Senior Climate Smart Agriculture Advisor (Home based Retainer) - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Senior Climate-Smart Agriculture Advisor will provide strategic and technical support to help the Ministry of Agriculture mobilize climate finance, develop high-quality investment pipelines and project concept notes, strengthen institutional capacity, and support implementation of agriculture-related climate priorities under Ethiopia’s Nationally Determined Contribution and related plans. This is a home-based retainer position supporting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in Ethiopia.

Responsibilities

• Identify, screen, and prioritize climate-smart agriculture investment opportunities related to crops, livestock, soil and water management, agroforestry, irrigation, digital advisory services, and resilient value chains.
• Prepare and refine high-quality concept notes, project proposals, and investment packages for submission to climate funds, development banks, bilateral partners, philanthropic institutions, and relevant private investors.
• Coordinate bankable project proposal development, including problem analysis, theory of change, results frameworks, budgets, financing plans, implementation arrangements, safeguards inputs, gender considerations, risk assessments, and monitoring frameworks.
• Prepare climate finance strategies, donor engagement plans, funding opportunity trackers, investor outreach materials, and partnership notes to mobilize support for priority agriculture interventions.
• Strengthen the Ministry’s capacity to prepare investment plans, project pipelines, concept notes, full project proposals, and financing strategies aligned with agriculture priorities, the Nationally Determined Contribution, and national development plans.
• Provide strategic advice on implementation of agriculture-related climate priorities and climate-smart agriculture commitments, and support refinement of sector strategies, investment priorities, and implementation approaches.
• Design and deliver practical in-house training, coaching, and mentoring for Ministry staff, Regional bureaus, extension systems, and other relevant institutions on climate finance, proposal development, donor engagement, and investment planning.
• Improve institutional systems for project development, coordination, monitoring, reporting, verification, and knowledge management within the agriculture sector.
• Develop practical tools, templates, guidance notes, and standard operating procedures to improve the quality and consistency of project preparation and climate finance engagement.
• Advise on integration of climate-smart agriculture, and climate resilient included in the Sector NDC implementation Plan into agricultural policies, programs, and sector planning documents.
• Provide technical backstopping to accelerate implementation of priority climate-smart agriculture interventions and support the Ministry to scale up practical lessons from ongoing initiatives, including those supported by the Netherlands Government.
• Support stronger collaboration among the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Planning and Development, the Ministry of Finance, Regional Bureaus of Agriculture and the Private Sector actors on Climate Resilient Agriculture, markets and value chains development.
• Promote stronger engagement with private sector actors, financial institutions, agribusinesses, service providers, and cooperatives to strengthen climate-smart agriculture value chains and financing opportunities.
• Regularly update the relevant teams and sector coordinators within the Netherlands Embassy on assignment progress, opportunities for alignment with ongoing Netherlands-supported initiatives, key financing opportunities, and policy or strategic developments affecting the sector.
• Work closely with the NDC Partnership In-Country Facilitator and relevant climate finance and climate policy advisors to ensure alignment, coordination, and follow-up on support provided to the Ministry.
• Undertake field missions, consultations, reviews, and technical backstopping tasks needed to accelerate implementation of priority climate-smart agriculture interventions.
• Support preparation of briefs, presentations, and decision notes for Ministry leadership and key stakeholders.
• Carry out any other related strategic or technical tasks requested by Ministry leadership that are consistent with the purpose of the assignment.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or equivalent, preferably in Conservation Agriculture, Land and Water Resource Management, Irrigation water management, Agronomy, Livestock, Climate Change Agriculture, Project Planning, Public Policy, or another closely related field.
• Bachelor's degree in related discipline with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience (7 total) may be accepted instead of an advanced university degree.
• PhD in Agriculture, Agronomy, Integrated watershed management, soil and water Conservation, agroforestry, development, climate-smart integrated watershed/catchment management, and rangeland development and management (desired).
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in climate-smart agriculture, climate risk management, nature-based solutions (NbS), climate finance, agricultural investment planning, project preparation, fundraising, or closely related areas.
• Proven experience developing agricultural investment plans and project proposals contributing to national CSA strategies (including the NDC), and climate risk management.
• Good knowledge of climate-smart agriculture approaches, value chains, irrigation, soil and water management and participatory rangelands improvements and livestock related resilient development initiatives in developing-country contexts.
• Strong understanding of climate finance architecture and donor requirements, with practical experience engaging multilateral climate funds, development banks, bilateral partners, philanthropic organizations, or private investors.
• Expertise in promoting climate-smart agriculture technologies and experience engaging private-sector actors to scale technologies, partnerships, and agri-value chains and market development (desired).
• Strong analytical, writing, coordination, negotiation, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Practical experience working within Government Organizations and/or Federal Ministries.
• Fluent proficiency in English and Amharic.

Skills

• Climate-Smart Agriculture
• Climate Risk Management
• Nature-Based Solutions
• Climate Finance
• Agricultural Investment Planning
• Project Preparation
• Fundraising
• Agricultural Project Proposals
• National CSA Strategies
• Irrigation Management
• Soil and Water Management
• Participatory Rangelands Improvement
• Livestock Resilient Development
• Donor Engagement Strategies
• Multilateral Climate Funds Knowledge
• Development Bank Engagement
• Private Sector Engagement
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Policy Coordination

Languages

English, Amharic