ABLI Administration

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Organisation of the Institute 

The ABLI will be organised into the following main functional units, in addition to the office of the Director.

                                                  Work Organisation and Structure

ABLI Director

She/he is responsible for;-

  • Developing and implementing the strategy of the ABLI, in consultation with the university leadership.
  • Managing the work programme of the ABLI – underpinned by effective financial management, programme development, quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder management, and funds mobilization.
  • Building the internal systems of ABLI – linked to the university management systems – and the management procedures.
  • Playing a critical role in the process of engaging with private sector stakeholders, and will convene regular meetings with various representatives from value chain actors.
  • Continuously scan the environment for partnership and opportunities for collaboration with the private sector.

Communications Officer

She/he is responsible for;-

  • Building a public profile of the ABLI, and support effective public engagement activities through media, public relations and general communication activities.
  • Leading role in developing a brand for the ABLI that is consistent with the value proposition of the Jimma University.
  • Sourcing, organization, packaging and dissemination of information relevant to the strategic leadership, business management and entrepreneurship in agricultural value chains.
  • Publishing information through maintaining the ABLI website, producing an online newsletter (and physical quarterly newsletter), and package other information resources.
  • Coordinating networking events, with a view to facilitating interaction between key stakeholders in the sector.

Administrator

  • An administrative support function is necessary to provide the required logistical, secretarial and administrative support to enable the effective performance of the main functional units and the office of the Director. An Administrator is required to fulfill the administrative support function.

Strategic Leadership, Business Management & Entrepreneurship Coordinator

She/he is responsible for;-

  • The development and implementation of curricula in the form of short courses; workshops, seminars and policy dialogues; and the Accelerated Graduate Development Programme (AGDP) that should be steered by a Coordinator.
  • Hosting of curricula design forums in which the private sector must actively participate.
  • Curriculum development resources from within the university to support curriculum development and renewal.
  • Delivery of short courses by developing an annual training calendar, organizing and delivering the training and evaluating the outcomes of the training courses.
  • The implementation of the AGDP. This will involve recruitment of participating firms, placement of graduates, monitoring their learning experience, and evaluating the outcomes of the programme.

Research and Development Consultancy Services Coordinator

She/he is responsible for;-

  • Research and consultancy services.
  • Work closely with the researchers and scientists at Jimma University to establish a panel of experts able to deliver services to industry.
  • Producing a catalogue of technical services that the university can deliver and setting out the costs for provision of these services.
  • Focusing on practical challenges in industry will be coordinated through this functional unit.

Development Cooperation Coordinator

She/he is responsible for;-

  • Mobilizing resources through international development cooperation.
  • Developing proposal, mobilizing development cooperation partners, and coordinating the implementation of development cooperation projects.

 Governance and Advisory Structure

The establishment of the ABLI as an institute is governed by the guidelines and procedures for research. The head of ABLI will report to a Vice-President for Academic Affair. Furthermore, the establishment of an Advisory Committee comprise of members of the private sector, drawn from value chain actors that the university is working with.

The Advisory Committee is expected to play a key role in bridging the gap between the university community and industry. A Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) has already been established for the Executive MBA in Agribusiness. The ABLI Advisory Committee may be regarded as a sub-committee of the PAC with members of the PAC represented therein. Alternatively, a specific ABLI Advisory Committee may be established with relevant private sector actors along the agricultural value chains.

  • The Advisory Committee is not a governance structure – rather, it is an advisory structure with the responsibility to:
  • Advise the ABLI on strategy for engagement with the private sector in agricultural value chains;
  • Provide guidance on the needs of the industry in respect of curriculum design and capacity building programmes;
  • Facilitate access to relevant private sector actors in pursuance of the goals of the ABLI; and
  • Assist in the mobilization of resources for the implementation of the programme of work for the ABLI.