OPPORTUNITY

Environmental Incentives seeks to hire an Adaptive Management (AM) Facilitation Specialist to support United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Ethiopia’s Highlands Resilience Platform for Adaptive Learning (R-PAL). R-PAL is a new, five-year project that partners with the Ethiopia Mission, its TIGER Implementing Partners, and the Government of Ethiopia to establish joint action learning, consolidate research and learning agendas, enable partners to adapt approaches as needs arise, drive evidence-based decisions, and identify the most promising innovations to scale.

The highlands of Ethiopia is a complex, multi-layered risk landscape where key indicators of resilience, including poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition keep millions of households in a poverty trap or vulnerability cycle, unable to absorb shocks and stresses, or adapt to changing conditions. The TIGER activity portfolio is composed of more than 20 implementing mechanisms working with the Government of Ethiopia (GOE), the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), and a broad coalition of partners to strengthen resilience in Ethiopia’s highlands. Within TIGER and the broader landscape of highlands resilience partners, there is evident need to better sequence, layer and integrate (SLI) resilience-building relief and development programming. That said, the lack of a finalized resilience learning agenda, shared measurement framework, a highly contextualized evidence base, and weak AM practice, impedes USAID/TIGER’s ability to efficiently distill meaningful feedback, assess potential for scale, and direct investment to the right combination of activities.

As the AM Facilitation Specialist, you will support a dynamic, Addis Ababa-based project team under the direction of the CLA Component Lead and the R-PAL Chief of Party. In this role, you will provide specialized technical expertise to R-PAL’s delivery of service. You will act as a resource for USAID (Client) and implementing teams, improve understanding of adaptive management facilitation, and draw on your expertise to meet the team’s and Client’s needs. You will effectively communicate with the Client, project managers, and other technical specialists to identify areas of learning and support the teams to apply them in their adaptive management decision-making. With appropriate review by others, you will produce consistently high quality and accurate products that meet R-PAL and USAID quality standards.

To succeed in this role, you must be willing and able to follow security guidelines and travel safely within Ethiopia.

Responsibilities

Adaptive Management Facilitation and Technical Support

• Facilitates adaptive management and other Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) processes for R-PAL and other resilience projects in the Ethiopian Highlands, thereby supporting the alignment of diverse stakeholders behind a common learning agenda
• Provides specialized technical assistance through product / initiative implementation to meet Client vision & USAID/R-PAL quality standards.
• Stays current with technical advancements in the field and engages experts inside EI as thought partners to develop unique insights.
• Guides culture, practices, and direct engagements that create safe opportunities for engagement and inspire belonging by stakeholders with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities.
• Builds trust of Client and staff through excellent preparation, follow up, and audience-aware communication. Practices situational awareness and adapts appropriately to the communication and workstyles of Client, partners, and staff. Ensures all parties are respected and understood.

Capacity Development, Learning Identification, & Uptake

• Innovatively develops and adapts tools, templates, and infrastructure to unique Client situations.
• Establishes and/or facilitates processes for adaptive management and works with other USAID implementing partners to embed them into their activities.
• Facilitates and trains others to lead, e.g., evidence-informed decision making, communities of practice, learning exchanges, and Pause and Reflect events.
• Remains sensitive to stakeholder/user needs and changing contexts. Proactively identifies changes to products, practices, and duties that will improve project and personal effectiveness. Encourages and models use of learning practices.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of relevant experience; or Master’s degree and 3+ years relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Two or more years of experience working on USAID projects.
• Five or more years of experience managing or providing adaptive management expertise to donor-funded projects.
• Proven experience developing facilitation/learning plans and training/facilitating large groups and meetings.
• Professional working proficiency in English (verbal and written).
• Professional proficiency (verbal and written) in Amharic.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation or another.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience working on USAID-funded programs or on similar programs funded by other Government of Ethiopia development partners.
• Experience applying adult learning principles in facilitation, workshop design, and/or training stakeholders.
• Professional proficiency (verbal and written) in at least one other local language such as Afan Oromo, Tigrigna or other.
• Demonstrated experience independently translating technical content into actionable products for different audiences and users, both technical and non-technical.
• Demonstrated experience working effectively with people who have different communication and work styles.
• Professional experience working in the Ethiopian Highlands

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Clear understanding of adult learning principles related to the needs of project beneficiaries.
• Clarity of thought and effective communication.
• Listening and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to independently follow multi-step implementation plans.
• Ability to attend conference calls and virtual meetings with Client and other stakeholders outside of regular business hours approximately 3-6 times per month.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office suite (particularly MS Word, Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel) and Google Suite (Google Apps, Google Drive, Sheets, Docs).

Additional Requirements

• Candidate must demonstrate their ability to legally work and reside in Ethiopia for the duration of the project.
• Criminal background check required.

BASE STATION

The position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Compensation And Benefits

Compensation will be dependent on and commensurate with years of experience and expertise. Environmental Incentives also offers a competitive benefits package.

How To Apply

Please submit your application no later than September 30, 2022. We will review applications and contact qualified candidates for additional information.

ENVIRONMENTAL INCENTIVES IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

We are committed to developing an inclusive work environment for all employees, where diversity of thought, style, culture, and skill is valued in support of individual performance and potential, as well as our business goals and mission. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or and other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Reasonable Accommodation:

Applicants with disabilities may contact Environmental Incentives coordinators via telephone, e-mail, and other means to request and arrange for accommodations. If you need assistance to accommodate a disability, you may request an accommodation at any time. Please contact Human