Deputy Chief of Party - Technical - Feed the Future Ethiopia Transforming Agriculture

Job Description

Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has over 30 years’ experience assisting governments, communities, and the private sector. As a not-for-profit, independent research institute based in North Carolina, USA, RTI has roughly 6,000 employees with global experience implementing international development projects. RTI’s Sustainable Growth & Resilience (SG&R) technical unit within the International Development Group brings together RTI experts and capabilities across food security, agriculture, energy, environment, water, governance, and economic opportunity. SG&R will leverage RTI’s experience designing and delivering multisectoral programming and technical solutions to respond to climate change, build resilience, and promote economic growth around the world.

SG&R’s Global Food Security and Agriculture portfolio is working to strengthen agricultural markets, engage youth and women as critical leaders of the on- and off-farm workforce, and tackle the dual burden of malnutrition around the globe. RTI’s work is helping foster stronger food systems, reduce malnutrition in all its forms, build resilience and engage the next generation of food security leaders. RTI is currently partnering on nearly 30 projects in East Africa, including activities focused on private sector-driven agricultural growth in Rwanda and market systems development in Kenya.

The purpose of the USAID Feed the Future Ethiopia Transforming Agriculture activity is to increase access to healthy diets, particularly for women and children, by improving competitiveness, inclusiveness, and resilience of the Ethiopian food and agriculture system. The activity is the core component of a suite of food and agriculture activities funded by USAID. It is the largest project and serves as the hub. As such, the activity must collaborate intensively with other USAID funded projects working in the food, agriculture, resilience, WASH and climate change sectors.

RTI is seeking a Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) – Technical for Feed the Future Ethiopia Transforming Agriculture. The Deputy Chief of Party – Technical will support the Chief of Party (COP) by providing technical leadership in inclusive market development and private sector engagement in addition to leading all technical activities. This position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and report to the Chief of Party.

• Lead all technical activities for the project with the objective of improving access to healthy diets for women and children through a food systems approach to agricultural development.
• Coordinate the nutrition-led approach to improve the availability, convenience, affordability and safety of a diverse range of nutritious foods.
• Provide a high level of management across the demanding scope of the activity to ensure effective organization of staff and private sector grantees
• Assist the COP and senior management team in building and maintaining collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, including GOE officials and institutions, other donors, and the private sector.
• Contribute to the development of annual and quarterly work plans, technical reports, and other deliverables in line with USAID guidelines to achieve program objectives.
• Serve as the Acting COP as necessary.
• Leverage existing network of private sector partners and coordinate with them to achieve sustainable growth in agribusiness, food markets, and support services with small holder farmers.
• Travel to sites (Ethiopian) to monitor and assess performance and timeliness of key field activities and implement corrective actions as needed
• Managing a network of regional technical teams across multiple locations to implement the work plan and ensure timely delivery of tangible results and impact
• Coordinate across technical, geographic, and cross-sectoral areas
• Coordinate and collaborate with other USAID projects to share experience and leverage their specific experience and community outreach.
• Ability to design grants strategies and assess the technical capacity of selected partners during implementation of agreed goals and specific interventions.
• Liaise with USAID to inform and discuss the technical and agribusiness performance of the activity and identify opportunities for further growth in project scale and impact.

• Bachelor’s Degree in agriculture, international development, or related field, with 15 years of experience, Master’s degree and 12 years of experience, PhD and 8 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in managing or supporting donor-funded agricultural value chain or agribusiness development programs in a leadership role
• Technical expertise in agricultural food systems and rural development, preferably in Ethiopia.
• Demonstrated understanding of Ethiopian agribusinesses and in leading private sector engagement approaches.
• Demonstrated skills in building, mobilizing, and leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience interacting with USG agencies, host country governments, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Verbal and written fluency in English required.
• Ability to travel and work throughout Ethiopia in difficult terrain/conditions at times.

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