The Role
Manages a portfolio of horticultural development and technical assistance projects in Ethiopia. Responsibilities include assessing partner needs, designing support projects, coordinating training and service providers, managing contracts and deliverables, monitoring implementation, maintaining records, supporting reporting, and resolving issues. The role also involves stakeholder engagement with businesses, producer organisations, public institutions and experts, plus contributions to tenders, events and training resources. Regular travel within Ethiopia and occasional international travel are required.
Summary Generated by Built In
COLEAD is an inter-professional association
established under Law 1901 in France, dedicated to supporting the sustainable
transformation of agri-food systems in low-income and lower-middle-income
countries, with an historical anchorage and consolidated experience in the
horticultural sector across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Since its creation, COLEAD has implemented development programmes in more than
50 countries, financed by public and institutional partners. The organisation
is ISO 21001 certified and operates under a governance framework that reflects
its inter-professional nature and its commitment to the long-term
transformation of agri-food systems.
As part of the implementation of the MAHEBER
Programme – “Mobilizing Actors in Horticulture for Entrepreneurship and
Boosting Ethiopian Resilience”, COLEAD is recruiting a Project Manager
within its Technical Assistance Department, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
MAHEBER aims to strengthen the
competitiveness and sustainability of Ethiopia's horticulture sector by
supporting horticultural stakeholders in adapting to evolving sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS), commercial, social and environmental requirements in
local, regional and international markets. This includes strengthening the
capacities of private-sector operators, producer organisations, public
institutions and support-service providers. This reflects the programme's focus
on strengthening Ethiopian horticultural stakeholders' capacity to respond to
evolving market and regulatory requirements.
The Project Manager will be based at COLEAD's
office in Addis Ababa and will work under the direct supervision of the MAHEBER
Programme Coordinator, in close collaboration with COLEAD's Technical
Assistance Department and programme teams in Nairobi, Brussels and Lomé.
Main responsibilities
As Project Manager, you will take operational
responsibility for a portfolio of partner-beneficiaries and technical
assistance and capacity building activities, from needs assessment and project
design through implementation, monitoring, evaluation and follow-up.
More specifically, you will be responsible
for:
Development of support projects (‘development
projects’) for partner-beneficiaries
- Analyse
in-depth applications for support received from potential
partner-beneficiaries.
- Implement
COLEAD's Sustainability Self-Assessment System (SAS) with companies
and other relevant partners and prepare the corresponding assessment
reports.
- Work
with partner-beneficiaries to identify needs, priorities and appropriate
capacity-building solutions and translate these into structured individual
development projects.
- Guide
partner-beneficiaries towards relevant COLEAD resources, expertise and
networks and build lasting working relationships with them.
Implementation of technical assistance
and capacity building activities
- Manage
and coordinate the implementation of capacity building activities agreed
with partner-beneficiaries, including technical assistance, training and
other targeted support.
- Prepare
terms of reference and contribute to the identification and selection of
appropriate experts and service providers.
- Coordinate
the contracting, mobilisation, and evaluation of external service
providers in accordance with COLEAD and donor procedures.
- Coordinate
with local partners and service providers regarding the technical,
administrative and logistical arrangements required for activities.
- Organise
and monitor calls for expressions of interest and other processes used to
select participants or partner-beneficiaries for programme activities.
- Ensure
that planned activities are implemented to the expected quality, within
agreed timelines and in accordance with applicable procedures.
Monitoring, evaluation,
and reporting
- Plan,
coordinate and monitor MAHEBER technical assistance and capacity building
activities falling under your responsibility.
- Ensure
appropriate technical, administrative and financial follow-up of
activities under your responsibility.
- Maintain
complete and accurate programme records, including activity documentation,
invoices, certificates and relevant monitoring data.
- Ensure
timely and reliable inputs to programme monitoring, evaluation and
reporting on the implementation, results and follow-up of technical
assistance activities.
- Identify
implementation issues and propose practical solutions and corrective
actions where required.
Teamwork and programme
contribution
- Work
closely with the MAHEBER Programme Coordinator and COLEAD colleagues
responsible for Technical Assistance, Training and other programme
components.
- Maintain
regular contact with Ethiopian horticultural companies, producer
organisations, competent authorities, support organisations, experts,
training providers and other programme stakeholders.
- Contribute
to the organisation and assessment of tenders and other procedures for
selecting external service providers.
- Contribute
to workshops, conferences, trade fairs and other events organised by or
involving COLEAD under MAHEBER.
- Contribute,
where relevant, to the development of training resources.
- Contribute
to other COLEAD activities where required by programme implementation
needs.
Requirements
- Higher
education degree (ideally Master’s degree) in a relevant field such as agriculture,
agronomy, horticulture, plant protection, food science, environmental
sciences, agribusiness, economics, management or project management.
- At
least seven (7) years of proven/relevant professional experience,
including substantial experience in Ethiopia's agricultural or
horticultural sector.
- At
least three (3) years of demonstrated project management experience,
including responsibility for planning, implementation, monitoring and
follow-up of activities.
- Practical
experience working with horticultural businesses, producer
organisations, public institutions and/or business-support organisations,
with a sound understanding of horticultural value chains and the
challenges affecting their competitiveness and sustainability.
- Demonstrated
experience in designing, managing, and monitoring technical assistance,
capacity-building or organisational development activities.
- Experience
managing external experts, consultants or service providers, including
preparation of terms of reference, monitoring of assignments and
evaluation of deliverables.
- Experience
with project monitoring, reporting and administrative and financial
follow-up.
- Good
digital literacy and command of standard office and collaboration tools. Experience with CRM/ERP systems, online reporting tools, digital learning
platforms or project management systems is considered an asset, as is the
ability to quickly learn and adopt new digital tools.
- Fluency
in English and very good knowledge of Amharic are required. Knowledge of another COLEAD working language, particularly
French, Spanish or Portuguese, is an asset.
Skills and competencies
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Strong project management, planning and organisational skills, with the
capacity to manage several activities and partner files simultaneously.
- A
high degree of autonomy, initiative and accountability, while
working effectively within agreed procedures and reporting lines.
Strong analytical skills and the ability to translate identified needs into practical and structured support activities. - A results-oriented and solution-focused approach, with the ability to
anticipate implementation challenges and propose appropriate responses.
- Rigour
and attention to detail, particularly regarding project documentation,
budgets, procedures and monitoring data.
- Strong
interpersonal skills and the ability to establish constructive working
relationships with private-sector operators, public institutions,
professional organisations, experts and colleagues.
- Excellent
written and oral communication skills, including the ability to
communicate clearly with diverse stakeholders in both face-to-face and
digital environments.
- Strong
teamwork and collaboration skills in a multicultural and geographically
distributed organisation.
- Flexibility
and the ability to work effectively under pressure and manage competing
priorities.
- Commitment
to continuous learning and to COLEAD's mission, strategy and values.
Benefits
This is a full-time position based in Addis Ababa, with an initial contract duration of one (1) year, renewable.
Regular travel within Ethiopia will be required. The successful
candidate should also be available for occasional short-term assignments within
the Eastern African region and, where relevant, travel to Belgium or other
countries linked to the implementation of MAHEBER.
The position is to be filled as soon as possible.
We offer a competitive remuneration package aligned with local market standards, taking into account the selected candidate's experience and
qualifications.
To apply, please send your CV + cover letter + references by Friday 16th of October 2026, 5pm CEST.
Joining COLEAD means becoming part of a passionate multicultural team. It's also an opportunity to enjoy an enriching experience within a civil society organisation working for cooperation and development in the agri-food industry. COLEAD's values are commitment, difference, humanity, performance and continuous improvement.
Skills Required
- Higher education degree in agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, plant protection, food science, environmental sciences, agribusiness, economics, management, project management, or a related field
- Master's degree is preferred
- At least seven years of relevant professional experience
- Substantial professional experience in Ethiopia's agricultural or horticultural sector
- At least three years of project management experience covering planning, implementation, monitoring and follow-up
- Experience working with horticultural businesses, producer organisations, public institutions or business-support organisations
- Understanding of horticultural value chains and competitiveness and sustainability challenges
- Experience designing, managing and monitoring technical assistance, capacity-building or organisational development activities
- Experience managing external experts, consultants or service providers, including terms of reference, assignment monitoring and deliverable evaluation
- Experience with project monitoring, reporting, and administrative and financial follow-up
- Good digital literacy and command of standard office and collaboration tools
- Experience with CRM/ERP systems, online reporting tools, digital learning platforms or project management systems
- Fluency in English
- Very good knowledge of Amharic
- Knowledge of French, Spanish or Portuguese
- Strong project management, planning, organisational, analytical, communication and stakeholder-management skills
- Ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities and operate effectively in multicultural teams
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The Company
What We Do
Colead is a Finnish financial advisory firm focused on helping companies—particularly Finnish businesses—secure and evaluate financing. Established in 2017, it provides equity funding solutions, support with public-funding applications, investment-case evaluations, and virtual lead-investor services. Its partners bring experience in corporate finance, startup investing, board-level leadership, sales, marketing, finance, strategy, and business development. Its work combines analytical and practical support for fundraising and investment decisions.
