Team Leader

The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) announces a vacancy for the position of Team Leader PROJECT TITLE: Women Economic Empowerment in Rural Areas Through Sustainable Food Value-Chains POSITION: Team Leader STARTING DATE: January 2027 CONTRACT PERIOD: 1 year, with the possibility of extension LOCATION: Tbilisi, Georgia

The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) has been delegated by the European Union (EU) to implement the project “Women Economic Empowerment in Rural Areas Through Sustainable Food Value-chains”. The project with a volume of EUR 4,05 mil will be implemented in Georgia over a period of 36 months followed by a closing phase of 3 months. The overall objective of the project is to create the conditions for sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development. The specific objective of the project is to increase women's economic participation, income, and influence in the horticulture and dairy sectors. The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is Austria's federal agency for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance and operates within the framework of International Partnerships Austria. ADA is responsible for implementing Austria's bilateral development programmes and projects in partner countries and for administering the associated budget.

SPECIFIC DUTIES Role Summary: The Team Leader will be a senior expert in Market Systems Development, agricultural value chains or a related field, with proven experience in managing EU-funded development programmes. Given that women’s economic empowerment constitutes an important cross-cutting objective of the project, gender expertise is considered a strong asset. S/he will provide overall strategic, technical and operational leadership of the project and ensure effective implementation in line with ADA and EU requirements, lead and supervise a small Project Management Team and coordinate with implementing partners and stakeholders. S/he will oversee compliance with contractual, financial, procurement and visibility requirements, ensure timely delivery of project results and reports, and represent the Action in relevant coordination and policy dialogue fora. Under the supervision of the Head of Office, s/he will work closely with the ADA Coordination Office in Tbilisi and ADA Headquarters in Vienna and will be accountable for the overall achievement of the Action’s objectives and results.

Specific duties and responsibilities include

• Overall results-oriented technical and financial management of the project, including the preparatory, inception and closing phase, in line with EU and ADA regulations;
• Coordinate the setup of the project management office and team in Tbilisi in collaboration with the ADA Office in Tbilisi;
• Coordinate and maintain effective working relationships with implementing partners, including GFA, Helvetas, EBRD and other strategic partners, to ensure coherent and
• complementary delivery of project interventions.
• In cooperation with the ADA Office, collaborate with the EU Delegation to strengthen the Team Europe Initiative on Balanced Territorial Development and the EU’s program approach for improving the livelihood of women in rural areas and economic empowerment
• Effectively liaise (serve as the project key liaison) with government counterparts as well as with the project stakeholders, beneficiaries, other donors and the public to develop professional relationships;
• Regularly monitor and analyze the project environment and timely adjust the implementation as needed;
• Lead and supervise the project management team in the project office.
• Select short- and long-term experts, provide overall coordination and monitoring of the experts’ performance;
• Ensure compliance of procurement and grant award procedures with EU and ADA regulations;
• In alignment with the overall results framework of the EU program, and following the completion of the inception phase studies (market system and gender analysis, baseline survey) adjust the logframe, DoA, budget and work plan as needed;
• Quality Assurance of project interventions and outputs,
• Regularly monitor potential risks as well as develop and implement risk mitigation measures;
• Ensure compliance with ADA’s Environmental, Gender and Social Impact Management (EGSIM) Manual;
• Coordinate monitoring activities including backstopping missions from ADA HQ, analysis and aggregation of data collected;
• Contract and support external audits and evaluations;
• Prepare regular project reports and coordinate the reporting process with the ADA team in the Tbilisi Office and ADA HQ;
• Ensure high EU and ADA visibility in line with the project’s communication and visibility plan;
• Carry out any other duties as required by the supervisor.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• University degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Human Rights, Peace and Security Studies, Economics, Business or Public Administration, Rural Development or other related field; a post-graduate degree (Master level or higher) is an asset;
• Minimum 7 years in managing international development programmes and projects of similar scope and nature; successful experience with EU or ADA funded projects is
• considered an asset;
• Strong track record in the fields of agricultural value chains and gender equality in developing countries;
• Good understanding of the Market Systems Development methodology;
• Proven experience with results-based project/programme management and in project cycle management (including monitoring and evaluation);
• Sound understanding of donor procedures and rules applicable to funding received from large institutional donors, in particular with European Union external actions;
• Understanding of international development cooperation principles and quality standards, including cross-cutting issues is highly desirable;
• Excellent written and oral communication, reporting, and representation skills in English are required;