Project Officer-Data Analyst

Term of Employment:  Project based-one year with possibility of extension

Duty Station(s):              Addis Ababa

Required Number:        One

Salary & Benefits:          Competitive

Application Deadline:   March 6, 2016

BACKGROUND:

The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) has been established by the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) to identify and address systemic bottlenecks to Ethiopia’s agricultural development. The Agency does this through problem-solving, implementation support, and capacity building of stakeholders involved in implementation of interventions that address the systemic bottlenecks. The Agency reports to a Transformation Council chaired by the Prime Minister and whose co-chair is the Minister of Agriculture. 

The programmatic focus of the Agency responds to a core set of needs identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Transformation Council. Within the Agency, issues are divided into four different groups:  Production and Productivity which includes Inputs and Crop Protection, Livestock, Research and Extension, Mechanization and Rural Finance; Agribusiness and Markets including Market Services, Market Infrastructure, Commercial & Contract Farming, Domestic and Export Market Development, and Cooperatives Development; Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Agricultural Growth including Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Land Management, Gender Equality and Nutrition, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, and Planning and MLE; and Enhanced Implementation Capacity which includes ICT, Private Sector, and Human and Organizational Capacity. Across the programs, the ATA engages public, private and non-governmental stakeholders to support strategic planning, manage and strengthen implementation capacity and test innovative models.

Our Culture

We have an exceptional team of employees with highly competent and 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 ATA, 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. 

POSITION SUMMARY:

ATA is launching an Agricultural Investment Mapping Project (AIM) in Ethiopia. This initiative will consist of convening government and donor partners and gathering information on their investment portfolios in order to develop a comprehensive picture of who is doing what, with whom, and where in the agriculture sector.

The Agricultural Investment Mapping Project aims to produce an online database and a mapping tool, which outline all major investment taking place in the agricultural sector in Ethiopia by Government, bilateral and multilateral development agencies and other actors. The data collected will be uploaded onto an Agricultural Investment Mapping Tool, which will be tailored to fit the scope of the agricultural sector in Ethiopia. The database and Tool will categorize investment activities according to their geographical location and specific areas of intervention, aligned with the priority areas listed under Ethiopia’s Agricultural Sector Policy Investment Framework (PIF). It will further outline major details about the investment projects (title, description, timeline, amount, etc.). Finally, the ultimate aim of this project is to make the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Agriculture the main owner of the resulting web-based tool and database.

Currently, the ATA is in the process of developing and deploying an Agricultural Planning Tool (APT), an online web-portal that will provide a stable back-end for storing, retrieving, and updating data via a simplified user interface. The APT will provide both real-time and periodic agricultural data that will allow policy makers, implementers, and various agricultural stakeholders access to information about Ethiopian agricultural institutions.  The system will provide users with the ability to identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities in order to make evidence based decisions at national, regional, zonal, and woreda levels. Functionality will include (but is not limited to) geo-spatial visualization of data, interactive directory of contact information, institutional and geographic profiles and more.

Towards achieving the objective of developing and deploying the AIM and APT, ATA will be working with a local IT consulting firm, a local data collection partner and an international technology and data visualization firm to develop the system and host it initially at the ATA which will be eventually transferred to the MoA.  The information and resources on the system will be accessible by users in the regions, zones, woredas, etc.

ATA is seeking a qualified candidate to serve as a Data Analyst on the AIM and APT Projects. The Data Analyst will assist the AIM and APT project team in data management, database development and data visualization. The Data Analyst will work closely with the local IT consulting firm, the local data collection partner and the international technology and data visualization firm.

This position will officially report to the ICT Project Lead.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Support the development of high-quality, reliable and user-friendly databases, maps and geospatial resources

• Conduct data sourcing, management, analytics and visualization

• Support the development of an online portal (Tool and Database) which would assemble agricultural investment  and agricultural portal data

• Support overall development and enhancement of data infrastructure, analytics and reporting capacity at ATA

• Support projects within the ICT team in addition to AIM and APT projects when deemed necessary

• Engage with internal teams and external partners to identify data and information management needs and technical requirements

• Support key data partnerships and other strategic data initiatives with MoA, MOFEC and partner organizations

• Analyze the institutional survey data and identify potential analysis and trends using statistical analysis softwares like Tableau, STATA and SPSS that are useful for the APT

• Provide support with the design of trainings for end users and owners of the AIM Tool and Database – MoA experts, MoA IT department, RED&FS staff, etc.

• Conduct trainings for MoA and RED&FS officials on how to maintain and update the AIM Tool and Database on a regular basis

• Provide assistance conducting for Federal and Regional MoA counterparts

• Conduct follow up trainings in order provide troubleshooting and sustainability of using the system

• Bachelor or Master’s Degree in computer science, IT / ICT, management information systems, statistics or other relevant fields

• At least three (3) years (for Bachelors) or one (1) year (for Masters) of experience in data sourcing, data and database management (include SQL), analytics, visualization and reporting

• Experience in developing and maintaining large datasets, data analysis tools

• Familiarity with data management platforms, including content management systems

• Good understanding and exposure to data visualization and GIS technologies

• Strong specific knowledge and/or experience with any of the following: Advanced Excel and Access, ArcGIS, QGIS, SPPS, Stata, ODK

• Ability to build relationships with stakeholders

• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment, with an emphasis on high performance, teamwork, accountability and results

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, data gathering, QA/QC skills

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Fluency in English is essential.  Fluency in Amharic is a plus

 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience training end-users and conducting small to medium scale training sessions

• Basic understanding of Ethiopia’s agricultural system


• Exposure to Tableau for analysis or research purposes