist Project team lead in managing and coordinating stakeholders, maintaining relationships, and leveraging existing farmer registry initiatives.

Activities include:

• Engaging a wide range of key project stakeholders, including donors & implementation partners
• Develop communication content tailored to various stakeholders, including farmers, DAs, implementation partners & donors.
• Assist in leveraging existing initiatives with farmer profiles, RBoAs, hired consultants, and other regional and federal stakeholders and partners to jointly support the implementation of the project, as required by the project.

Support the prioritization of pilot locations and the identification/prioritization of various agricultural use cases.

• Assist in the selection of pilot areas and in conducting top-down data collection, validation, and analysis.
• Conduct data analysis to understand the viability of opportunities in the local context.
• Produce briefing materials on new solutions and initiatives within the farmer profiling project.
• Assist in the prioritization of bottom-up data contributors, defining partnerships, and managing data collection.
• End-to-end management and organization of quality and effective digital skill development trainings and workshops, including the launching and facilitating of trainings.
• Report performance and brief progress updates about his/her duties to the immediate supervisor/director regularly.

Support the implementation of the Digital Kiosk Project

• Helping to identify and select suitable locations for internet kiosks based on established criteria.
• Coordinating with relevant teams to install and set up kiosk hardware and software.
• Working with IT support and installation firms to quickly resolve technical challenges.
• Collaborating with IT teams to ensure regular maintenance and optimal performance of all kiosks.
• Working with content creators and extension service providers to develop localized, user-friendly digital content, including training materials, market updates, and weather forecasts.
• Conducting needs assessments to support the planning of training programs.
• Facilitating training sessions for kiosk operators and users on digital literacy and basic computer skills.
• Providing technical support to kiosk operators and users, troubleshooting issues with connectivity, hardware, and software.
• Monitoring project risks and proposing mitigation measures to supervisors.
• Collecting user feedback and analysing data to improve platform usability and content relevance.
• Promoting the platform to target audiences to encourage adoption and sustainability.
• Contributing to the preparation of annual, quarterly, and donor reports on kiosk usage, user satisfaction, and project outcomes.
• Assisting in evaluating digital learning outcomes to measure their impact on skills and productivity.
• Documenting lessons learned during implementation to drive continuous improvement for future initiatives.

Required Qualification, Competencies, and Experience:

• Master’s degree in project management, statistics, Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Management, or related fields, with relevant experience in project management, preferably in the agricultural sector.
• Minimum of 4 years of relevant experience in project management and implementation with a master’s degree, specifically implementing digital tools with regional organizations, government, private sectors, NGOs, and other similar organizations
• Proven ability to influence and work collaboratively with a diverse set of partners, including government organizations, NGOs, donor organizations, RIs, and private players.
• Ability to effectively manage relationships with farmers and understand their needs.
• Relevant experience within the agricultural sector, preferably in the development of use cases for innovative solutions
• Experience in communication content creation for various forms of engagement, including print & digital content.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make strategic decisions based on data. Experience in designing and implementing data systems is desirable.
• Experience in implementing digital platforms in rural communities and knowledge of digital agriculture initiatives would be a plus.
• Fluency in English and Amharic.
• Willingness and experience in traveling to different parts of the country.
• Excellent oral and written communication
• Self-driven individual with the ability to drive work with minimal supervision; demonstrated track record of organization, multi-tasking, and time management skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment, with an emphasis on high performance, teamwork, accountability, monitoring, and results measurement.