AN OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD ICRISAT’S MISSION IN MALI: DRIVE AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION, ALLEVIATE POVERTY, AND FOSTER RESILIENCE IN THE DRYLAND TROPICS
ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in the drylands of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Covering 6.5 million square kilometre’s of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid or dryland tropics is home to over 2 billion people, and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor.
ICRISAT and its partners help empower these poor people to overcome poverty, hunger, and a degraded environment through better agriculture. ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana State, in India, with two regional hubs (Nairobi, Kenya and Bamako, Mali) and country offices in Niger, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
ICRISAT conducts research on six highly nutritious drought-tolerant crops: chickpea, pigeon-pea, pearl millet, finger millet, sorghum, and groundnut. ICRISAT envisions prosperous, food-secure, and resilient dryland tropics by reducing poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics through partnership-based international agricultural research for development that embodies ‘Transforming Dryland Agriculture.’
For more information: www.icrisat.org
Senior Scientist and Country Representative [Mali]
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) seeks applications from dynamic and highly innovative candidates to lead the ICRISAT Country Program in Mali. The ICRISAT Country Representative will be responsible for leading and managing the Country Program and for translating ICRISAT’s strategy, in line with regional and national priorities, into development initiatives and results by developing, implementing, and managing programs and projects for the country. The role will also be focused on developing effective partnerships with Government counterparts, national agencies, and organizations, and with bilateral and non-traditional donors in order to promote inter-agency partnerships and mobilization of visibility and resources to advance ICRISAT’s Mandate.
This position will have the following key responsibilities:
Country Program Management:
- Represent ICRISAT in Mali through liaison with governments, national networks and authorities, organizations and
- Assess national developmental trends and identify emerging issues of relevance to the mandate of ICRISAT, identify strategic program opportunities for development planning to advance ICRISAT goals and objectives in the
- Lead the formulation, planning and preparation of the Country Strategy, based on ICRISAT’s strategic priority and regional and national priorities, in collaboration/consultation with government and other
- Enhance partnerships in Mali, especially with regional/sub-regional organizations, hosted institutes of the CGIAR, national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES), non-governmental organizations and the private
- Implement the Institutional Resource Mobilization Strategy in Mali and ensure its success.
- Contribute to developing and implementing innovative funding strategies for ICRISAT in Mali.
- Collaborate with Research Program Directors and Business Development to convert opportunities into Programs or Projects for the country.
- Contribute to the strategic management of the Institute.
- Provide staff oversight and research support for project implementation.
- Monitor project implementation and staff performance; and share feedback with the Research Program Directors for performance management.
- Lead, coordinate, review and monitor research activities for the country, including resource mobilization, annual budgeting, research planning, priority assessment, proposal development, partnership relations, staff evaluation and research reporting.
- Nurture and sustain internal cross-program interactions and teamwork, working closely with other Directors and leaders in ICRISAT to ensure strong support for, and engagement with, the implementation of research activities globally.
- Assist in public awareness activities and greater visibility of ICRISAT in the region.
- Perform other responsibilities assigned by the Director – Africa
Research Program Management:
- Provide scientific leadership for research into climate change adaptation and building resilience among smallholder farmers in the country and the region.
- Conduct research on weather and climate dynamics and their association with the performance of agricultural interventions.
- Develop methods to target farm and landscape interventions for managing weather and climate stress under uncertainty and develop climate applications linked to digital agriculture that can bring decision support to farmers at
- Undertake on-farm, on-station field-based research that supports the development, demonstration, and scaling of climate smart agricultural interventions.
- Document research and innovations, and advance knowledge and publish research on relevant communication and/or institutional aspects of climate services, in the context of existing climate services projects and share research findings at relevant platforms.
- Support the development of M&E framework to assess impact of climate services for farmers & oversight of evaluation activities on the ground.
Education, qualifications, and experience
The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following skills, knowledge, experience:
- PhD in Agricultural or Plant Sciences, Development Studies, or related fields.
- Work experience of at least 15 years in international agricultural research for development with high levels of quality research outputs.
- Proven capability to manage a large research program, including all aspects of project management: managing budgets and staff, building, and managing partnerships, monitoring and evaluating impacts and leading a diverse team.
- Experience in systems research where multiple stakeholders, including public policymakers, the private sector and agribusiness are involved in achieving research outcomes.
- Experience in addressing governance, institutional and market aspects of agriculture with examples of successful research and development interventions.
- Demonstrated commitment to mentoring staff, a safe workplace and protection of the environment.
- Strong motivation and leadership skills to bring out the best from both individuals and teams.
- Ability to establish, nurture and oversee multi-cultural, gender-sensitive multidisciplinary research teams.
- Demonstrated expertise in written and oral communications and public awareness activities.
- Demonstrated championing the critical areas of gender, youth, nutrition, knowledge sharing and innovation.
- Demonstration of an enterprising spirit with aptitude for innovation.
Additional/Preferred Skills:
- Lead, or co-contribute to, evidenced impacts,
- Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization and knowledge
- Strong project management ability and interpersonal skills
- Fluency in spoken and written English and French
Location: The selected candidate will be based at ICRISAT- Bamako in Mali.
Reports to: The selected candidate will report to the Director – Africa.
ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer.
Applicants should send an up-to-date CV and a one-page cover letter, including copies of the highest diploma/degree, training certificates related to the position, and names and email addresses of 3 professional referees to Ms. Auree de Carbon by email at: adecarbon@carrhure.com no later than May 3, 2024 18:00 CET. Please indicate in the ‘Subject’ of the email the title ‘application for the post of ICRISAT _ SENIOR SCIENTIST AND COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE [MALI].
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
