Job title:

A2 / D6 (SEO) Governance Advisor 

About the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

FCDO pursues our national interests and projects the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners.

We place emphasis on how we lead and behave towards each other, how we make decisions and how we get the job done to deliver our cultural statement.

 Purpose of Job

FCDO Ethiopia is a large, dynamic and high performing office – implementing the UK’s largest aid programme.  Ethiopia has delivered remarkable development results over the past 25 years. FCDO partners with Government, multilateral partners and local organisations across a range of sectors. It is an exciting, challenging, but rewarding time to be joining the Governance team. The adviser will have the opportunity to work on multiple aspects of Ethiopia’s democratisation and political transition over both the short- and medium-term, as well as support teams across the office in strengthening service delivery in a politically challenging context. You will lead our current interventions to strengthen democracy and accountability (through support to civil society and media). You will also support the country’s policy and programming portfolio to ensure it is responsive to the fast changing political context and informed by political economy analysis. You will also offer cross-cutting governance expertise on institutional reform and capacity building.

The role will provide ample opportunity to strengthen a variety of technical competencies and civil service behaviours in a supportive and stretching learning environment.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Lead the ‘Transparency and Accountability’ pillar of the British Embassy Ethiopia’s open societies strategy.
• Support teams with provision of high-quality cross-cutting governance advice.
• Build strong, productive and trusting relationships with Ethiopian counterparts and other external stakeholders.
• Maintain professional development through a 10% cadre contribution.

Technical Competencies

•  Applied Governance and Political-Economy Analysis
• Accountable and Inclusive Politics
• Public Sector Governance and Service Delivery
•  Security, Justice and Human Rights

Essential:

1. Relevant experience working on governance, poverty and development issues in Ethiopia preferably at national and regional level with evidence of understanding of key policies and strategies.
2. Demonstrable experience of working with civil society organizations and/or media and journalists to support democratic reform.
3. Ability to explain complex issues in clear English to a range of audiences.
4. Experience in influencing policies at senior levels.
5. Demonstrable experience of working with the international development community and an understanding/familiarity with the international development architecture.
6. A proven ability to communicate clearly and confidently, verbally and in writing.
7. Excellent inter-personal and team working skills, with an ability to work flexibly and adapt to emerging issues.
8. Fluency in spoken and written English and basic computer literacy (office applications and the Internet).

Desirable:

1. Previously most successful candidates have drawn on 5+ years of relevant experience to show sufficient evidence of the competencies etc)
2. Demonstrable experience of leadership and team management.