Project Leader , IITA
Project Leader (Ref: DDG-R4D/PL/04/12)
Background: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the position of Project Leader.
IITA is an international non-profit research-for-development (R4D) organization created in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Our R4D is anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty by reducing producer and consumer risks, enhancing crop quality and productivity, and generating wealth from agriculture. We have more than 100 internationally recruited scientists from about 35 countries and 900 nationally recruited staff based in various stations across Africa. Please visit http://www.iita.org/ for more information on IITA.
IITA is seeking to fill the position of Project Leader for the second phase of its Commercial Products (COMPRO) project, operating in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The COMPRO project aims at setting up sustainable, institutionalized quality control and regulatory systems for commercial products and disseminating effective products at scale led by public-private sector partnerships. It is expected that through these concerted efforts, the use of effective commercial products will improve yields of target crops with 15-30% for at least 200,000 farming households across the target countries. It is also expected that new commercial products will pass through a self-sustaining quality control and regulation system in at least 4 of the 6 countries towards the end of the project. To achieve these outcomes and impacts, COMPRO is conceptualized around 5 major objectives: (i) Dissemination of at least 3 effective products to smallholder farmer households, (ii) Continued screening and evaluation of new products, (iii) Establishment of Quality Control Procedures and Safety Screening, (iv) Communication of information on commercial products, and (v) Project management, M&E, and capacity building.
Position/Responsibilities
The Project Leader will report to the Director for NRM at IITA. He/she will be responsible for the overall coordination toward delivery of the project milestones and will serve as the spokesperson for the Project. More specifically, he/she will:
· Liaise and follow up with project staff and national coordinators to ensure the implementation of planned activities across project objectives and study sites.
· Develop annual work plans across all countries and monitor progress towards milestones and ensure their timely completion.
· Foster effective linkages between COMPRO and the regulatory bodies and private sector partners in the target countries.
· Ensure timely dispatch of the necessary resources to all partners.
· Monitor project expenses against available budgets.
· Receive reports from objective and country coordinators and prepare consolidated technical progress reports.
· Serve as Secretary to the Scientific Advisory Committee.
· Organize meetings (Annual Meetings and SAC Meetings) and prepare meeting reports.
· Liaise with project staff and partners for publication of results.
· Liaise between COMPRO and other initiatives (N2Africa, AGRA, etc) to ensure coordination of related activities.
· Represent COMPRO in meetings and conferences.
· Take lead towards improving intra- and inter-centre collaboration.
· Be an advocate to broaden project donor base, including linkages with other legume projects.
· Contribute to the Humidtropics and Soils and ecosystems CGIAR Research Programs.
Educational Qualifications and experience
PhD in soil microbiology, soil science or related field. Post–doctoral experience strongly preferred with at least 10 years working experience in Africa. Whilst the intention is to appoint a person of outstanding scientific reputation, particular emphasis will be placed on proven qualities for leadership.
Core Competencies:
· At least 5 years of practical experience with quality control and regulatory mechanisms.
· Experience of managing networks and/or multi-institutional and multi-cultural collaborative projects
· Strong client service orientation.
· Strong oral and written communication skills.
· Ability to motivate people to produce quality work within tight timeframes.
· Team player with personality traits that enable him/her to motivate and communicate with all levels of the professional and support staff.
· Self-starting, energetic style, with an ability to work effectively with little day-to-day direction or supervision.
· Reputation of integrity, high intelligence, creativity and the ability to exercise good judgement.
· Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to establish rapport and credibility with people at all organizational levels, forming strong relationships, both internally and externally.
· Committed to transparency and continuous improvement in a cooperative atmosphere of constructive evaluation and learning.
· Fluency in English.
Duty station: IITA Nairobi, Kenya
General information: Initial appointment is for two years. IITA offers a competitive remuneration package paid in US dollars.
Applications: Applications including curriculum vitae, names and addresses of three referees should be addressed to the Human Resources Manager. Please complete our online application form using this link:
Closing Date: 10th May 2012
IITA is an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from women candidates.
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
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