Feed the Future Policy LINK – Ethiopia Finance & Operations Manager/Director Full Time

Note this position is contingent on funding and is tentatively anticipated to begin on/around June 1, 2021.

Project Background

The five-year (2019 – 2024) Feed the Future Policy LINK program will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad-based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

Policy LINK in Ethiopia

USAID Ethiopia is developing a five-year activity with the overall objective of supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other policy system actors as they transition to a more inclusive policy development process. Specifically, the activity will facilitate the transition from an almost exclusively government-led and implemented policy development paradigm to one driven by multiple stakeholders.

This new approach to policymaking will require strengthening the capacity of Ethiopia’s main agricultural policy system actors and institutions and supporting them to engage in a new collaborative environment. This approach will lead to significant improvements in the policy process and the resulting policy environment. For example, there will be greater clarity around roles and increased participation in policy processes by stakeholders traditionally excluded from decision-making, including academia, financial institutions, the judiciary, CSOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector representations from the national, regional, and local levels. Under the new policy development paradigm, development partners will be expected to align their approaches to fit within this broader collaborative framework.

This approach will be underpinned by Policy LINK’s overarching theory of change focused on increasing human and social capital, engaging policy system actors in collaborative processes, and developing mechanisms for collaborative governance and dynamic learning systems and platforms to sustain collective action.

The activity will support the GoE objectives of inspiring sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, strengthening resilience among people and systems, and creating a well-nourished population, especially women and children.

Position Objectives

The Finance & Operations Manager/Director will monitor finance, administrative, procurement, logistics, and human resources functions for Policy LINK’s Ethiopia office, ensuring smooth and effective operational support for technical activities. S/he will promote strong collaboration between technical and operations staff, as well as with remotely based members of the broader Policy LINK team in Kenya, the United States, and elsewhere.

S/he will continually reinforce Policy LINK’s agreed-upon core purpose and principles, and ensure all decision-making is rooted in those purpose and principles. S/he will contribute to foster a learning environment in which personal and team growth is supported, with a shared understanding that the “team” always comes before the “individual.”

Responsibilities

The Finance & Operations Manager/Director will be responsible for the following:

1. Quality Assurance and Compliance:

• Serve as the Ethiopia Country Lead’s advisor on finance and administrative issues with USAID and local government officials and service providers.
• Ensure that strong relationships are established with service providers in Ethiopia.
• Monitor finance, administrative, procurement, logistics, and HR actions, assessing operational risks and proposing mitigation strategies.
• Ensure that DAI is in compliance with local laws at all times
• Ensure that appropriate checks and balances (separation of duties) are maintained, and that staff carry out responsibilities in line with the latest Project Schedule of Authorities o Ensure that financial transactions, including payroll and remittances to local authorities, are carried out and documented in compliance with DAI policies and procedures
• Review all biweekly field finance reports prepared by the Accountant before they are submitted to the home office for approval
• Ensure that procurement of goods and services is carried out and documented in compliance with DAI policies and procedures
• Communicate regularly with operations colleagues in other Policy LINK offices to highlight challenges and propose solutions.

2. Tools and Systems:

• Establish strong operating systems to guide Policy LINK operations in Ethiopia, and ensure they are adapted and maintained throughout the program period of performance.
• Highlight the need for any adjustments to the Ethiopia Field Operations Manual, TAMIS workflows, and other guidance documents
• Ensure that staff in the Ethiopia office follow best practices for file management across the areas of finance, administration, procurement, and HR
• Supervise the Accountant to prepare monthly accruals, commitments, and projections for the Ethiopia office, to be integrated with project-wide budgeting exercises.
• Assist the Ethiopia team with budget and activity planning

3. Personnel Management and Cross-team Coordination:

• Supervise the Grants & Procurement Manager, Administrative & Logistics Coordinator, and Accountant, proactively addressing any concerns and supporting their professional growth.
• Ensure strong relationships are maintained between staff in the Ethiopia office.
• Monitor HR issues such as poor performance, employee dissatisfaction, or staff learning and professional development needs, escalating issues and suggesting solutions.
• Serve as a member of activity teams as needed and serve as a member of other temporary cross-project teams such as during startup and closedown.
• Contribute finance and operational inputs during activity work planning exercises
• Communicate regularly with the home office Project Manager and Project Associate, Global Finance and Operations Manager, and other Policy LINK operations colleagues to promote smooth, effective project operations.

Reporting

The Finance & Operations Manager/Director will report to the Global Finance & Operations Manager, with a dotted line of reporting to the Ethiopia Country Buy-in Lead. S/he will collaborate closely with other Policy LINK country operations teams.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Finance & Operations Manager/Director will directly supervise the Accountant, Administrative & Logistics Coordinator, Sub-awards Manager, and Driver.

Though the operations team will report to the remotely based Global Finance & Operations Manager, day-to-day tasks carried out by this team will be reviewed and approved via DAI workflows by the Ethiopia Country Lead. The Country Lead may also supervise consultants recruited by Policy LINK to provide technical services in Ethiopia.

Qualifications

Local Ethiopian candidates are highly encouraged to apply for this position. Additional qualifications:

Education

• At minimum, a university degree in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting or appropriate field.

Work Experience

• Minimum of five years of experience in a management role for a multidimensional, multi-functional donor-funded project in a challenging environment.

• Experience in systems development and office administration.

• Direct programming and/or operational management experience supporting a USAID contract or cooperative agreement preferred.

• Demonstrated experience with financial management tasks such as developing/updating budget projections and using field accounting software.

• Demonstrated experience overseeing procurement of goods and services.

• Prior experience supervising staff.

Skills

• Good understanding of USAID policies and procedures.

• Good understanding of standard Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel, and Outlook as well as finance/accounting software used to track transactions.

• Ability to communicate/collaborate effectively across cultures, including with team members based in other countries.

• Critical thinker and self-starter, able to work with minimal supervision and within established deadlines.

• Willing to perform assigned and additional duties and work under unpredictable conditions.

• Strong systems and strategic thinking skills and ability to set up strong management systems, processes, and tools.

• Strong leadership and supervisory skills.

• Professional fluency in English and Amharic.