RESEARCH TEAM LEADER, BRAINS PROJECT

THE ORGANIZATION

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national, and multinational partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, and with the public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

About the Project

Building Equitable Climate-Resilient African Bean & Insect Sectors (BRAINS) project is a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA | The Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (pabra-africa.org), PABRA under the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT collaborating with International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) – http://www.icipe.org/ and national partners . BRAINS is an initiative aimed at promoting low carbon, climate-resilient economies in 15 Sub-Saharan African countries. The project will enhance climate resilience among women, youth farmers and value chain actors through the participatory climate smart technology/ innovation development, accelerated delivery. It also aims to build enterprises that invest in carbon-neutral, climate-resilient and gender-responsive business development. Bean, fruit tree and insect value chains offer an opportunity for transformative change in Africa. BRAINS will leverage the Pan-African Bean Research Alliance and icipe to bring climate adaptation impacts to scale across 15 sub-Saharan countries, directly benefiting 10 million people and indirectly benefiting 50 million.

About the position

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is seeking to recruit a qualified person to fill the position of Research Team Leader who will be responsible for the overall coordination, management, implementation and reporting of the project activities in conjunction with the Alliance Bean Program Leader and PABRA Director, who is also the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project with the Co-PI from icipe. The candidate will also be responsible for coordinating, establishing, and maintaining partnerships to deliver project outputs.

Key duties & responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance on the design, planning and execution of the project work.
• Sustain relationships with stakeholders, and internal partners on project issues, provide leadership, monitor progress, and ensure stakeholder expectations are managed for project deliverables.
• Strengthen and support partnerships for scientific research with colleagues and professionals from various disciplines and partners organizations to enhance women participation in the project.
• Oversee project management, coordinating activities between partners in the project areas.
• Ensure project teams’ coherence in delivering outputs and mainstreaming climate and gender outcomes in the project.
• Provide technical guidance to project research teams and project partners and advise them on outcomes that feed into the wider knowledge base of the Centres.
• Coordinate project documentation and knowledge sharing.
• Oversee implementation activities to deploy solutions in practice.
• Coordinate the project annual work-plans and budget.
• Prepare project activities annual and semi-annual reports and ensure adherence to the timelines as guided by the project aimed at increasing resilience through beans and insect innovations.
• Participate in PABRA-wide activities in the project and beyond.
• Enhance collaboration with NARS (PABRA members), icipe and partners from private and public sector and beyond.
• Contribute to and generate scientific publications responsible for fulfilling a work plan for the project and for wide knowledge sharing.
• Contribute to the preparation of research proposals and related fundraising activities.
• Perform other tasks as determined by the project leader and PABRA Director.

Requirements

Required qualifications and experience.

• PhD degree in agricultural sciences, climate and gender, sustainable finance/entrepreneurship, agricultural economics, or closely related areas
• Demonstrated experiences in demand-led technology development and delivery for wider and inclusive economic growth and enterprise development.
• Demonstrated experiences in climate responsive work and gender equality.
• Knowledge of working with the private sector and establishing linkages between producers and other the private sector actors
• Knowledge of digital tools for extension and communication platforms
• Proficiency in relevant software packages (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint) including statistical packages.
• Excellent communication skills in English and French, both written and spoken, including scientific communication and report writing – Swahili language will be desirable.
• Experience in authoring scientific publications, having published at least 5 ISI peer-reviewed articles.
• Excellent project management and leadership skills
• Demonstrated experience and record in working with government and public and development sector institutions.
• Excellent skills in teamwork, negotiation, communication, and diplomacy, with the ability to interact courteously and effectively with people at all levels in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment, including external stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel within Africa and beyond.
• Experience working with CGIAR or other international organizations, experience working in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Terms of employment

This position is an internationally recruited position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The initial contract will be for two years subject to a probation period of six months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. This position is graded at BG09 level in a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number RFP103560 – Research Team Leader as the position applied for. Cover letter and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting. The Alliance collects and process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Applications closing date: Friday, 12^th April 2024

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://alliancebioversityciat.org