103560 – Research Team Leader, Nairobi, Kenya
Job Details
Full Job Description
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 ) -
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
- 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.
Applications
Applicants are invited
to visit 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:
103560 – Research Team Leader, Nairobi, Kenya
Alliance Bioversity & CIAT
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