Senior Technical Advisor-Technical Director, Great Lakes Cassava Initiative (GLCI) - I 09 059
05 Jun 2009 18:33:00 GMT
Deadline date: 05 Aug 2009 |
| Organisation: | Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - USA |
| Location: | 217199 |
| Type: | permanent |
| Salary: | TBA (000's USD) |
| Description: | Req. No.: I 09 059
Background:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is implementing a 4-year grant funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to coordinate a range of activities to increase cassava productivity and sustainability at scale in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. CRS is partnering with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to lead a network of regional associations and agricultural institutions, country-level agricultural research organizations and local civil society implementing organizations. The vision of the Great Lakes Cassava Initiative (GLCI) is to address the current cassava disease epidemics and enhance productivity and resilience of poor cassava farmers by assisting more than 1 million cassava farm families with access to improved, preferred, disease-tolerant planting materials and agronomic support to increase cassava productivity by more than 25%, laying the foundation to exploit emerging growth markets. Functional Relationships: The Technical Director (TD) is supervised by and works closely with the GLCI Chief of Party (COP) to ensure the successful implementation of the GLCI Project. The TD directly supervises the GLCI technical support team of Objective Team Leaders (OTL) for the Seed, Farmer Groups, and Training, and directly manages program compliance of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in the implementation of the Disease Objective. The TD also contributes to the Planning and Partnership Objective managed by the COP. He/she represents the GLCI project on technical issues to the principal donor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as other international and national actors in the Cassava sector such as the National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS), the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Green Revolution in Africa/Program for Africas Seed Systems (AGRA/PASS), Cassava Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); institutions such as NARS. Specific Job Responsibilities: 1. Represent the GLCI Project on technical issues to principle agriculture stakeholders, with emphasis on international and national agriculture institutions. Together with Country Representative and/or Head of Programming, represent CRS/GLCI to Donors, Government agriculture ministriess and other technical bodies 2. Directly manage the relationship with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA); ensure contract compliance and monitor IITAs performance in the implementation of activities under the disease objective of the GLCI project; Ensure productive collaboration, and information sharing between the GLCI/OTLs, IITA, NARS, and other agriculture research and testing institutions 3. Together with the COP, ensure all activities associated with the Planning and Partnership objective are implemented with emphasis on project coordination and collaboration with regional and international agriculture organizations working in cassava, and the development of country level implementation plans with the country program staff and OTLs 4. Represent CRS/GLCI at various functions and events to promote the work of the program as warranted; Raise the profile of CRS within the international agriculture research and development community and create funding opportunities through participation and networking 5. Together with OTLs, manage collaboration and coordination with other organizations working in cassava production in East Africa; facilitate integration of GLCI with other BMGF funded cassava activities e.g. AGRA/PASS; ensure communication and collaboration with sister projects (e.g. C:AVA) on Cassava markets implemented by National Research Institute (NRI); Collaborate as needed with CRS regional and HQ-based technical support staff on issues related to the GLCI project implementation 6. In collaboration with the chairperson of TAC and COP lead the planning of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings 7. Supervise the daily work of the OTLs and provide coaching and mentorship support to them; implement CRS Performance Management Process and provide regular guidance and support to, all direct reports; ensure timely submission of annual performance plans, staff development planning; with the support of the Chief of Party, assist and guide OTL team members on performance and Human Resources administration issues 8. Together with the GLCI Technical Support Team, support the GLCI project implementation within the six GLCI countries and ensure that the GLCI projects technical targets are met; track progress along each objective and ensure timely submissions of narrative and financial reporting in compliance with grant requirements 9. Together with COP manage annual budget and activity planning process with the GLCI technical support team; ensure that the planning process results in on-time submissions to the donor and facilitates the availability and timely distribution of funds to meet project activity requirements 10. Ensure regular, timely and accurate programmatic reporting of the project activities by the OTL Team, in compliance with the grant requirements and reporting schedules; and review all reports prior to submission to COP for review and approval 11. Manage technical support contracts with research/testing institutions for disease testing, other virology research scientists, and consultants contracted to support GPS activities Supervision: Directly supervises GLCI Team Leader, Farmer Group Team Leader, and Training Objective Team Leader Key Working Relationships: Internal: GLCI COP, OTLs GLCI, Regional and HQ technical staff External: IITA, NARS, ASARECA, AGRA/PASS, CAVA, COMESA, FAO, NARS, NRI, key donors, and agriculture ministries Qualifications: 1. PhD in agricultural science preferred, Masters with significant experience required 2. 8-15 years demonstrated professional experience in the field of agriculture and specialization in vegetatively-propagated crops with at least five years work experience in developing countries; 3. Experience in research with national and international research institutions with demonstrated ability to manage research partner relationships; 4. Substantial experience in designing, implementing and managing large, complex multi-country agriculture projects and compliance with Donor regulations; 5. Experience interacting with government agencies, host country governments, and international donor agencies; 6. Proven leadership, strategic planning/execution, and representation at high levels; 7. Proven ability to build and motivate teams of diverse and talented personnel; 8. Effective analytical, planning and organization skills: 9. Demonstrated commitment to support Civil Society Organizations; 10. Proven experience in building, strengthening and sustaining institutional linkages; 11. Excellent English language oral and written communication skills; fluency in and proven ability to work in French; 12. Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook required; EOE/M/F/D/V If you are interested in and qualify for this position, please visit the Catholic Relief Services website at www.crs.org/about/careers. |
