GIZ Office Albania seeks the following staff: Advisor – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Promotion

May 12, 2020 | 13:50
SHPËRNDAJE

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GIZ Office Albania seeks the following staff:

Advisor – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Promotion Project: EU for Innovation

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) is a federal enterprise that sup- ports the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustain- able development.

I.                 Project Background

In recent years, the role of innovative start-ups has steadily gained importance as a driving force for economic and social development towards a knowledge-based society. Start-ups bring new interventions and adapt existing technologies to the market and therefore create possibilities for the commercialisation of scientific research outputs. With their focus on innovative business ideas and services, start-ups represent a specific segment of the economy which has the potential to determine the success and well-being of the economy in the long run.

The success of start-up companies and their possibility to scale-up depends on a variety of factors. Entrepre- neurs act in an interconnected setting with multiple actors from the public and private sector and are influ- enced by cultural and societal conditions. This setting is called ‘innovation or start-up ecosystem’. In that sense, incubators and accelerators are vital players in entrepreneurial ecosystems, but also universities, both as learning environment and as breeding ground for nascent entrepreneurs.

It is the specific objective (outcome) of the ‘EU for Innovation’ project ‘to improve the innovative ecosystem

and boost start-ups creation in Albania’.

In order to achieve this outcome, the action (namely ‘EU for Innovation’) is structured in three Result Areas (RAs), out of which GIZ is responsible for RA1 and RA2. Interventions under these result areas are imple- mented by GIZ in synergy with the BMZ-funded intervention ‘Sustainable Economic and Regional Develop- ment, Employment Promotion and Vocational Education and Training’ in Albania (short: ProSEED).

Activities under RA3 (Access to Finance and the Challenge Fund for start-ups and Innovation Support Organ- isations) are implemented by SIDA/Swedish Embassy in Tirana.

In order to achieve the stated objective, the project works with three main stakeholder groups: 1) start-ups and growing start-up companies; 2) innovation support organisations (ISOs) (incubators accelerators, re- search institutes and universities); 3) government stakeholders and agencies (relevant ministries and affili- ated institutions and agencies).

II.               Specific Interventions

The EU for Innovation project provides capacity development and networking support to innovation service providers (ISOs) (e.g., incubators, accelerators and universities) with a special focus on those linked to uni- versities. These ISOs will be strengthened in their efforts to support students, graduates and start-ups in developing innovative business ideas and applying them in the entrepreneurial context. Selected staff mem- bers of ISOs will be trained to provide innovation support.

The project will support the establishment of a network of innovation support organizations that has the capacities to support start-ups at different stages of development and from various sectors and that fulfils the functions of a multi-location FabLab/incubator and provides start-up facilities.

Furthermore, strengthening the capacity for innovation among the Innovation Support Organizations and public/governmental institutions, is a key intervention envisioned in the Capacity Building Pillar of the “EU for Innovation” project. It is the aim to support project stakeholders to develop innovation capabilities, mod- ernize their ways of working, cut through red tape, and build forward-thinking innovation cultures.

For these outlined interventions the position of an Advisor – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Promotion is hereby advertised.

III.             Tasks

The Advisor performs the following tasks:

Capacity development for all stakeholder groups of the EU for innovation project in the field of innovation management and entrepreneurship promotion

  • Coordinates and accompanies the implementation of capacity development and advisory services for Innovation Support Organizations (ISOs), public entities and start-ups, g. in the area of manage- ment, strategic development and organizational development
  • Coordinates and manages external (national and international) experts on specific capacity develop- ment / training issues in the field of innovation management and entrepreneurship promotion
  • Facilitates interventions to bridge the gap between research and innovation (between researchers and businesses or researchers and government stakeholders) and promotes the opportunities for Business-Academia collaboration through different interventions (e.g. facilitation of innovation part- nerships networks, joint activities)
  • Coordinates and supports policy-advice in the area of innovation policy and entrepreneurship pro- motion

Networking

  • Networks actively on behalf of GIZ in the relevant community (ISOs and start-up companies)
  • Communicates and channels local interests and aspirations and exchanges ideas and information for the benefit of the project
  • Stays in exchange with relevant programmes/interventions from other stakeholders and institutions (including international donors)
  • Assists the Communication and PR Advisor of the project to increase the project’s visibility among

stakeholders of the start-up and innovation community and beyond

Others

  • Supports all activities of the project according to project goals, operational planning and agreements with partner This implies contributing to planning & budgeting, implementation and mon- itoring of activities
  • Accompanies the financial and administrative issues regarding the assigned intervention areas in close coordination with the Office Manager and Finance Manager of the project
  • Supports the preparation of appropriate input to the various project reports/publications including bi-annual reports in line with EU/GIZ requirements; contributes to other reports as required
  • Assists in improving the project’s knowledge management system and tapping into other knowledge management systems

IV.             Required qualifications, competences and experience:

Qualification

  • Education/training: University Qualification: Master’s Degree in Economics, Business Administration,

Political Science, International Relations, or equivalent

  • General professional experience: 5 years of professional experience with 3 years of experience in innovation management or start-up promotion
  • Languages: Fluent in Albanian, excellent business language skills in English required

Experience

  • Profound knowledge of the start-up ecosystem and innovation environment in Albania (including national strategies, legal framework, relevant stakeholders, infrastructure and facilities)
  • Practical experience in applying innovation method and tools in a corporate or project context
  • Proven experience in the field of project management
  • Work experience in an international working environment
  • Experience in designing workshops and training programmes is an asset

V.               Contract conditions

  • Full-time employment
  • Project office in Tirana
  • Assignment period: until 09.2021

Please forward your application until 25th of May 2020 to GIZ Office Albania by E-Mail:

[email protected]  including the following information: Application letter, CV in English (Europass for- mat), references.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews. Short-listed candidates might be asked to bring certified copies of their diplomas and work certificates.

GIZ is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all interested groups without any discrimination!

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