Public Investment Management (PIM) - Lead Adviser

Job Description

KEY INFORMATION
Job Title: Public Investment Management - Lead Advisor
Sector: Economic Growth & Investment
Position Type: Full Time
Duration/Level of Effort:  Long Term (November 2025 to December 2028)
Position Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (on site)

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT
The Ethiopia Investment Advisory Facility Phase 2 (EIAF2) is a £17.9 million, three-year technical assistance programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), running from July 2025 to December 2028.

EIAF2 provides flexible, demand-led support to the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) to advance key economic reforms. It focuses on improving public investment management (PIM), strengthening state-owned enterprise (SOE) governance, and promoting inclusive, climate-resilient growth. Support is delivered through embedded and short-term technical advisers working closely with institutions such as the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), and the Public Enterprises Holding and Administration Agency (PEHAA).

The programme is designed to provide fast, flexible, demand-led support to the GoE as it undertakes a complex set of reforms to improve PIMs, reform SOEs, and deliver more effective, climate-aligned, and inclusive growth. The programme builds on the foundations of EIAF Phase 1 and aligns with Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform 2.0 agenda. EIAF2 also plays a convening role within the wider donor landscape, ensuring coordination and complementarity across reform initiatives.

High level Programme Objectives:

1. Strengthen SOE governance, performance, and investment readiness
2. Improve public investment and infrastructure planning systems
3. Provide rapid support for priority reform areas across sectors
4. Mainstream gender, climate, and inclusive development principles

EIAF2 aims to ensure that Ethiopia’s public investments are efficient, transparent, and aligned with long-term development priorities.


SUMMARY OF THE POSITION
The PIM Lead will be responsible for leading and coordinating technical assistance to improve public investment management (PIM) systems and processes across the Government of Ethiopia. The role will focus on strengthening institutional capacities and systems for infrastructure planning, project appraisal, and capital budgeting within key institutions, particularly the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ministry of Planning and Development (MoPD). The PIM Lead will support the design and implementation of targeted task orders, provide technical oversight, and engage with stakeholders to drive reforms that improve the efficiency, transparency, and impact of public investments. The PIM Lead will serve as the senior technical point of contact for the PIM reform workstream and contribute to overall programme strategy, work planning, and delivery.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership:

• Provide technical direction and day-to-day oversight of the PIM reform workstream.
• Act as the focal point for PIM-related engagement with counterparts and partners.
• Contribute to programme-wide strategy discussions and integrated delivery.

Project delivery: 

• Lead the implementation of PIM-focused task orders and pre-approved workplan activities, ensuring timely delivery, high technical quality, and alignment with programme outcomes.
• Design and oversee analytical work including PIM diagnostics, benchmarking, and governance reviews upon request.
• Provide direct technical advice and capacity building support to GoE institutions (including MoF, MoPD and other key counterparts) on PIM reform priorities, including project preparation, appraisal, selection, budgeting, and implementation monitoring.
• Support GoE counterparts to strengthen institutional capacity.
• Ensure effective integration of cross-cutting themes (gender, climate, inclusion) into SOE activities.
• Ensure complementarity between PIM reform and wider fiscal and SOE reforms, working closely with other leads.
• Monitor progress against task order objectives, identify bottlenecks early, and propose corrective actions.
• Contribute to quarterly and annual reporting, ensuring the PIM portfolio is clearly captured with evidence of progress and impact.

Relationships:

• Build and maintain trusted working relationships with MoF and MoPD and relevant line ministries.
• Oversee embedded advisory work relating to PIM reform and manage their technical inputs as appropriate.
• Coordinate with FCDO and other donors working in the PIM space to ensure alignment and complementarity.
• Represent the programme in technical meetings, workshops, and external engagements as needed.
• Facilitate collaboration between government institutions where inter-agency coordination is critical to PIM reform.

Team & programme management:

• Provide line management, oversight and mentoring to PIM-focused consultants and embedded advisers.
• Review and provide quality assurance for ToRs, deliverables, and reports within the PIM portfolio.
• Participate in technical staff recruitment and onboarding as needed.
• Ensure compliance with Cowater and FCDO Codes of Conduct and promote a strong team ethic.

Knowledge, learning and risk management:

• Document and share lessons from PIM activities and reforms to support programme learning and adaptive delivery.
• Identify and escalate technical or delivery risks in the SOE portfolio to the Team Leader.
• Contribute to the PIM section of the programme’s risk register and learning outputs.
• Ensure all PIM documentation is organized and accessible through the programme’s knowledge management system.  

Key Performance Indicators 

Key performance indicators (KPIs) for this role include, but are not limited to, the following:  

1. Timely implementation of PIM task orders in line with agreed timelines and milestones.
2. Technical quality of PIM outputs, based on internal QA and stakeholder feedback.
3. Effective coordination of PIM-related consultants and embedded advisers.
4. Progress against reform objectives, evidenced by counterpart uptake and tangible change.
5. Clear and actionable contributions to workplans, reporting, and adaptive delivery.
6. Other KPIs to be agreed with the Team Leader and Project Director

JOB REQUIREMENTS
Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Economics, Public Finance, Public Policy, Infrastructure Planning, budgeting or related fields.
• Additional professional certification in Public Investment Management, Project Appraisal, or Public Financial Management (PFM) is an asset.

Minimum Experience:

• 10-12 years total experience in public investment management (PIM), private public partnerships (PPPs), public finance, macroeconomic analysis, or investment management. At least 10 years in senior advisory or leadership roles with government, international organizations and/or donor programmes.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical advisory support to government institutions (e.g., Ministries of Finance, Planning Commissions, or equivalent) in the areas of:
• PIM systems strengthening
• Capital budgeting and project appraisal &
• Investment prioritization and fiscal governance
• Proven track record in leading and managing multidisciplinary technical teams and coordinating complex reform programmes or technical assistance initiatives.
• Experience with FCDO, World Bank, IMF, or other major donor-funded programmes, preferably in Ethiopia or Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience in developing and delivering analytical reports, diagnostics, or investment management tools for public sector clients.
• Prior exposure to cross-cutting themes such as GEDSI and climate resilience, will be considered an advantage.

Essential Skills:

• Deep understanding of public investment management frameworks, capital project cycles, and fiscal management processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities; ability to translate technical findings into actionable policy recommendations.
• Proven capacity to provide strategic leadership to multidisciplinary teams and ensure technical quality assurance.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, including facilitation of inter-agency coordination between ministries and development partners.
• Solid knowledge of public sector reform dynamics and change management processes in government settings.
• High degree of integrity, professionalism, and commitment to Cowater International’s Code of Conduct, ethics, and safeguarding standards.

Language Proficiency:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English (required).
• Strong ability to produce concise, clear, and policy-relevant documentation and reports for government and donor audiences.

Employment Conditions:

• This is a full-time position based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with possible short-term travel to regional institutions or state-owned enterprise sites.
• The position will operate under the EIAF2 programme, a UK FCDO-funded technical assistance facility implemented by Cowater International.
• This employment also is subject to:
• Satisfactory reference and background checks.
• Adherence to Cowater International’s Ethical Standards, Safeguarding, and Zero-Tolerance Policies.
• Compliance with all relevant Ethiopian labour laws and FCDO programme conditions.
• The initial contract will run from November 2025 to December 2028, renewable annually based on performance and programme needs.
• Remuneration will be commensurate with qualifications and experience, aligned with Cowater’s local/international expert rates and donor-approved salary scales.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Candidates are encouraged to apply before October 20,2025.

For your application to be considered, please upload your documents as followed: Candidate Last Name, First Name, date, Title of the Position.

Cowater International is an equal opportunity employer, basing employment on merit and qualifications as they relate to professional experience and position expectations. Cowater does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age, or any other basis protected by law.
We thank all applicants, however only those shortlisted will be contacted.

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