Senior Project Officer II-Rural infrastructure Engineer Full Time NEW

Vacancy Announcement

ETHIOPIAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION INSTITUTE

Position: Senior Project Officer II-Rural infrastructure Engineer

Term of Employment: One year with possibility of extension

Duty Station(s): Addis Ababa with frequent travels to Northern Ethiopia (Amhara, Tigray and Afar)

Required Number: One

Application Deadline: June, 25, 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 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 team work 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.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

Directly Reporting to FARM project team leader, the rural infrastructure Engineer is primarily responsible for providing technical support to the project team leader, project team and other related teams for efficient and effective implementation of rehabilitation and new construction works. The role of the rural infrastructure Engineer also involves liaising closely with AFD Ethiopia’ office, Regional Bureau of Agriculture (Amhara, Tigray & Afar) and Regional Agricultural Research centers ensuring a healthy lifecycle, appropriate reporting and documentations for construction works by subgrant institutions.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Provide technical support & periodic status reports to rehabilitation and other construction Projects and AFD Ethiopia office on the overall planning & implementation of infrastructure construction and rehabilitation. This includes both institutional infrastructures (agricultural research centres, animal research centres, laboratories, animal clinics, etc.) and small rural community infrastructures (Farmers’ Training Centres, farmers’ cooperatives, and Community Seed Banks) and other construction projects .
• Ensure project teams and sub-grant institutions are planning civil work infrastructures with the required technical support on identification of infrastructure features, scoping infrastructure components, conducting technical assessments of damages on existing infrastructures, on acquiring adequate construction plot of land, on allocating adequate budget & timeline.
• Perform collaborative duty with procurement officers in supporting subgrant institutions in setting appropriate qualification criteria and selection of qualified construction contractors.
• Provide required technical support to sub-grant institutions on using AFD standard procurement documents during bidding document preparation, technical evaluation of bids, and signing contract agreements. Review and contribute to the preparation of bidding documents, particularly the works requirements section.
• Collaborate with consulting firms, site supervisors and subgrant partners to ensure effective works supervision, quality control, contract administration and execution of all infrastructure rehabilitation works comply with AFD standard provisions for works’ contracts and the specific project requirements.
• Review designs, project timelines and construction costs submitted by contracted firms and facilitate approvals as per AFD & ATI requirements. Prepare Design drawings, technical specifications and BoQ as required.
• Prepare construction cost estimates for infrastructure rehabilitation plans and new infrastructure projects, based on the nearest and latest market prices materials, manpower and equipment.
• Work closely with ESHS officer to ensure compliance with ESHS requirements and complete project documentation.
• Work closely with finance officers on proper documentation of sub-grant payment requests.
• Ensure compliance with local regulation and construction codes.
• Liaise with sub-grant institutions and other stakeholders on construction site selections, construction permits, assignment of site supervisors for infrastructure rehabilitation interventions.
• Manage and review changes, additional requirements, and variation orders, and provide appropriate documentation for approvals.
• Perform continuous site supervision, to ensure delivery of quality construction works by construction contractors at each institution sub-granted interventions. Conduct inspections of completed works with the Supervising Engineer to ensure compliance with contract terms. Liaise with the works contractors to address any issue arising during the defect notification period.
• Ensure quality control and supervision duties of assigned consultants and supervisors is being as per AFD standards, government, and industry standards.
• Ensure required technical Support is provided to Regional Agricultural Bureaus and Research institutes in effective planning for implementation of civil work infrastructure interventions.
• Monitor compliance with technical, environmental, and gender commitments with contractors and sub-grantees,
• Follow-up assignment of competent site supervision personnels to construction projects by Sub-grant partners and prepare capacity building trainings as required.
• Contribute to the preparation of the Project Annual Work Plan and Budget, as well as Project Procurement Plan
• Contribute to the preparation of project semi-annual progress reports.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, COMPETENCIES, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree in civil engineering, Construction Technology & Management, or another relevant field of study.
• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in construction works as site Engineer, Office Engineer, Project/construction Engineer, Resident/ Assistant Resident Engineer, Supervising Engineer on at least 2 multi-stakeholder infrastructure construction projects.
• Strong understanding of Ethiopian construction sector technical, legal & operational standards and practices.
• Strong understanding of donor funded project technical standards and practices /Understanding of AFD and EU standard procurement documents is a plus/.
• Experience in both multi-stakeholder public sector construction projects and rural community infrastructures highly sought.
• Reputable Experience in construction designs, supervision, quality control and contract administration.
• Experience in managing FIDIC contracts
• Proficient in using computer-aided design (CAD) softwares and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to work under pressure, long work hours, under high workload and in a constantly evolving and challenging project environment.
• Adherence to professional integrity avoiding any conflict of interest and eagerness to use his/ her knowledge for enhancement of human welfare in general & the agricultural community in particular.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary, diverse staff, and multi-sector work environment and ability to independently organize tasks, prioritize and implement, as necessary.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with experience working as part of a fast-paced team.
• Professionally licensed by the government regulatory to practice in the construction industry.
• Accept frequent travels to project sites located in Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions.
• Fluency in English & Amharic is required. additional local language is a plus.