Background of the project

Accelerated Variety Turnover for Open-pollinated Crops is a 4-year project that increases the turnover of varieties by stimulating demand for new varieties through different channels. The project aims to establish a new model to achieve this, facilitated by digital communication, and based on development and testing in Tanzania, working with common bean, sorghum, and groundnut. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded project is led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and involves partnerships with TARI, TOSCI and CIMMYT.

About the position

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is seeking to recruit a qualified person to fill the position of Team Leader who will be responsible for overall coordination of the project in conjunction with the Alliance Bean Program Leader and PABRA Director who is also the Principal Investigator of the project. The candidate will also be responsible in coordinating, establishing and maintaining partnerships for delivery of project outputs.

Main responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance on design, planning and execution of the work.
• Sustain relationships with donors, external stakeholders and internal partners on project issues, provide leadership, monitor progress, and ensure stakeholder expectations are managed for project deliverables.
• Strengthen and support external partnerships for scientific research with a number of colleagues and professionals from various disciplines.
• Oversee project management, coordinating activities between partners in the country.
• Ensure coherence of project teams in delivery of outputs and mainstreaming of gender outcomes in the project.
• Provide technical guidance to project teams under her supervision and advises the research team on outcomes that feeds into the wider knowledge base of the Centre.
• Coordinate project documentation and knowledge sharing.
• Oversee implementation activities to deploy solutions in practice.
• Prepare project activities reports and ensure adherence to the timelines as guided by the project.
• Participate in PABRA wide activities in Tanzania and beyond.
• Contribute to and generates scientific publication responsible for fulfilling a work plan for the project.
• Oversee and monitor the execution of various experiments and protocols in a project, consistent with the most rigorous scientific standards for research.
• Contribute to preparation of research proposal and related fundraising activities.
• Perform other tasks as determined by the project leader.

Education and requirements

• A PhD degree in agricultural sciences or closely related areas Knowledge on seed systems (formal and informal), seed business/entrepreneurship
• Knowledge of digital tools and communication platforms
• Strong demonstrated background in gender equality and mainstreaming.
• Excellent communication skills in English, 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 article
• Strong leadership credentials
• Experience in working with government and public sector institutions
• Proficiency in relevant software packages (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• 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.
• Excellent eye for detail and critical thinking
• Experience working with CGIAR or other international organizations, experience working in Tanzania, or other countries in East Africa will be an added advantage.

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position based in Arusha, Tanzania. The initial contract will be for two (2) years, subject to a probation period of six (6) months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. This position is currently graded at level BG09 (in a scale of 14 levels, BG14 being the highest level) with a view on career development.

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits. We believe that the diversity of our staff contributes to excellence. The Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality.