Cover letter & brief professional description: 

Habtom Asmelash

Main Assignments/Duties To date: Chief Technical Adviser & Regional Coordinator (FAO), Team leader, Project Manager, Camp Manager and Desk Officer for long term Project implementation, as well as mission leader on several short project formulations and monitoring & evaluation missions for EU delegations, Private Firms & Contractors, International NGOs  under EU Multilateral Cooperation programs, as well as Project Assistance funded by the Italian Directorate General for Cooperation and Development (DGCS).

Main strengthen :I consider myself as an effective team leader and team-player who is flexible and adaptable to new and challenging situations; keen at establishing effective and efficient public relations; an open-minded approach with diplomacy; and strong organizational and coordination’s abilities,  with deep rooted intercultural, interpersonal, and  communication skills.

Field Experience:Good knowledge of project cycle – including design, implementation and evaluation;  good understanding of community-based poverty reduction post-relief strategies and development, including LRRD  (Linking Recovery, Rehabilitation & development) programmes that take account of the capacity of poor communities and uses participatory approaches of programme design and implementation; support and provide training on cross-cutting issues; Significant experience in programme and project monitoring, in particular the EU-ROM (Result Oriented Monitoring) methodology which applies the standard parameters of: relevance/quality of design, efficiency, effectiveness, impact prospects, and potential sustainability.

 Overall Project coordination and management - including implementation (transparent service delivery, accountability) by assisting and organizing backstopping missions; assisting for preparation of workshops and training programs; preparation of mission TORs and BTORs,  progressive-report writing and preparation of hand-over-notes. Solid experience in carrying-out feasibility studies - including field surveys & assessment studies; identification of intervention options that support livelihoods to cope with food insecurity; and project proposal design and preparation for donors.

Extensive experience in participating in multidisciplinary team to assist governments of developing and transition countries in the identification and assessment of PRSP processes; Comprehensive work experience in sensitizing Governments, non-state actors, top decision-makers and planners, etc. in poverty reduction & alleviation plans and social protection programmes; Productive coordination assistance for value chain approach (through stakeholders’ consultation) to key actors (public and private sector, NGOs and civil society organizations) for joint planning and effective working partnerships; and preparation of MoUs, LoAs and contracts for service providers. Under the MDG goal 1 (Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger) carried out harmonising assistance for the involvement of target  beneficiaries and other r project participants  in developing and applying a locally workable monitoring & evaluation systems meant aimed at attaining concrete and replicable results. For example, under the umbrella of  Complementary Project Activities,  shared and supported Socio-cultural group activities in the field of Malnutrition, Health and Sanitation (mother and child care, latrines, piped safe water, etc.); Education (functional literacy courses, formal / informal activities), and nutrition (that required group action on improved food storage & distribution, improved personal and environmental hygiene, etc.).

Possible Weakness: personality wise, at times, my insistence for perfection might give the wrong impression of a less flexible person.

Emerging and Developing Countries Experience: Albania, Belize, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Rep., Eritrea, Ethiopia, Grenada, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, St. Lucia, Sudan, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia.