Sr Advocacy, Partnership and Organizational Development Specialist

SUMMARY

23 Jul 2026

1 Aug 2026 - 03:02 UTC

Ethiopia

Human Resources

Permanent

Full-time

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TEAM/PROGRAMME: Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture & Food System (NSA & FS) Project in Ethiopia

LOCATION:  Addis Ababa 

GRADE: 

POST TYPE: National

Child Safeguarding: Level 1

The role holder will not have direct contact with beneficiary children or access to children’s personal data as part of their work and will have limited field travel.

        Risk and Compliance:

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Fraud, Bribery, and Corruption policy and code of conduct. The key responsibilities include understanding and complying with the SCI policies and procedures, not committing any act of fraud, bribery, or corruption, understanding risks in their area/role, and implementing mitigation measures, report any suspected fraud, bribery, or corruption immediately, declare conflicts of interest in accordance with internal procedures and complete mandatory training related to ethics and anti-fraud measures

Project Background: 

The Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture & Food System (NSA & FS) in Ethiopia is a three-year project (November 17/2025 - October 31/2028) funded by the Gates Foundation. The project focuses on three primary outcome areas:

Strengthened food system and nutrition governance to enable effective implementation of the NS-AFSS and FST-RM under Ethiopia’s Food System Transformation Vision 2030

Strengthened institutional and human resource capacity at all levels

Strengthened data systems, innovation, and learning

The project primarily targets the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and three Regional Bureaus of Agriculture (Amhara, Oromia, and Somali). By addressing systemic and capacity-related barriers, the project aims to contribute to sustainable improvements in food and nutrition outcomes.

Implementation will be carried out in collaboration with Save the Children USA (SC-USA), Save the Children International (SCI), the MoA, and other key stakeholders. The project will also coordinate closely with organizations working on food systems policy and nutrition-sensitive agriculture.

Key focus areas include:

Enhancing food system and nutrition governance

Strengthening coordination and resource mobilization

Building institutional and technical capacity

Improving data systems (including AGMIS-2)

Promoting innovation and learning

SCI is therefore seeking a Senior Advocacy, Partnership, and Organizational Development Specialist to lead advocacy, partnerships, and organizational capacity-building efforts.

Role Purpose:

The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has demonstrated strong commitment to improving national nutrition through revised sector policies and strategic frameworks. However, achieving these objectives requires additional technical support.

The Senior Specialist will:

Support the MoA in developing and implementing nutrition-focused human resource structures from the federal to woreda levels

Lead high-level advocacy and partnership engagement

Strengthen organizational systems and manage change processes

The role involves:

Conducting human resources needs assessment

Developing advocacy and partnership guidelines

Designing and implementing organizational development (OD) plans

Scope of Role: 

Reports to: The post holder will directly report to the Senior Manager, FSLR & Cash

Staff directly reporting to this post: None 

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and System Strengthening

Provide technical leadership concerning project objectives and successful project activities delivery

Lead human resource needs assessments and develop actionable work plans

Support the establishment of resource mobilization structures within the MoA

Provide mentorship and on-the-job training to MoA and regional staff

Identify and implement capacity-building initiatives

Facilitate the appointment of Nutrition Champions and Advocacy Groups

Strengthening partnerships with stakeholders and development partners

Support the development and revision of sector strategies, guidelines, and manuals

Advocacy and Policy Engagement

Lead the design and implementation of advocacy and partnership strategies 

Coordinate advocacy initiatives targeting government institutions and stakeholders 

Facilitate evidence-based policy dialogues and learning events

Partnership Management

Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with government, NGOs, academia, and civil society 

Promote collaboration and information sharing 

Support resource mobilization efforts 

Serve as a liaison between SCI, MoA, and partners

Organizational Development & Institutional Capacity Strengthening

Assess institutional and organizational capacity gaps 

Design and implement capacity development plans 

Support operationalization of AGMIS-2 systems 

Strengthen data management and utilization for decision-making

Development and Implementation

Map the existing organizational structure and develop a new human resource plan

A change management plan to facilitate and guide structural transitions within the MOA, Civil Service Commission, and at the Federal, Regional, Zonal, and Woreda levels.

Support the development of job descriptions and career structures for staffing the NS-AFS Strategy implementation plan. 

Develop organizational standard operating procedures around the major organizational changes being rolled out.  

Continually engage with all stakeholders to ensure satisfaction and key involvement from key functions 

Responsible for communication of project progress and challenges to the Sr. Manager and developing mitigation plans with the MOA and other stakeholders

Ensure data-driven decision-making, leveraging insights to inform future project strategies.

Lead the Agriculture Management Information System design testing and piloting in coordination with relevant stakeholders.

Support the scaling up of the identified NSA evidence and lessons 

Coordination

Establish/Strengthen the federal MOA food and nutrition coordination mechanism suitable to improve synergies across programs, projects and regular government initiatives.

Establish/Strengthen the regional nutrition coordination mechanisms that would create an interface relevant to strengthen coordination with the national food and nutrition initiatives

Design tools that will be used to guide coordination mechanisms across the board 

Assesses, analyzes and designs relevant capacity building initiatives to build effective partnership mechanisms. 

Conduct stakeholder mapping to guide strategic partnership among different actors 

Based on the stakeholder mapping result, a map of intervention areas will be identified and shared with relevant partners for prioritization of intervention areas

Collaborate with the Federal and regional Civil Service organization to facilitate financing for nutrition  

Provide technical guidance to implementing partners, ensuring the effectiveness of interventions.

Facilitate cross-learning workshops, ensuring stakeholders exchange best practices 

Evaluate and amend the agriculture sector organizational development policy and strategy 

Knowledge Management & Communication

Contribute to learning and knowledge management systems 

Promote evidence-based decision-making 

Support internal knowledge sharing and team capacity development

Representation, Advocacy, and Learning 

Ensure effective coordination and advocacy mechanism is in place for all organizational development activities, through coordination with relevant project stakeholders and organizations working in similar areas. 

Establish relationship with Federal Ministry of Public Service and Human Resources Development and Ministry of Agriculture to advocate the establishment/strengthening of Nutrition Structure in agriculture sector. 

Promote learning throughout the project, particularly on issues of organizational change. 

Regularly produce and report on best practices and case studies.

General:

Comply with Save the Children policies, including safeguarding, code of conduct, and health and safety.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Accountability:

Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values

Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

Sets ambitious and challenging goals for himself (and his team), takes responsibility for his own personal development and encourages others to do the same

Widely shares his personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others

Future orientated, thinks strategically and can visualize and high-level goals and objectives and translate them into practical tasks and see a road to achieving those goals.

Collaboration:

Builds and maintains effective relationships, with his team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters

Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength

Approachable, good listener, diplomatic

Creativity:

Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions

Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Required 

Master’s degree in economics, Agricultural Economics, Social Sciences, Development Management, HR Management, Public Policy, or related field

Minimum 8 years of experience in organizational development or change management

At least 3 years in leadership roles in agriculture or nutrition-related projects

Experience working with government institutions

Strong training, mentoring, and capacity-building experience

Desired 

Experience in developing programs, guidelines, and manuals

Strong analytical and report-writing skills

Willingness to travel to remote locations

Strong communication and negotiation skills

Ability to present complex information clearly

Fluency in English (written and spoken)

Commitment to Save the Children’s values and child protection principle

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