Professional Summary
Dr. Adanech Yared Jillo is a distinguished Ethiopian water resources engineer, transboundary water governance expert, Nile Basin investment specialist, academic leader, institutional reformer, and women-in-water champion with nearly 16 years of high-level professional experience across regional program coordination, basin investment planning, hydro-diplomacy, water governance, hydrology, hydropower, climate resilience, gender mainstreaming, research, teaching, consultancy, institutional leadership, and policy advisory work. She currently serves as Nile River Basin Investment Program Regional Coordinator/Expert at the Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat, where she contributes to one of Africa’s most strategic water cooperation and investment platforms. In this role, she supports the coordination and management of NR-BIP activities, prepares work plans and budgets, provides secretariat support to task teams and regional technical working groups, coordinates investment portfolio development, supports project identification and prioritization, develops advocacy and communication materials, strengthens resource mobilization, facilitates AUDA-NEPAD African Infrastructure Database capacity building, maintains investment-related information systems, supports regional organizations, and contributes to annual portfolio reporting and basin-wide investment cooperation. At the Nile Basin Initiative, she has also served as Regional Gender Lead and Young Professional Program Supervisor/Coordinator. As Regional Gender Lead, she worked to integrate gender considerations into institutional policies, programs, regional cooperation processes, water and climate activities, and organizational practice. She supported gender focal points, organized gender sensitization and mainstreaming training, contributed to the revision of NBI gender mainstreaming policy and implementation strategy, and helped strengthen the role of women and gender-responsive approaches in Nile Basin cooperation. As Young Professional Program Coordinator, she supervised and mentored young professionals from Nile Basin countries, supported capacity building, coordinated technical outputs, facilitated engagement in transboundary dialogue, and helped empower a new generation of water professionals. Dr. Adanech is the Founder and President of the Ethiopian Women in Water Association, a major leadership contribution to Ethiopia and Africa’s water sector. Through EWIWA, she has led institutional development, strategic planning, implementation planning, HR policy development, financial and accounting policy preparation, procurement policy development, project management guideline preparation, grant proposal development, partnership building, advocacy, capacity building, and professional networking for women in the water sector. She led multiple grant proposal efforts, supported successful project implementation, created institutional collaborations and MoUs, coordinated more than 17 capacity-building trainings, and helped position EWIWA in international water spaces, including UN Water Conference accreditation processes. From November 2018 to August 2022, she served as Director General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Basins Development Authority. In this national leadership role, she directed and administered the Authority, exercised its legal powers and duties, managed employees, prepared and implemented annual work plans and budgets, represented the institution, submitted performance reports, led basin development and management activities, supported integrated water resources management, guided basin modelling, water resources administration, basin protection, water use permitting, hydrological data collection and analysis, river training, irrigation support, basin master planning, flood forecasting, drought mitigation, ecosystem protection, water allocation, transboundary water support, and policy studies. She also coordinated with the Water Development Commission and WaSH teams on groundwater and climate-resilient water supply activities and led an annual institutional budget exceeding 30 million USD. She has more than seven years of direct experience in transboundary water affairs, negotiation support, hydro-diplomacy, policy briefing, ministerial advisory work, regional consultation, stakeholder coordination, and Nile cooperation. She has advised negotiation teams and ministers, facilitated hydro-diplomacy trainings, prepared technical briefs, conducted hydrological analysis, supported internal and regional consultations, and acted as an interface between government leadership, development partners, NBI institutions, AMCOW-related programs, and regional stakeholders. Dr. Adanech also served as a Nile Technical Advisory Committee member, providing technical advice and oversight to the Nile Council of Ministers and the Nile Basin Initiative. Her work included preparing briefs, supporting Nile-COM decisions, reviewing strategic plans, work plans, budgets, policies, procedures, and guidelines, advising on NBI programs and projects, supporting regional consultations, contributing to Nile Basin Development Forums, and strengthening cooperation among Nile Basin countries during sensitive and strategic water governance processes. Her academic and research record is equally strong. She worked at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University as Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Associate Dean for the College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Senate Standing Committee member, Centre of Excellence coordinator, procurement endorsing committee member, researcher, supervisor, and advisor. She taught postgraduate and undergraduate courses including sewer and urban drainage systems, scientific research methods, sediment transportation mechanics, development of water supply sources, open channel hydraulics, hydraulic structures, and urban drainage engineering. She advised graduate students, supported curriculum development for PhD and MSc programs, organized workshops and seminars, conducted urban greening and internal grant research, and helped strengthen academic programs in civil, hydraulic, and water resources engineering. Earlier and parallel to her institutional leadership, she contributed to technical consultancy and engineering practice through hydropower design support, dam appurtenant structure design, hydrological reporting for 17 water supply projects and one groundwater recharge project, irrigation canal design, project design, pre-feasibility and feasibility report review, inception report preparation, data collection for hydropower design, and applied water resources engineering assignments. Her professional competence covers transboundary water management and governance, project evaluation, dam engineering, hydrological modelling, hydroclimate, water resources system modelling, climate change impact assessment and adaptation, Integrated Water Resources Management, hydropower, irrigation, basin planning, water security, food security, and energy security. She has contributed to major regional and international water, climate, WASH, hydropower, wetlands, sanitation, and investment programs supported by institutions such as the Nile Basin Initiative, World Bank, GIZ, AfDB, UNDP, Sida, USAID, AFD, IHE Delft, the University of Manchester, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the African Ministers Council on Water, and other partners. Her project exposure includes the Nile River Basin Investment Program, Nile Cooperation for Climate Resilience, groundwater projects, wetlands programs, hydro-diplomacy programs, basin-wide support programs, Rusumo Hydroelectric Power Project, Angololo Project, WASSMO, AMCOW sanitation support, Future DAM research, NORHED, and regional water and sanitation monitoring initiatives. She has also served as Samara University Board Member, contributing to university governance and institutional supervision. She has reviewed 26 UNESCO Special Publications on Youth and Water Security in Africa papers and one eco-hydrology book. Her professional tools and modelling experience include GIS, remote sensing, ArcGIS, QGIS, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, SWAT, HEC-ResSim, WEAP, MIKE SHE, MIKE HYDRO, WaterCAD, EPANET, CROPWAT, CLIMWAT, GAMS, RiverWare, Ribasim, WRF, RegCM, KoboToolbox, mWater, SPSS, and other water resources, hydrological, hydraulic, climate, and data analysis tools. Dr. Adanech holds a PhD in Water Resources Engineering and Management with specialization in Surface Water Management from the Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University; an MSc in Hydraulic and Hydropower Engineering from Arba Minch University; and a BSc in Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering from Arba Minch University. She has received recognition including the Young Female Academician/Researcher of the University with Extraordinary Achievement, Discipline, and Enthusiasm, the Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program fellowship, and appreciation for outstanding contribution to national development projects of Ethiopia. Her profile represents a rare combination of technical depth, national leadership, regional diplomacy, institutional management, academic excellence, gender advocacy, and basin-wide investment coordination. She stands as one of the strong African women leaders in water resources engineering, Nile Basin cooperation, transboundary water governance, and climate-resilient water development.
Key Expertise
Major Projects and Contributions
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Nile River Basin Investment Program Regional Coordination
Serves as Nile River Basin Investment Program Regional Coordinator/Expert at the Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat, supporting basin-wide investment portfolio development, project identification, preparation, coordination, resource mobilization, reporting, stakeholder engagement, and cooperation among Nile Basin regional organizations. -
Nile Basin Investment Portfolio and AUDA-NEPAD AID Dashboard
Led and supported the development of NR-BIP portfolio documents, project information factsheets, integrated assessment methodology, partner engagement roadmap, and dashboards using the AUDA-NEPAD African Infrastructure Database, including upload and organization of long-list and first-intake NRBIP projects. -
Regional Gender Leadership at Nile Basin Initiative
Served as Regional Gender Lead at the Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat, coordinating gender activities, mainstreaming gender in water and climate programs, organizing gender sensitization and hydro-diplomacy training, and supporting revision and implementation of NBI gender mainstreaming policy and strategy. -
Young Professional Program Coordination at NBI
Coordinated and supervised the Young Professional Program at the Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat, supporting young professionals from Nile Basin countries through water resources management, transboundary cooperation, capacity development, mentoring, technical reporting, and knowledge exchange. -
Founder and President of Ethiopian Women in Water Association
Founded and leads the Ethiopian Women in Water Association, including strategic planning, institutional policy development, grant proposal preparation, capacity-building trainings, partnerships, advocacy, UN Water Conference accreditation processes, and support for women professionals in the water sector. -
Director General of FDRE Basins Development Authority
Served as Director General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Basins Development Authority, leading national basin development, integrated water resources management, basin planning, basin modelling, water use administration, hydrological data management, flood and drought mitigation, permit systems, transboundary water support, and institutional coordination. -
Nile Technical Advisory Committee and Hydro-Diplomacy Advisory Work
Served as Nile Technical Advisory Committee member and provided technical support, negotiation advice, regular briefs, hydrological analysis, and policy guidance on Nile cooperation, transboundary water governance, sustainable Nile water resources management, and engagement with ministers, development partners, and regional stakeholders. -
Academic Teaching, Research, and Graduate Program Leadership
Worked at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University as Assistant Professor, Associate Dean for graduate programs in the College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, researcher, advisor, and committee member, contributing to teaching, supervision, hydropower design, hydrological reporting, irrigation canal design, and consultancy. -
Climate, Water, Dam Engineering, and Hydrological Modelling Expertise
Contributes technical expertise in hydrological modelling, hydroclimate, climate change impact assessment and adaptation, dam engineering, dam appurtenant structures, hydropower engineering, water resources system modelling, project evaluation, and Integrated Water Resources Management. -
Major Regional Water, Climate, WASH, and Investment Programs
Has contributed to or coordinated major programs and projects including Nile Cooperation for Climate Resilience, NR-BIP, groundwater projects, wetlands initiatives, hydro-diplomacy programs, African water and sanitation monitoring, institutional strengthening, and basin-wide support programs with partners such as NBI, World Bank, GIZ, AfDB, UNDP, Sida, USAID, AFD, IHE Delft, and other institutions.