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Ref.
2025/CDPE/14269

Job offer type
Field staff jobs

Type of contract
CDDU

Activity sectors
Economic and financial governance

Deadline date
2025/12/15 09:28

Contract
Employee

Duration
12

Mission description

DESCRIPTION OF THE MISSION

The Project Manager is responsible for implementing the project’s overall strategy, coordinating planning, steering, and carrying out the activities entrusted to Expertise France, in compliance with the quality, timeframe, and cost criteria contractually agreed with the donor.

The Project Manager performs their duties under the hierarchical supervision of the Expertise France Ethiopia Country Director, and in functional coordination with a Project Officer at Expertise France headquarters in Paris.
They will also liaise with Expertise France’s cross-cutting departments in Ethiopia and France as needed (legal affairs, financial affairs, communication, monitoring & evaluation, etc.). On a daily basis, they work closely with long-term thematic experts.

Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Project Manager will be responsible for the following tasks:


1. Ensure the operational and strategic management of the project

  • Contribute to defining the project’s orientations and operational strategy, programming, coordination of activities, and compliance with administrative and financial requirements;
    Plan and lead the implementation of project activities, in line with the quality, timeframe, and cost criteria set contractually with donors and in close collaboration with stakeholders;
  • Contribute to aligning the project with existing or upcoming policies, programs, and projects in Ethiopia and the region;
    Participate in identifying needs and drafting the terms of reference for experts mobilized on the project, as well as in their recruitment;
    Identify challenges encountered, potential risks, and contextual developments (sectoral, security, political, etc.) that could affect the proper implementation of activities, and lead the formulation of mitigation measures;
    Support technical experts in framing and defining short-term expertise missions, including drafting terms of reference and mission reports;
  • Supervise, in close coordination with team members and support functions, the administrative, financial, and logistical organization of short-term expertise missions;
  • Participate in quality control of deliverables produced under the project (mission reports, contractual deliverables, etc.) by both implementing partners and short-term consultants;
  • Take part in the preparation and smooth implementation of internal or external missions linked to the project (HQ missions, short-term expertise missions, etc.);
  • Contribute to planning and organizing joint programming technical workshops, various coordination and consultation meetings among project stakeholders, and project steering committees, in close coordination with authorities and donors;
    Implement activities falling under their area of expertise and competencies.
     
    2. Ensure the administrative and financial management of the project
    In close collaboration with the country office team, particularly the Administrative and Financial Manager (AFM) and the Project Officer based at HQ in Paris:
  • Ensure close coordination with team members for the administrative, financial, and logistical organization of missions;
  • Contribute to compliance with procedures required by AFD and Expertise France (eligibility rules, procurement, grants, reporting);
  • Participate in regular meetings with the AFM and the accountant to monitor project expenditures;
  • Ensure that team members have all necessary elements for Expertise France internal reporting (financial monitoring, forecasts, and budget closures) and for external financial reporting to donors.
     
    3. Project Monitoring–Evaluation–Capitalization
    In collaboration with thematic experts, partners, and with the support of dedicated resource persons at Expertise France headquarters:
  • Participate in establishing the methodological framework and monitoring & evaluation system to track and measure project results;
  • Ensure monitoring of quantitative and qualitative project indicators, in line with the logical framework;
  • Implement actions required to facilitate data collection from implementing partners, and contribute to data analysis as needed;
  • Supervise the preparation of interim and final activity reports for the donor, according to contractual deadlines and requirements;
  • Contribute to drafting and consolidating key documents and deliverables related to project activities (workshop minutes, meeting notes, trainings, missions, etc.).
     
    4. Institutional and partnership relations, governance
  • Contribute to maintaining strong institutional relations with national and local partners and stakeholders. To this end, they ensure transparent and smooth monitoring of activities carried out with Ethiopian authorities;
  • Maintain an optimal level of knowledge and ownership among project stakeholders;
  • Carry out any task required, in coordination with their team, to facilitate the organization and facilitation of various coordination, consultation, and exchange meetings with all stakeholders (joint programming workshops, technical committees, steering committees, annual meetings of technical operators, etc.);
  • Maintain close relations with Expertise France headquarters by communicating as needed with the HQ Project Officer and participating in relevant team or working meetings.
     
    5. Communication
  • Act as focal point for promoting the project’s activities;
  • Contribute to developing key messages and communication materials related to project activities requiring visibility, and liaise with national and international media as needed;
  • Contribute to the implementation of the project’s communication and visibility plan.

Project or context description

PROJECT CONTEXT
Over the past two decades, Ethiopia has experienced particularly rapid economic growth, with an annual rate above 10% between 2004 and 2019. Since 2020, the pace of growth has slowed to around 7–8% (7.2% projected for fiscal year 2024/25). The country’s fiscal position has deteriorated in recent years. After reaching 4% in 2021/22, the budget deficit is gradually decreasing (1.5% in 2024/25). Ethiopia remains at high risk of debt distress despite improved control over public debt, projected at 49.8% for 2024/25. The country is engaged in a debt restructuring process that is currently being formalized.

The tax-to-GDP ratio has steadily declined in recent years, falling from 12.4% in 2014/15 to 6.8% in 2022/23. This level is far below the IMF’s recommended minimum of 15% and the median for Sub-Saharan African countries. Consequently, this deterioration has led to a reduction in real spending, particularly social expenditures and investment.

Fiscal potential is estimated at 17% of GDP, with a tax gap of around 9%, mainly attributed to deficiencies in revenue collection and taxpayer compliance.

Ethiopia’s poor performance in domestic revenue mobilization reflects both:

The need to revise the tax policy to (i) mobilize untapped potential, (ii) adapt to changes in the economic structure, (iii) facilitate revenue collection and taxpayer compliance, and (iv) ensure a fair distribution of effort;
Significant challenges in improving revenue administration and collection performance across all tax processes and levels (federal, regional states, etc.).
The project targets three strategic and operational domains:

Deployment of the new property tax;
Management, monitoring, and control of tax exemptions and incentives;
Strengthening tax debt management.
Accordingly, the project is structured around three components:

 
Component 1 – Support for the progressive rollout of the property tax
The project will intervene at two complementary levels:

Support to the Property Tax Taskforce for the detailed development of the regulatory and operational framework, as well as for steering the roadmap and progressive deployment in regions and municipalities;
Support to the city of Addis Ababa in defining the regulatory and operational framework for the property tax, property valuation, and its experimental implementation.
At Taskforce level, expected support includes:
Support for overall steering/monitoring of the roadmap and its periodic update, based on analytical diagnostics;
Support for establishing a dashboard to track the rollout of the property tax;
Support for structuring a strategy/model to assist regions/municipalities;
Support for developing administrative models, guidelines, and tools for the following processes (linked to work planning):

Identification and registration of properties;
Property valuation;
Determination of tax rates and exemptions;
Tax issuance, collection, audit, and dispute resolution;
Stakeholder consultation and communication;
Organization and distribution of roles and responsibilities among actors.
Technical support for defining, steering, and monitoring the digital solution for property tax management: strategic and operational planning, development of guidelines for regions/municipalities, technical and functional specifications, formalization of relationships with service providers, supervision/monitoring, and defining/coordinating training and change-management activities;
Support for disseminating reference frameworks and tools: development of materials, trainings, and awareness-raising for regional and municipal officials, civil society, private sector actors, etc., particularly in selected pilot municipalities (including organization of workshops, awareness sessions, and training).
At Addis Ababa city level, support will focus primarily on preparatory phases, to ensure a smooth progressive rollout of the property tax, in coordination with work conducted at federal Taskforce level. Expected support includes:
Establishment of the regulatory and institutional framework, and change management:
Support to the Addis Ababa city Taskforce for overall steering/monitoring of the strategy and roadmap (including updates and additional development based on prior diagnostics);
Support for establishing the Property Tax Division within the Addis Ababa Revenue Bureau;
Support for drafting implementation directives for the property tax regulation, including tax exemptions and tax rates by category, ensuring equity;
Assistance in calibrating the property valuation model (including steering sample market surveys);
Support for defining operational processes and drafting procedures manuals;
Support in developing a communication and stakeholder consultation strategy to enhance acceptance and transparency;
Support for defining/specifying the property tax management information system, including interoperability with other systems (land registry, cadastre, payment systems), and support for its rollout;
Support for developing a capacity-building plan and organizing training for teams in charge of property registration/valuation and tax management.
Initiation of property registration and valuation:
Support for preparing and implementing a property mapping exercise based on a GIS-linked geographic information system and aerial data, combined with on-site data collection and cross-referencing with existing land and tax registers;
Support for deploying/configuring an open-source solution for property tax management;
Integration of registration data and support for implementing property valuation (Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal), including configuring a simple tool, pilot testing, and on-site verification support;
Support for preparing the first registration/valuation exercise, issuance of tax bills, and collection, based on the pre-defined procedures.
Support will be provided mainly through resident expertise and targeted international and national expertise.

 
Component 2 – Optimization of the tax incentives management system
The project will support the Ministry of Finance (MoF)—particularly its Tax Policy Department (TPD)—and the Ministry of Revenue (MoR) through the following expected activities:

Support, if needed, for developing implementation directives for the new tax incentives regime;
Mapping of processes/needs and support for structuring information- and data-sharing protocols on tax incentives granted and their application/monitoring, between the MoF, MoR, Customs Commission, and Investment Commission (including assessment of automation and optimization opportunities);
Comprehensive diagnostic of tax incentives management and monitoring at MoR level, particularly for tax declaration, audit, and investigation processes (including automation options), and support for implementing recommendations;
Development of a procedures manual for tax incentives management: legal and organizational framework, granting, administration and monitoring, registration, and reporting;
Structuring a tax incentives database and defining data-feeding and operating modalities;
Definition of the format, methodologies, and scope for the tax incentives monitoring report, and support for its development;
Development of methods/models for ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of tax incentives’ socio-economic impacts (investment, jobs, etc.)—and pilot testing;
Advice and analysis on integrating environmental considerations into the design and criteria for granting tax incentives.
Support will mainly consist of technical assistance and capacity-building. It may also include workshops and training sessions, as well as procurement of basic software solutions (database management, modeling, etc.). A part-time national expert may be mobilized to provide reinforced support to TPD teams.

 
Component 3 – Strengthening tax debt management
The project will support the MoR and particularly the Tax Debt Management Directorate through the following expected activities:

Establishing a risk-based system and criteria to prioritize activities/cases according to the type of debt and type of taxpayer;
Updating recovery procedures/manual and organizing dissemination/training workshops;
Improving payment plans/schedules in connection with the introduction of automatic debit for taxpayers;
Defining guidelines for categorizing and handling uncollectable debt write-offs;
Reorganizing the Tax Debt Management Directorate at central and regional office levels based on risk-related criteria;
Developing partnerships (banks, other administrations, etc.) for data-sharing on taxpayers and for enforcing enforced collection measures.
Activities related to the automated tax debt management system (including operationalization of functionalities under SIGTAS and migration of data from the debt tracking tool) are expected to be handled under the Tax Transformation Program (TTP), which is heavily engaged in this area. However, the project may respond to specific needs regarding change management and training of staff on new tools at MoR regional branches. Planned updates to digital tools will also need to be reflected in the revised tax debt management manual.

Required profile

EXPECTED QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
He/she must have 10 to 15 years of professional experience as a senior official within a tax administration. The expert must have proven expertise in tax policy and domestic revenue mobilization, and in particular in one of the three components of the project;
He/she must have experience in change management and implementation of reforms; strong interpersonal skills and the ability to engage in dialogue with both policymakers and technical experts;
Excellent oral and written command of English and French (C1 level);
He/she must be able to demonstrate professional experience in advising/supporting authorities in Africa, ideally including organizational development/strengthening;
Knowledge of cooperation mechanisms, official development assistance (ODA), and international cooperation stakeholders, with experience in implementing international cooperation projects in developing or emerging countries;
Knowledge of the subregional context, particularly in tax administration/public finance, would be a major asset;
Proficiency in standard office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.);
Excellent ability to work in a team;
Skills in coordinating multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.

Additional information

Additional Information
Location of the assignment: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Duration of the assignment: 12-month Fixed-Term Contract (CDDU), renewable up to 24 months
Start date: March 2026

Deadline for application : 2025/12/15 09:28

Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :

  • democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
  • peace, stability, and security ;
  • climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
  • health and human development ;

In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results. 

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