ICT and Digitalisation Advisor

Digital Transformation in Ethiopia

The "Digital Transformation in Ethiopia" project is an innovative initiative designed to redefine GIZ Ethiopia's approach to leveraging digital technology across key sectors of engagement. This project aims to contribute to sustainable development and mitigate the digital divide. Focused on strategic coordination and capacity building, it creates a nexus for enhancing synergies among various bilateral, regional, and global digital development interventions, optimizing the impact of joint efforts with partners. Within this framework, the digital transformation team will provide expert advice to projects and partners on the design and execution of digital transformation activities and components.

About the GovStack Initiative

Citizen services and public administration processes often generate considerable administrative workload for citizens and governments alike, leading to inefficiency, inadequacy, and user-unfriendliness. Technical and bureaucratic silos further complicate coordination, resulting in fragmented solutions that cannot be scaled. The digitalization of administrative processes promises smoother operations and greater efficiency in the structures of public institutions. However, a lack of capacity and resources often hinders the development, implementation, and maintenance of digital government services.

The GovStack Initiative seeks to address these challenges by providing national governments access to a platform encompassing a catalog of solutions for digital government services. This project aims to build the know-how of selected partner countries, including Ethiopia, to develop scalable digital government services, along with the necessary accompanying institutional processes and capacities. One focus of the initiative is the development of crucial ICT building blocks that enable the setup of digital government services. These building blocks, such as digital payments, online registers, or messaging services, provide basic functions that can be used in multiple software applications and systems, forming the baseline for the solution catalog of the model platform.

Role Description for the Digital Government Advisor

As Digital Government Advisor, you will play an active role in driving forward the GovStack initiative, aligning it with the strategic objectives of our Ethiopian partners and the needs of our beneficiaries. You support selected digital transformation initiatives by enhancing the capabilities of stakeholders involved in various development projects. This role is tasked with facilitating the design, coordination, and execution of training and capacity development programs aimed at improving technical, methodological, and operational skills among partner organizations for the implementation of e-services and digital public infrastructure.

 Responsibilities and Duties

Technical Advice for Implementation of Project Activities:

• Support the implementation of the GovStack and DTC activities related to strengthening digital government in Ethiopia.
• Coordinate and implement training activities around digital government, incl. identifying training partners, recruiting trainees, supporting onboarding development of different partners.
• Support policy processes regarding the use of ICT building blocks for digital government services.
• Advise on digital government-related questions such as interoperability, data protection, cybersecurity, and data sharing.
• Strengthen dialogue between public administration, the private sector, start-ups, and civil society, acting as collaborative platforms using innovative methodologies to foster the co-creation of integrated solutions to public interest issues.
• Participate in identifying complex problems and prototyping innovative solutions for public value creation.
• Draft terms of reference for capacity development measures on digital government services setup, implementation, and maintenance.
• Review, comment, and accompany the setup of financing agreements.
• Support activities by implementing partners, follow-up, and ensure quality results are delivered in a timely manner.
• Develop Terms of Reference for various services and expertise, follow up on contracts, and ensure the quality of interventions by national and international experts on short and long-term missions.
• Support the project lead in documenting project progress reports, monitoring, and evaluation. Conduct specific analyses and assessments that will benefit the project's results and achieve the KPIs.
• Assist with preparation for Steering Committee meetings and help ensure overall stakeholder management. [BG1] [BG2] Ensure alignment and cooperate closely with GovStack partners at GIZ and beyond.

Partnerships, Network Management & Communication:

Initiate and foster partnerships with government, private sector, academia, and civil society actors in Ethiopia for the project.

• Manage a network of project partners consisting of Ethiopian stakeholders.
• Support in maintaining positive and productive relations with implementing partners and other stakeholders.
• Ensure alignment with the global GovStack activities.
• Conceptualize and organize events and workshops, as well as communication plans, particularly to raise awareness of digital themes and digital policies.
• Provide social media content to promote and communicate about the project under the guidance of the communications unit. Conceptualize and organize events and workshops, as well as communication plans, particularly to raise awareness of digital themes and digital policies.

Required qualifications, competencies, and experience.

• At least 5 years of professional experience in a similar position, preferably in international cooperation and support to state structures.
• Very good understanding of digital government, data governance frameworks including data protection, IT security, and data sharing, as well as digitalization challenges of public administrations.
• Good knowledge of the public sector and Ethiopian administrative institutions.
• Good knowledge of Ethiopian public strategies and policies and their evolution and history, particularly digital frameworks (Ethiopia 2025, etc.).
• Proven skills and experience in networking and fostering partnerships. An existing network in digital government in Ethiopia, internationally is an asset.
• Experience in working with and/or advising government institutions on digital topics; a focus on public service delivery is desirable.
• Knowledge in at least one of the following fields: digitization of public services (G2C, C2G, G2B, B2G), digitization of administration (G2G), IT-Sourcing, participatory democracy, digital transformation of various sectors is required.
• Knowledge of the Ethiopian legal and policy frameworks on privacy, data governance, and IT security are considered a strong advantage.
• Work experience in development cooperation is desired.
• Good knowledge of digital methods (Service Design, UX Design, user testing, user research, user stories, and agile project management methods). Certifications are an asset. Availability for business travel

Additional competencies

• Developed analytical and communication skills, as well as conceptual thinking ability.
• Strong writing skills and synthesis abilities to draft reports and content (mainly in English).
• Good practical knowledge of the use of information and communication technologies (corresponding software) and computer applications (such as MS Office).
• Experience in identifying complex problems and prototyping innovative solutions for public value creation.
• Capacity to organize and facilitate events, workshops, and capacity-building activities focused on digital transformation.
• Skills in developing and implementing concepts for digital transformation projects in collaboration with various stakeholders.

How To Apply

Application procedure:

Interested and qualified candidates shall submit their motivation letter along with their recent CV via hreth@giz.de

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Please make sure you mention the vacancy number and position title ICT and Digitalization Advisor # 082/2024 in the subject line of your email application. Applications without vacancy numbers in subject lines might be disqualified.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Please refer to our brochure to learn more about GIZ’s attractive benefits package.