Political Officer

The Embassy of Sweden in Addis Ababa is responsible for Sweden's relations with Ethiopia, Djibouti, South Sudan, IGAD, and the African Union (AU). The Embassy consists of five sections: Political and multilateral affairs, promotion, and public diplomacy; Bilateral Development Cooperation; Regional Development Cooperation; Migration; and Administrative and Consular Section.

The Embassy is now looking to recruit a Political Officer within the Section of Political and multilateral affairs, promotion, and public diplomacy. The main responsibilities of the Political Officer are to follow and report on political developments in Ethiopia and the region (primarily Horn of Africa) as well as identifying relevant interlocutors for the Ambassador and Political team. In addition, the Political Officer supports the overall work of the Section in carrying out its work.

RESPONSIBILITIES/ JOB DESCRIPTION:

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Section of Political and Multilateral Affairs, Promotion and Public Diplomacy, the responsibilities of the Political Officer include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Summarize, analyse, and report on political, social and humanitarian developments in Ethiopia and the region (Horn of Africa).
• Participate in external meetings related to Ethiopia.
• Suggest, discuss and plan together with relevant colleagues ahead of political trips/ meetings/programs for the Ambassador, colleagues at the Embassy and incoming visitors from Stockholm.
• Plan and participate in field trips to different parts of Ethiopia and the region to engage directly with local actors and deepen contextual analysis.
• Together with relevant colleagues, suggest strategic exchanges with interlocutors and stakeholders.
• Monitor social media for hateful rhetoric, disinformation and misinformation related to Sweden and/or the embassy.
• Work closely with the bilateral section and other sections within the embassy on political and development issues in Ethiopia, to support an integrated Team Sweden approach.
• Assist the Communications Officer and Promotion Officer in ensuring that the embassy and/or ambassador gets coverage in traditional media.
• Act as the contact person for traditional Ethiopian media.
• Provide any other support as requested by the Head of Section and/or the Ambassador.
• In the absence of the Promotion Manager, cover his/her duties.

Provide any other support as requested by the Head of Section and/or the Ambassador.

QUALIFICATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCES

Required skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Amharic.
• Excellent ability to rapidly gather, synthesize, structure and produce briefing papers and other analytical tools.
• Excellent competency in computer applications.
• Interpersonal skills to interact with counterparts from different organisations, hierarchies and cultures.
• Ability to work independently, proactively and results-oriented.
• Good organizational and time management skills to prioritize high workloads.
• Excellent communication and teamworking skills.
• A willingness to facilitate and participate in field trips to different parts of Ethiopia and the region
• Ability to interpret/translate for embassy colleagues in meetings/discussions
• Knowledge and understanding of the Ethiopian media landscape, with a strong ability to distinguish between reliable and nonreliable sources for information gathering

Desirable skills:

• Additional language skills in other Ethiopian languages, and a deep understanding of the politics, economics and cultures of the different regions
• Further additional language skills that are relevant to the position, for instance Swedish, French or Arabic
• Strong understanding of multilateral actors including EU, UN, AU and IGAD.
• Understanding of pedagogical approaches to support dissemination of information/analysis in engaging and innovative ways. 

Qualifications/work experience:

• University degree (BA Hons) in political affairs, economy, journalism or other relevant fields. Required
• At least five (5) years documented experience of work related to analytical work covering Ethiopia and the region preferably in an international or regional context. Required
• Masters’, PhD or equivalent in political affairs, economy, journalism or other relevant fields. Desirable
• Relevant experience and knowledge in the field of analytical work, academia, journalism, public administration and/or experience from embassy and/or international organisations. Desirable
• Extensive network of contacts within Ethiopian political, economic, civil society sectors, to facilitate and enrich analysis. Desirable
• Previous work experience in an Embassy with similar position. Desirable

The Embassy would like to highlight that the position, to a very high extent, requires independent and proactive work, and the selected candidate must have the ability to coordinate a multitude of tasks in a professional way, sometimes in stressful situations.

Ethiopian citizens, and citizens of other countries resident in Ethiopia and entitled to work in Ethiopia, are eligible to apply. Quote from the Embassy Code of Conduct: “We work to ensure that neither direct nor indirect discrimination might take place in the line of duty, on grounds of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion or other beliefs, sexual orientation, position, disability or illness.”

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The vacancy is a local position, full-time, starting with a probation period of six months with the possibility of permanent employment. An individual salary system is applied. The Embassy of Sweden is an equal opportunities employer.

Starting date: as soon as possible

APPLICATION

Applicants should submit the following documents by e-mail, to the Embassy of Sweden in Addis Ababa:

• CV, including details of relevant education and work experience.
• Cover Letter (English), setting out why you consider yourself a good candidate for this particular post.
• Names, telephone numbers and addresses of two reference persons who are willing to provide a reference on your character and work capacity.
• Clear contact phone numbers and addresses in Ethiopia where the Embassy can rapidly contact you.

Applications shall be sent to ambassaden.addis.abeba.recruitment@gov.se. As the subject of the message, please indicate this reference number and your name: ‘UM2025/10475/ADDI– Your Name.’

Please note that applications will not be returned, and only short-listed applicants will be contacted. To be considered, your application should be submitted latest by the 28 th of April 2025 and fulfil the abovementioned requirements.

The Embassy only receives electronic applications.

For information about the Embassy, please visit our website www.swedenabroad.se

Questions can be sent to the email ambassaden.addis.abeba.recruitment@gov.se

The Embassy will contact the selected candidates for interviews. Written and verbal tests will be part of the assessment process. The Embassy will not return documentation received from the applicants. You are therefore advised to deliver only copies of the documents listed above as part of the application.

For information about the Embassy, please visit our website: www.swedenabroad.se