About ATA
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) is a strategy and delivery oriented government agency created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of Ethiopia’s agriculture sector. The Agency’s mandate is focused solely on improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across Ethiopia.
The ATA was established in 2010 under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) I of the Ethiopian government. The GTP I set a target of increasing agricultural productivity by 10% per year. The ATA was created to help achieve this target by providing technical assistance, financial support, and other resources to smallholder farmers.
The ATA has a number of programs and initiatives that are designed to improve the lives of smallholder farmers. These include:
- The Agricultural Transformation Program (ATP): The ATP is a comprehensive program that aims to increase agricultural productivity, improve food security, and reduce poverty. The program focuses on four key areas: crop production, livestock production, irrigation development, and agricultural marketing.
- The Farmer Field Schools (FFS): The FFS are a community-based learning program that teaches smallholder farmers about improved agricultural practices. The FFS are led by trained facilitators and are open to all interested farmers.
- The Agricultural Extension System: The Agricultural Extension System provides technical assistance to smallholder farmers. The system is made up of extension agents who work at the woreda (district) and kebele (village) levels.
- The Agricultural Research System: The Agricultural Research System conducts research to develop new agricultural technologies. The system is made up of research institutes and universities.
The ATA has made significant progress in improving the lives of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. The ATP has helped to increase agricultural productivity by 8% per year. The FFS have reached over 1 million farmers. And the Agricultural Extension System has provided technical assistance to over 10 million farmers.
The ATA is committed to continuing its work to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. The Agency believes that agriculture is the key to Ethiopia’s economic development and that smallholder farmers are the backbone of the agricultural sector.
Here are some of the ATA’s achievements:
- Increased agricultural productivity by 8% per year.
- Reached over 1 million farmers with the Farmer Field Schools program.
- Provided technical assistance to over 10 million farmers through the Agricultural Extension System.
- Developed and disseminated over 100 improved agricultural technologies.
- Increased the production of major crops, such as wheat, maize, and teff.
- Reduced poverty among smallholder farmers.
The ATA is a key player in Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation. The Agency is committed to working with smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods and to make Ethiopia a food secure country.
Job Description
The Finance Director will have the duty of ensuring the efficient and cost-efficient implementation of finance and financial administrative tasks, along with providing sufficient assistance to the CEO and Senior Executives. They will have the obligation to monitor the creation and application of budgets and to formulate financial summaries in accordance with the organization’s reporting schedule and partner requirements. The Director will be accountable for upholding legal and regulatory conformity concerning all matters related to accounting and finance. Additionally, the Finance Director will supervise expense and overall accounting, the retrieval of accounts receivable, payroll, and the management of risks.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Offers strategic oversight and guidance for financial management, ensuring the establishment of suitable systems, protocols, and internal checks to back the continuous expansion of program necessities.
- Devises and effectively implements a Finance strategy harmonized with organizational objectives.
- Produces an annual budget in collaboration with Senior Directors, overseeing budget utilization to ensure efficiency and value. Manages the preparation and adaptation of program and grant proposals and budgets in alignment with donor instructions and ATI and donor formats.
- Defines the priorities and directs team members’ attention to align with the evolving needs of the expanding program.
- Shapes a proficient finance team capable of executing key financial tasks adeptly, generating concise, comprehensive, and high-caliber management data.
- Supervises and nurtures the performance and growth of the finance team while ensuring punctual, quality outcomes.
- Establishes systems for management information reporting and delivers prompt financial reports to senior leadership.
- Upholds compliance with donor mandates, policies, and procedures across the organization;
- imparts direction and training on donor prerequisites to both financial and non-financial program units.
- Closely tracks the timetable for donor reports and the program’s business cycle to ensure well-timed and precise financial submissions aligned with narrative reports.
- Collaborates with other team members to manage the formulation of donors’ financial reports.
- Guarantees an unbroken audit trail from primary documents to the accounting system for precise and swift donor reporting and general record-keeping.
- Sustains awareness of governmental stipulations concerning financial affairs, ensuring adherence to tax laws and other legal criteria.
- Oversees all transactions within project bank accounts, encompassing negotiations related to charges, interest, and foreign exchange rates.
- Fashions guidelines for cash retention limits, cash transfers, and foreign currency holdings; sees to the execution of cash transfers to Transformation centers and addresses any hurdles that arise.
- Designs, enacts, and supervises systems, protocols, and reports indispensable for maintaining up-to-date projections of cash prerequisites to cover forthcoming expenditures, including contractual commitments that entail future spending.
- Regularly evaluates spending and reviews projects alongside the Senior Management Team.
- Ensures the presence of a fitting and efficient internal control system, subject to regular evaluations.
- Collaborates closely with leadership and management to elevate staff proficiencies in finance, financial administration, and adherence to donor regulations.
- Acts as the point of contact for donors and regulatory agencies, sustaining continuous interaction with existing and potential funding sources and governmental oversight bodies.
- Ensures alignment of partners’ and clients’ financial policies and practices with mandates under Ethiopia’s Federal law.
- Handles correspondence with external entities and legislative authorities concerning finance.
- Keeps the authorized signatory list and bank details updated on a regular basis, maintaining hard copies for record-keeping.
- Guarantees monthly, timely reconciliations of balance sheets, reviewing final reconciliations and trial balances.
- Supervises the retrieval of contractual and other outstanding payments.
- Conducts routine visits to Transformation centers to back, counsel, and oversee the application of internal controls, identify support requirements, and provide training to both financial and non-financial staff.
Qualification
- Master’s or PhD Degree in disciplines related to Accounting, Financial Management, and Finance;
- A minimum of 12 years of relevant experience for master’s degree holders and 6 years for PhD holders in leadership or managerial positions within international organizations.
- A minimum of six years of leadership or managerial experience.
- Proven capacity to oversee the comprehensive workflow of a finance unit, ensuring efficient task allocation, supervision, and personnel growth to maintain a skilled and motivated team.
- Possesses critical thinking, impeccable organizational skills, strong analytical prowess, and resolute dedication to task completion.
- Sound familiarity with Financial Management and Accounting principles.
- Possessing certification in Accounting would be advantageous.
- Demonstrated adeptness in problem-solving, establishing priorities, strategic planning, and delegation of responsibilities.
- Thorough and intricate understanding of Ethiopian financial legislations, regulations, and protocols.
- Proficient familiarity with Ministry of Finance Directives, projects funded by multiple donors, and the corresponding project reporting are indispensable.
- Excellent proficiency in using accounting software tools.
- Outstanding computer aptitude encompassing familiarity with various office software suites such as Agresso ERP and IFMIS.
- Exemplary written and verbal communication aptitude in both English and Amharic languages.
- Capability to perform effectively within a highly demanding environment and adeptness in stress management.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified applicants can send their applications and a copy of non returnable CV with the necessary documents to the following link below
