Technical Advisor Software Developer

Regional Vacancy Announcement

Technical Advisor Software Developer

A. About GIZ and the Project

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi and as well as selected regional activities and projects. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digital Transformation and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.

Join the Frontlines to Shape Africa’s Digital Transformation!

At GIZ, we don’t just work in international cooperation, we strive to shape the future of sustainable development. In partnership with Smart Africa, we’ve launched an exciting new initiative: Accelerating the Digital Transformation in Africa.

Our Mission? To turn the vision of a Single Digital Market into a bold reality by unlocking regional economic integration, cross-border innovation, and digitally enabled growth across the continent.

Our Delivery? This pan-African project brings public and private stakeholders together to:

1. Advise and drive cross-border digital policy implementation in key Member States.
2. Strengthen systems and structures within Smart Africa for long-term impact.
3. Build strategic partnerships and mobilise resources to scale digital initiatives across sectors.
4. Formulate AI Policies on national/regional levels
5. Deliver AI Use Cases

What will you be doing? Shaping the future of international cooperation by innovating new models, formats and structures of cooperating with the private sector across markets – your focus lies in conceptualizing and piloting ways collaboration, commercializing products and spotting emerging market opportunities to implement digital initiatives.

Your Next Career Move? We’re assembling a dynamic, purpose-driven team and are looking for an exceptional Technical Advisor to help bring our mission to life. This role is cross-functional, fast-paced, full of potential and ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of conceptual planning, piloting and execution. You’ll work across African markets, shape high-impact digital interventions, and help catalyse the next wave of economic growth on the continent. If you’re passionate about digital innovation, regional development, and system sustainability this is your moment.

Your Role & Responsibilities?

B. Responsibilities

1. Act as an innovation catalyst for new models of private sector cooperation.
Lead the conceptualization, piloting, and iteration of novel approaches for engaging private sector partners. This includes designing and testing cooperation mechanisms, incentive structures, and delivery models that strengthen the interface between international development cooperation and commercial actors.

2. Serve as a consortium builder across private and public partners.
Establish, convene, and manage a community of stakeholders aligned around high-impact, commercially viable initiatives. Facilitate collaboration that drives societal benefits, unlocks sustainable financing, and creates long-term strategic partnerships and co-investment opportunities around a common defined objective.

C. Tasks 

• Establish and expand a cross-sector private sector consortium, including actors from the African AI, ICT/telecommunications sectors, as well as companies from sectors integrating digitalization (e.g. healthcare, education, agriculture, logistics).

• Design cooperation tools and delivery mechanisms (e.g. partnership formats, co-creation processes, incentive mechanisms, operating models) that strengthen joint implementation of GIZ/Smart Africa programmatic objectives with private sector actors.
• Identify, conceptualize, and develop partnership opportunities that lead to new business development for the GIZ/Smart Africa partnership, including co-investment structures, blended finance opportunities, and collaboration with DFIs/IFIs.
• Analyze and recommend strategic investment opportunities, supporting prioritization and resource allocation for impactful, scalable initiatives.
• Facilitate and maintain an active community of practice, ensuring regular engagement, enabling agile collaboration around emerging market opportunities, and providing a sounding board for strategic initiatives within the GIZ/Smart Africa portfolio.
• Initiate and activate strategic partnerships with private sector actors that contribute to the design and implementation of new initiatives with Smart Africa.
• Create synergies with GIZ country and regional projects, facilitating linkages to domestic private sector actors and leveraging their contributions to Smart Africa interventions at Member State level.
• Conduct legal and regulatory assessments, reviewing relevant policies and frameworks to identify barriers and enabling conditions for private sector engagement in target countries and regions.
• Identify financial, commercial, and operational risks, and develop mitigation strategies to support informed decision-making and risk-benefit analysis.

D. Required Qualifications, Competences and Experience

Qualifications and professional experience

• Master’s degree in business administration, Finance, Economics, Development Finance, Investments, or any other related field
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience designing public–private partnerships, developing emerging market strategies, and/or driving private sector engagement, ideally with exposure to Africa’s digital economy sectors.
• At least 5 years’ professional experience commercialization, research and development, or innovation processes related to creating new markets or products.
• Demonstrated ability to apply strong analytical skills and creative, out-of-the-box thinking to conceptualize cooperation mechanisms, delivery models, and partnership structures.
• Proven track record engaging with diverse private sector actors, including development finance institutions (DFIs), commercial banks, venture capital firms, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
• Experience in organizing and facilitating private sector engagement formats, such as roundtables, roadshows, and market-sounding sessions, and in building and managing multi-stakeholder ecosystems.
• Strong familiarity with African regulatory environments and investment climates, with the ability to analyze country-specific and regional legal, policy, and institutional frameworks.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills, with the ability to translate technical financial insights into strategic recommendations and investor-ready materials (e.g. Project Information Memoranda, investment prospectuses, pitch decks).

Additional Skills Required

• Carry outstanding work ethic and motivation to act reliable, dedicated, and disciplined without much guidance and supervision.
• High level of intercultural competence, diplomacy, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work independently, across diverse teams, and under tight deadlines in a dynamic, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Strong service-oriented thinker to provide professional and proactive advisory to GIZ and GIZ partner organisations.
• Brings intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Ability to implement multiple processes simultaneously
• Previous working experience with GIZ and/or pan-African organisations is an asset
• Excellent IT Skills (Microsoft Office, MS Teams, data management and analysis)
• Excellent communication skills in business English (written, verbal), French is an asset

GIZ will only assess applications which meet the following criteria:

• Cover Letter must clearly state your motivation for applying for the position and outline your competencies why you are the best suited candidate addressing qualifications, competencies and experiences asked for in this advert. Cover Letter must not exceed one (1) page and be submitted in PDF Format.

• CVs must include three professional references of previous employment including contact details and must not exceed four (4) pages to be submitted in PDF format.

E. How to apply

Interested candidates should submit their application (motivation letter, updated CV, certificates and references), via our electronic job portal by using the button “apply”; until 15th December 2025 at 4:00 PM. All attachments should be put together in one PDF file not larger than 2 MB.

GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued – regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation. We support equal opportunities and welcome applications from people with disabilities.

This includes the provision of reasonable accommodation, if needed, in order to participate in the job application and interview process and to perform essential job functions. Please let us know, if you have any particular requirements should you be invited for assessment/interview or that you wish us to consider, when considering your application.

Women and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test and interview.

GIZ Office Rwanda

KN 41 St. / Nr.17, Kiyovu

P.O. Box 59, Kigali,

Rwanda

GIZ reserves all rights!