Economic Recovery Specialist - Financial Inclusion & Market System Development

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a highly qualified  Economic Recovery Specialist – Financial Inclusion & Market System Development  for our operations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Instruction for applicants:
All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV in English. Please ensure that your CV does not exceed three pages. Applications with CVs longer than the specified limit may not be considered

Overall purpose of the role

The Economic Recovery Specialist is the techninical lead of the implementation of the economic recovery component of the Mixed Migration The Economic Recovery Specialist is the senior technical lead for local economic pathways under the Mixed Migration Programme. The Specialist is responsible for designing, strengthening and quality assuring market oriented, protection sensitive and climate resilient economic pathways that enable migrants, returnees, transit populations, at risk youth and other vulnerable people on the move to access decent employment, apprenticeships, enterprise opportunities, financial services and sustainable livelihoods.

The Specialist applies a Market Systems Development approach to understand and address the constraints that prevent people on the move from accessing and sustaining economic opportunities. Rather than relying on uniform livelihood packages, the Specialist ensures that programme support responds to participant skills, experience, aspirations, documentation status, mobility intentions, household circumstances and actual labour market demand.

The Specialist leads the technical development of the economic pathway model, strengthens relationships with employers and other market actors, and ensures that DRC support contributes to functioning and sustainable market systems rather than creating parallel or permanently subsidised services.

The Specialist works closely with the Protection, MEAL, Programme Management and Economic Recovery Officers to ensure that local economic pathways and regular labour mobility pathways are connected where appropriate.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

1. Economic Pathways, Counselling and Referral

• Lead the design and continuous refinement of socioeconomic and skills profiling tools and the individualised economic pathway methodology used at Migration Resource Centres, transit hubs, GreenHubs and relevant return locations.
• Establish technical standards and quality assurance mechanisms for economic counselling and pathway selection, ensuring that pathways are based on participant capacities, aspirations, documentation status, protection considerations, mobility intentions and actual market opportunities.
• Lead the development of differentiated economic pathways covering employment, apprenticeships, enterprise development, self employment, financial services, skills development and other appropriate economic opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a dynamic, route based mapping of livelihood, employment, apprenticeship, training, enterprise, financial inclusion and reintegration services and opportunities.
• Lead the strengthening of internal and external referral mechanisms so participants can access appropriate services beyond direct DRC assistance.
• Ensure that economic pathway decisions are protection sensitive and that participants are not referred toward unsafe employment, exploitative conditions, fraudulent recruitment or other known protection risks.
• Provide technical leadership for GreenHub economic pathway assessment, incubation, coaching, mentorship and seed capital models where relevant.
• Establish criteria and quality standards for determining when direct economic support, referral, market linkage or other forms of assistance are most appropriate.
• Ensure that entrepreneurship support is differentiated according to participant capacity, business experience, market opportunity and access to finance rather than delivered as a standard package.
• Lead the development of financial literacy and access to finance approaches appropriate to participants' economic circumstances, mobility profiles and documentation status.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with banks, MFIs, digital financial service providers and other appropriate financial actors.
• Identify barriers preventing participants from accessing formal and digital financial services and work with relevant actors to identify feasible solutions.
• Engage financial service providers and enterprise support actors in adapting products, services or delivery models where feasible and consistent with programme objectives.
• Build partnerships with BDS providers, TVETs, business associations and other enterprise support actors to expand access to sustainable services.

2. Employment, Apprenticeship and Employer Engagement

• Identify high demand sectors and occupations with realistic employment potential, including relevant green and climate resilient sectors.
• Lead identification of sectors and occupations with realistic employment absorption potential, including relevant green and climate resilient sectors.
• Design and oversee market oriented paid apprenticeship models that respond to employer demand and provide realistic pathways to employment or self employment.
• Establish standards for employer selection, apprenticeship conditions, supervision, occupational safety, decent work and transition into employment.
• Build and manage strategic relationships with employers, industry associations and other labour market actors.
• Identify barriers that prevent employers from recruiting, retaining or advancing migrants, returnees and vulnerable youth and develop practical responses with market actors.
• Develop approaches that encourage employers and other market actors to contribute resources, placements, supervision, technical expertise or other forms of support.
• Develop and quality assure complementary employability preparation covering areas such as work ethics, communication, occupational safety, financial literacy and employment readiness.
• Oversee employment and apprenticeship placement, retention and transition analysis and use findings to improve programme design

Integrated Economic and Labour Mobility Pathways

• Work jointly with the Labour Mobility & Skills Recognition Specialist to establish clear interfaces between local economic pathways, skills recognition and regular labour mobility pathways.
• Ensure that participants who may benefit from formal skills recognition or regular labour migration are appropriately identified and referred through established systems.
• Contribute labour market and economic analysis to the assessment of sectors and occupations that may offer viable local or regular international employment pathways.
• Jointly analyse participant and labour market evidence to identify when local employment, enterprise or regular labour mobility represents the most appropriate pathway.
• Maintain clear technical boundaries between economic counselling and formal labour migration advice, ensuring that participants are referred to authorised actors for specialised labour mobility services
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• Establish and maintain relationships with business development service providers, training institutions, TVETs, employers and industry associations.
• Use partner relationships to expand the range and quality of economic opportunities available through the referral network.

Financial Inclusion and Economic Partnerships

• Lead the design of appropriate enterprise and self employment pathways based on participant profiles, market demand, business feasibility and available support services.

Experience and technical competencies:

• At least 3 years of progressive experience in livelihoods, economic recovery, employment promotion, Market Systems Development/M4P, entrepreneurship, skills development, labour market systems, financial inclusion or reintegration programming
• Experience of Market Systems Development/M4P, private sector engagement is highly advantage
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing or quality assuring market oriented economic pathways, employment programmes, apprenticeship models, private sector engagement or financial inclusion interventions
• Experience working with migrants, returnees, displaced communities, vulnerable youth, women, persons with disabilities, or crisis affected populations in Ethiopia is strongly preferred
• Strong understanding of mixed migration dynamics, returnee reintegration, and economic drivers of irregular migration in Ethiopia and the Eastern Route.
• Practical experience with skills assessments, counselling, referral systems, and case management.
• Knowledge of green/climate resilient livelihoods
• Experience engaging private sector employers, financial institutions (banks/MFIs), and government counterparts (especially MoLS or similar) is highly desirable.

EDUCATION: (include certificates, licenses, etc.)

• MA/Bachelor’s degree(BA) in economics, business management, entrepreneurship, labour studies, development studies, migration studies, sociology, social work, public administration, or a related field.

LANGUAGE: (indicate Fluency level)

• Full Proficiency in English language
• Knowledge of local language is an advantage

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies: 

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process. 

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback. 

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation. 

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly. 

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: 12 Months

Contract Type: National Contract

Band: G2

Designation of Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Start date: 15 October 2026

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for National employees

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than three pages) in English. A pplications sent by email will not be considered

Please ensure that your CV does not exceed three pages. Applications with CVs longer than the specified limit may not be considered.

Closing date for applications: September 24, 2026

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo .

Gender Equality: DRC is committed to achieving gender parity in staffing at all levels. In light of this, women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply to bridge the gender gap.
Equal Opportunities: DRC is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability status, religion, ethnic origin, colour, race, marital status, or other protected characteristics

We strongly encourage female candidates to apply for the position!

We encourage only qualified Ethiopian Nations to apply. DRC considers all applicants based on merit.