Project Manager  

Doing the right thing. We are active in Switzerland and 20 countries on four continents. Join us with a commitment to help us bring about a more caring society, here in Ethiopia. 

CARITAS Switzerland (CACH) has been working in Ethiopia for nearly 50 years. Currently CACH cooperates with a wide range of civil society, research, and private sector actors in Ethiopia. Registered as an International Foreign Charity Organization in Ethiopia, CACH is also operational at project implementation level. CACH’s main working fields are Income, Climate, Migration and Humanitarian Aid/Nexus. Our current operational covers southern and Eastern Oromia, and Tigray regions, across which several projects are being implemented. 

Job summary:  

The Project Manager (PM) reports to her/his supervisor at the Addis Ababa, Country Office. The PM serves as the reference point and field representative for the project, being accountable for driving performance and achieving results. The PM is responsible for leading the team to ensure timely implementation of project activities, closely monitoring progress, and maintaining quality in alignment with the policies, processes, and strategic direction of CACH. The role involves continuous analysis of the project context, and adaptive programming. The PM will propose new interventions as needed, respond promptly to emergencies, and must be prepared to undertake frequent field visits to project sites. In a representing role for the project and CACH in the specific sector the PM is expected to assume a senior role within the organization with representation foundation towards, various government bodies from woreda to ministry level, towards donors and national and international partner organizations. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

Main tasks and responsibilities 

• Plan, coordinate, and oversee day-to-day project activities in line with approved work plans and budgets. Supervise project staff and partners, ensure technical quality of interventions, and support adaptive management throughout the project lifecycle. Support the strengthening of wild coffee value chains through quality improvement, post-harvest handling, certification or traceability systems, EUDR compliance, Responsible Business Conduct, and facilitation of market linkages with union, cooperatives, buyers, and private sector actors. 

• Support farming households diversifying sustainable income sources through macadamia cultivation, agroforestry seedling planting, and environmental protection. 

• Manage project resources efficiently and transparently, monitor expenditures, and contribute to accurate financial reporting in close coordination with finance and support teams, ensuring full compliance with donor and organizational procedures. 

• Support project monitoring systems, track progress against indicators, and prepare timely, high-quality narrative and financial reports for donor and internal use. Document lessons learned and support knowledge-sharing and learning processes. 

• Maintain effective working relationships with government counterparts, community structures, commercial partners, research institutions, and donors. Represent the project in coordination platforms and contribute to policy dialogue and programme visibility where relevant. 

 Representation 

• Present, explain and defend CACH strategy broadly as well as the project specifically to secure the agreement of relevant government offices and other stakeholders (e.g. donors, partners), and secure the collaboration of concerned sector offices during the implementation of the project.  

• Seek the support of relevant authorities in case of facing challenges during implementation.  

• Represent CACH’s interests in the sector / project area. 

 Management / Planning 

• Lead comprehensive project cycle management from start-up to close-out including guiding initial launch activities (partner agreements, inception workshops) and ensuring proper close-out procedures and documentation are completed in accordance with organizational and Ethiopian regulatory requirements​. 

• Contribute to the preparation of competitive concept notes and proposals. Coordinate with technical advisors, field teams, and partners to design multi-sector projects that incorporate best practices and lessons learned from existing programs, in alignment with both donor priorities and community needs​. 

• Lead coordinated planning process of the project with the project managers (PM) of commercial partners. 

• Prepare and update realistic and participatory detailed implementation plan (DIP) adequately broken down into annual, quarterly, monthly, and bi-weekly plans. 

• Engage community and private actors (producers, transporter, sellers) in the planning process. 

• Align project plan with the plan of the local and regional government whenever possible and necessary. 

Coordination, Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting 

• Follow up reporting deadlines in line with the CACH CO internal processes, donor and other deadlines and as per CACHs reporting table; 

• Ensure that project launching events, and all related and relevant documents and procedures are planned and conducted (MEAL plan, procurement plan, Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) etc.) and that all concerned staff and stakeholders are represented during those events; 

• Ensure that the MEAL, procurement plans, and DIP are followed and if needed updated; 

• Conducting and facilitating monitoring visits of donors, government officials and other concerned staff and stakeholders upon need and requirement; 

• Facilitate disbursement of fund for timely procurement, labour mobilization, transportation, and supervision of project activities; 

• Ensure that project activities are adjusted according to seasonal variability if allowed and required;  

• Facilitate regular meetings with co-implementing partners to discuss pending project matters and to jointly plan activities; 

• Ensure keeping track of the project log frame indicators during monitoring. Instil the habit of log frame monitoring among the other co-implementing partners; 

• Quality and content control reports as per government, donor and internal requirements and revise reports as per the comments of CACH Head of Programs/CD.  

 Communication & Administration/HR 

• Pro-actively inform about donor and government rules and regulations and share the information to all concerned staff and partners; 

• Regular direct reporting to the Unit and/or Field Coordinator; 

• Facilitate effective internal communication between the program, finance, MEAL, logistics, HR and senior management to ensure smooth project implementation and timely decision-making. Ensure that critical updates from the field are documented and shared with relevant units; 

• Reporting to the supervisor in case of difficulties, problems, and uncertainties with regard to Finance, HR or Logistics. Pro-active communication with both, the supervisor and the technical supervisor (if applicable and different), by this ensuring that activity and work plans are communicated to all concerned people to create the highest possible level of transparency (related also to daily works, extraordinary works, leave days, travel plans and others); 

• Promote transparent and inclusive communication channels with target communities, ensuring that feedback mechanisms are embedded in programme/project implementation. Ensure community concerns and feedback are shared and integrated into programme design and adjustments; 

• Maintain time recording adequately and regularly via CACH's HR online system, using it for leave/work day management; 

• Using the MS Outlook calendar and all its functions in a way that work schedules are planned and recorded there; 

• Assume direct communication with the concerned staff at the HO in the scope of her/his assignments 

Job Requirements

Educational qualification & experience:  

• Master’s degree with 5+ years or Bachelor’s degree with 7+ years of relevant experience in Forestry, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Biodiversity Conservation, Agriculture, GIS and remote sensing, or related fields 

• Minimum 3 years’ experience coordinating or managing projects on participatory forest management, sustainable land and landscape management, biodiversity conservation, coffee value chains, community livelihoods, and climate resilience. 

• Proven experience in environmental and sustainability compliance, certification systems, supply chain traceability, and sustainable agriculture or forestry initiatives. 

• Practical experience supporting coffee cooperatives and unions to institutionalize Fairtrade, Organic, and EUDR standards, including governance structures, Internal Control Systems (ICS), policies, and operational procedures. 

• Experience in participatory forest management, strengthening forest user groups/cooperatives, multi-stakeholder forest law enforcement mechanisms, and establishment of community-based forest and wild coffee health monitoring systems. 

• Solid understanding of European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements, including traceability, deforestation-free production, and risk assessment. 

• Hands-on experience using handheld GPS devices and GPS-enabled mobile applications (e.g., Mergin Maps, SW Maps, QField, Kobo) for farm-level geo-referencing, boundary delineation, and field data collection. 

• Strong proficiency in QGIS, ArcGIS, and Google Earth Pro for spatial data mapping, cleaning, validation, and management of centralized geospatial databases (PostGIS, GeoServer, or similar). 

• Advanced experience in accessing and analysing remote sensing datasets (e.g., ASTER, TRMM, NDVI, MODIS, Sentinel, Landsat, DEM). 

• Practical experience using the EU Deforestation Observatory and open platforms such as Global Forest Watch (GFW Pro) and OpenForis/WHISP for deforestation monitoring and risk assessment. 

• Strong understanding of regional, national, and international legal frameworks related to environment, biodiversity, land use, and sustainable agricultural supply chains, including land and forest laws, governance and tenure arrangements, protected areas regulations, and international standards on sustainability, indigenous peoples’ rights, and child rights. 

• Strong training, facilitation, and community engagement skills. 

• Excellent reporting, documentation, and communication skills. 

Desirable Qualifications 

• Prior experience working in the Bale - Harenna Forest landscape is an advantage. 

• Proficiency in local languages, particularly Afan Oromo and Amharic. 

How To Apply

Duty stations: Robe, Bale field office with frequent travel to the project sites.   

Required number: 1 (one) 

Applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than three pages) as PDF format, including a minimum of three recent employment references from assigned line managers. Both your cover letter and CV must be in the same language as this vacancy note. Applications in any other format (Word, JPG, etc.) will be automatically rejected.  At this stage, no other documents are required to be submitted. 

Applicants must fill out the required information and submit the application/cover letter and CV through the link: THIS LINK

Deadline for application is February 18, 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Female candidates are highly encouraged. 

Job Requirements Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biodiversity Conservation, Agriculture Science, or in a related field of study with relevant work experience How to Apply Apply using the provided link below