The International Potato Center (CIP) seeks to recruit two (2) dynamic Project Coordinators for the West Bengal Project: ‘Developing local Seed Potato Production System in West Bengal’

The Position: The selected candidate will be based at Cooch Bihar (1) and Hooghly (1), West Bengal. He/she will supervise operations in the locations and consultants and will report to the Principal Scientist.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Management :

• Understand and internalize the project mission and contribute to achieving goals effectively and sustainably.
• Develop and maintain detailed work plans with the CIP project team and project project partners.
• Monitor and ensure activities are completed on time, within budget, and meet quality standards.
• Oversee daily project activities in collaboration with CIP project teams and partners.
• Support the public and private partners on innovative potato production technologies, ensuring active engagement and capacity building.
• Establish and maintain relationships with government services, research stations, NGOs, and farmer groups.
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of technical and financial reports.
• Present project results and outcomes at professional meetings.
• Document lessons learned and best practices.

Technical Competencies:

• Build capacity of partners on seed potato production, field multiplication, and rapid seed multiplication technologies.
• Train on seed production, soil fertility, and agronomic practices through innovation sites.
• Facilitate field testing and variety identification for national registration.
• Provide technical support in disease detection and tissue culture for seed production.
• Develop locally adapted protocols for seed quality assurance.
• Design and implement farmer extension materials and use ICT platforms for outreach.

Requirements

• MSc in Agriculture or related fields (PhD preferred but not required).
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in project coordination, implementation, and management, including at least 6 years in potato seed systems, variety performance evaluation trials, innovative production practices, soil fertility management, and pest/disease management.
• Strong project management, leadership, and team-building skills.
• Proven experience in project coordination and stakeholder engagement.
• Proficiency in organizational planning and budget management.
• Ability to work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural teams.
• Willingness to travel and work in rural, resource-limited areas.
• Advanced communication skills in English; knowledge of local language is a plus.