The Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre and Network, Addis Ababa University (HoA-REC&N-AAU) is a peculiar regional organization established to bridge the gap between policy, knowledge and practice in environmental matters of the Horn of Africa region. The organization is serving as a regional multi-stakeholder platform of knowledge exchange whereby academia, policy-decision makers and practitioners convene to promote environmental conservation and natural resources management. It also facilitates collaboration as well as strengthens and advocates for sustainable development and environmental governance across the Horn of Africa.

HoA-REC&N-AAU has broad goal of curbing the increasing trend of environmental degradation caused by mismanagement and conflicts that is aggravated by climate change, lack of coordination and collaboration to restore degraded ecosystems and to ensure sustainable use of natural resources by supporting local communities to transform their livelihoods, to cope with their changing physical environment in the Horn of Africa countries. This is done by strengthening capacity, raising environmental awareness, improving environmental governance and policy throughout the region by facilitating and stimulating practical and demand driven action research to address societal problems. A detailed overview about HoA-REC&N is available at WWW.hoarec.org.

HoA-REC&N is, thus, seeking to hire experienced professionals for the following vacant positions to    support the realisation of its organizational goals.  

Position 1                   :                       Internal Auditor

Job Summary:

The Internal auditor is responsible for ensuring that financial and non-financial assets of the Centre are protected and safeguarded against reputational damage, operational losses, financial losses, regulatory action, etc….The internal auditor is responsible for controlling  the underlying structure that controls and monitors these risks on an on-going basis.

The internal auditor reports about the effectiveness of controls and the quality of reporting and lapses or issues of concerns that is covered during the periodic audits.

Duties and responsibilities

• Contributes to the financial, operational, compliance, control and governance functions of the Centre;
• Checks the financial operations manuals are properly applied,  rules are followed, government and funding organizations guidelines are properly implemented and no breaches of government policies occurres in the operations of the organization
• Verifies that all financial reports are reliable, compliant with applicable local laws and international standards, as well as any internal guidelines set by the Centre’s top management;
• Conducts a complete assessment of what aspects need to be looked at, what data will be required, planning for resources, budgets, etc.;
• Conducts data analysis of all available information in order to perform a thorough risk assessment and identify any errors or control issues and report to the                management and the board for the necessary corrective action that may be taken;
• Develops annual Audit plan and conduct the audit  accordingly; 
• Distributes finding to  management and board;
• Conducts ad hoc investigations into identified or reported risks;
• Checks robust control, reporting and governance structure are in place for effective financial stability and reduced risk of operational lapses;
• Controls that robust reporting and governance structure are in place for effective financial stability and reduced risk of operational lapses; and
• Collects the right data from the relevant sources/projects/partners/ and in a timely manner.

Required Skills

Risk management skills

• Identify and reduce the overall operational risks thorough understanding of risk management principles
• Come up with plans and implementation strategies in order to better control and monitor those risks and take timely corrective actions 

Problem-solving skills

• Have a multidisciplinary approach combined with operational, technological, risk management and business principles

Project management skills

• In order to effectively plan, execute and report on such audit missions

Regulatory knowledge

• A thorough understanding of local laws related to the business as well as international accounting and reporting standards;
• Internal guidelines, control mechanisms and governance rules that need to be followed; and
• Understanding regional policies and procedures to effectively perform her/his duties.

 Communication skills

• Good verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills in order to get the relevant data from the relevant people and at the right time;
• clearly understand the Centre that is being audited in order to be effective at his/her job; and
• Communicate effectively to management, the board or other decision-makers where laws or regulations have not been followed.

 Data analytics

• Advanced computational and data analytics techniques
• Knowledge of relevant database management tools

 Leadership skills

• Team management, budgeting, task allocation, coordination, conflict management skills to lead a team and achieve the intended goals

 Designing and maintaining a control structure

• Process guidelines, reporting chains, system architecture, technology processes;
• Validate the quality of these control structures/mechanisms and document their effectiveness to prevent operational or other lapses; and
• Suggest improvements if any loopholes are detected to ensure quality control and governance. 

Education:

• MA in accounting or finance; economics; business administration or other relevant fields
• Professional accounting certification is also an asset

Work experience:

• A minimum of 5 years in an internal audit role in a donor funded projects

Position 2            :      Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager

Reports to          :       Executive Director

Job Summary

The Monitoring,  Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager is responsible to  plan, organize, lead and control  monitoring and evaluation activities of the Centre’s programs/projects to verify whether its goals and purposes are being met or not;  proposes corrective actions and facilitates learning from the experiences, and ensures the availability of resources for monitoring and evaluation of assignments in programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensures a proper monitoring, evaluation and lessons learning mechanisms are put in place in the Centre
• Coordinates and collates activity or physical plan/action plan for the Centre in collaboration with the Programmes Director, Program Coordinators, Project Officers, Finance Manager and Admin- and HR Manager and reports  to the Executive Director;
• Evaluates the extent to which the project is able to achieve its objectives and provides         guidelines for the planning of projects;
• Organizes, coordinates and leads periodic program review meetings (quarterly, biannual, annual)
• Compiles and submits all project plans and periodic reports to relevant offices and funding organizations
• Identifies implementation gaps and problems of the project; proposes remedial solutions or takes corrective actions for the problems identified;
• Designs participatory monitoring and evaluation systems with stakeholders or partners of the project;
• Conducts regular follow-up and monitoring visits and reviews to assess the progress of the various components according to the schedules set in the overall plans;
• Designs and oversees the implementation of the program/ project capacity building strategy including conducting capacity assessments and developing systems strengthening plans for the project;
• Provides M&E quality assurance and works with staff and partner organizations on data quality standards, the use of data, information systems, data analysis and other skills;
• Facilitates and forwards learning experiences from past performances;
• Ensures the implementation of the approved plan and budget accordingly;
• Leads in the design, implementation and oversight of both qualitative and quantitative evaluations;

• Prepares quarterly or semi-annual and annual performance reports for internal users and other key stakeholders; and
• Undertakes all other related duties as may be required and assigned.

Required Skills:

• Good knowledge of M&E  tools and relevant systems applications
• Good knowledge of data collection and analysis tools (statistical packages)
• Database and knowledge management skills
• Written and oral communication skills
• Good command of the English language
• Competence in MS Office

Education:  MSC/MA Degree in Economics, Natural Resource Economics and Policy, Development Economics, Environmental Science, or relevant field of studies

      Experience : 

A minimum 8 years of relevant work experience in PM&E positions in a donor funded projects

Position 3       :           Senior Research and Fundraising Officer

Reports to      :           Programs Director      

Job Summary

The Senior Research and Fundraising Officer provides high level assistance to the programs director and the Executive Director in formulating and executing research and fundraising strategies from diversified national, regional and global sources. The senior officer coordinates, facilitates and leads the research activities, including compilation and publication of research results in reputed journals, organization, documentation and dissemination of research outputs of the Centre, guiding programs and project coordinators in compiling data, analysis and publication of articles, policy briefs, monographs and special issues on environmental themes in the Horn of Africa region;, facilitating regional partnership in research, training and capacity building  

Duties and Responsibilities

• organizes, coordinates and leads the research unit of the Centre;
• Coordinates  the publication of research outputs in collaboration with program coordinators and project officers;
• Facilitates the implementation of  the Demand Driven Action Research program of the Centre;
• Manages and develops a number of existing and new partnerships, including writing funding proposals and providing excellent relationship management and stewardship;
• Ensures programs and projects have strong research components for capacity building;
• Collaborates to design and conduct joint research with other partners organizations;
• Identifies new funding opportunities and develops external networks that will support and enhance the fund raising capabilities of the Centre;
• Be responsible for all funding and grant reporting requirements, and communications Centre’s portfolio of partners;
• Supports community fundraising events, from local sources and other relevant regional events
• Develops donor maps for effective funnelling of fund raising efforts of the Centre;
• Keeps database of funders, up to date;
• Works collaboratively with the Program Director and Network Coordinator to promote          fundraising activities;
• Ensures that policies and procedures are followed and adhered to;
• Adheres to the shared values of the Centre during fund raising efforts; and
• Carries out any other duties as required and assigned.    

Required skills:

• Research project proposals writing skills
• Research paper writing, publications and research database management skills
• Competence in MS Office and good knowledge and skill in research data analysis software, modelling software, etc…
• Familiarity with scientific journals and publishers
• Project management skills
• Knowledge and understanding of international development issues

Strong communication skills and knowledge of the French and Arabic languages is an asset

Education:  MA/MSC  in Economics, Development Economics, Marketing Management, Management, Biodiversity Management, Environment and Natural resources Management, Climate Change, Environmental Science or relevant field of studies

Experience: A minimum 5 years of proven relevant work experience in a donor funded projects

Position 4                   :           Senior PR and Communication Officer 

Reports to                  :           Executive Director

Job Summary

The PR and Communication Officer is responsible to provide communication and Public Relations tasks for positioning the Centre as a strong brand for environmental causes.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Plans,and disseminates accurate, timely and credible information to internal and external constituencies;
• Facilitates the development and implementation of  a communication strategy;
• Organizes conferences, workshops and meetings with potential partners and donors;
•  Establishes and oversees the Centre’s information and communication standards;
• Recommends appropriate information and communication technology strategies to HOA-REC/N management;
• Oversees publications and edits periodic and funding reports before they are uploaded on the Centre’s web site;
• Facilitates requests for content /articles and press releases from relevant personnel;
• Oversees the compilation, editing and publication of newsletter of the Centre;
• Posts information on the Centre’s website following approval of the Editorial Team; 
• Oversees the maintenance and improvement of the HoA-REC website;
• Maintains a central repository of the Centre’s database/documents;
• Anticipates alerts and advises the top executives about implications of policies, and current events on environmental issues;
• Facilitates the development and implementation of a proactive media relationship strategy in order to ensure that the Centre’ s messages are appropriately conveyed to the public;
• Writes news releases, speeches, articles for distribution to the media as required;
• Promotes HoA-REC’s activities at international conferences;
• Liaises with AAU’s ICT directorate for getting strong support to the Centre; and 
• Undertakes all other related duties as may be required and assigned.

Required skills:

• Competence in MS Office, publishing, graphic design, etc…  
• Use of social media and training in media relations 
• Standard public speech, writing, presentation and interpersonal skills

Proficiency in the English language and knowledge of Arabic and/or French is an asset.

Education: MA in Journalism, Literature, Marketing Management, International Relations or relevant field of studies

Experience: A minimum of 5 years proven work experience in a donor funded projects

Position 5:          Senior climate change resilience officer

Reports to:         Climate Change Resilience Partnership Program Coordinator/Programs Director

Job Summary:

The Senior Climate Change Resilience Officer is responsible for the implementation, management and facilitation of a project on improving climate resilience of communities and ecosystems through integrated water resources management. The expert will engage and work with stakeholders, partners and local communities during implementation of project activities. He/she will be responsible for planning activities and identifying intervention sites in the Central Rift Valley landscape. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Prepares plans in collaboration with local stakeholders and local communities;
• Coordinates project activities with implementing partners and sector offices;
• Ensures the successful implementation of the project in selected landscape sites in the Central Rift Valley region;
• Ensures climate resilience is mainstreamed in strategic and key development documents
• Monitors project implementation activities on a periodic basis;
• Organizes stakeholder workshops to create awareness and share existing knowledge and experiences;
• Provides expertise support to local stakeholders and organizes capacity building trainings;
• Ensures that strategic documents and development plans for the region integrates       climate resilience; and
• Undertakes all other related duties as may be required and assigned.

Requires skills:

Candidates should have:

• Good knowledge of climate change and resilience in the water sector
• Sufficient experience in mainstreaming climate resilience into policies and development decisions

Education:

MSc in Climate Science, Biodiversity Management, Land degradation and Restoration, Environmental Science or related field of study

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years proven experience in a donor funded projects

Position 6                   :           Senior Sustainable Energy, Urban Resilience and Carbon Officer 

Reports to                  :           Program Coordinator

Job Summary

The Senior Sustainable Energy and Carbon Officer is responsible for developing fundable project proposal, promotion and implementation of project activities under sustainable energy, urban resilient and carbon program for the adoption and promotion of renewable energy technologies, waste to energy and carbon finance.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Promote renewable energy technology (RETs)
• Identify potential RETs and pilot selected areas;
• Facilitates installation of solar pump, drier and home systems;
• Coordinates and follow-up promotion and awareness creation campaigns;
• Evaluates the impact of projects;
• Develops effective tools for marketing RETs;
• Arranges experience sharing campaigns among energy actors;
• Plans, coordinates, and disseminates accurate, timely and credible information to internal and external constituencies; and
• Coordinates and organizes conferences, workshops and meetings with potential partners and donors.
• Promoting urban resilience
• Promotes waste management strategies;
• Assesses landfill gas collection potentials, develop project documents and provide technical assistance; and
• Promotes biogas for household and institutional use.
• Facilitate carbon finance projects
• Develop LSC, Passport and PDD;
• Arrange and provide capacity building for stakeholders;
• Conduct field test, usage survey and monitoring;
• Facilitate project validation, registration and verification;
• Follow up implementation of the project and evaluate impact; and
• Follow up and coordinate the data  base management system of the project.

Education

MSC in Renewable energy, Environmental science and engineering or relevant fields of studies  

Required skills

• Knowledge of and experience in interpreting and using qualitative and/or quantitative research to develop evidence-based strategies.
• Strong conceptual and analytical skills.
• preparing feasibility studies for similar assignments;
• Track record of initiative and proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Skills on RET promotion, carbon project development and solar and biogas technology
• Skills in producing fundable project proposal development
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team.
•  Excellent verbal and written communication and presentational skills.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience on RE in a donor funded carbon projects

For all the positions:    

Duty station                                                :   Addis Ababa and it may require occasional travel

Duration                                                                   :   On contract basis with possible extension

Salary                                                                        :   As per the salary scale of the Centre

Number of candidates for each position  :   One

How to Apply

Applications can only be accepted through the following e-mail:

recruitment@hoarec.org.

Send your cover letter, CV and relevant credentials in pdf format and please write the position that you are applying for on the subject line. 

Deadline for Application: July 16, 2021.Only short-listed candidates