Screening starts: Oct 09, 2013
Unit: SSA
Location: Kisumu, Kenya
Type: RRS
The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking an
Agricultural Value Chain Specialist to be based in Kisumu, Kenya.
The Center: CIP is a not-for-profit international
agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato,
sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving
the lives of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved
well-being, and gender equity for poor people in root and tuber farming and
food systems of the developing world. CIP works with partners to contribute
high quality science, technology, and capacity strengthening for sustainable
science-based solutions. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru, with staff and
activities in over 30 locations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. CIP is
a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global agriculture research partnership for
a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who
are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner
organizations. The CIP Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) main regional office is in
Nairobi, Kenya. CIP also has offices in 7 other African countries.
CIP is launching a new going-to-scale project building on
our successful research work on nutritious orange-fleshed sweetpotato in
sub-Saharan Africa. We are looking for energetic researchers and development
specialists to lead this effort in key countries in the region and to help us
reach farmers and consumers with new and innovative approaches and
partnerships.
The Position: The Agriculture Value Chain Specialist
will be responsible for the implementation of a going-to-scale project in
Nyanza Province, Kenya to improve nutrition benefits from with pro-vitamin A
rich orange-fleshed sweetpotato. This will require managing complex
multi-disciplinary partnerships with government, non-governmental
implementation organizations and private sector partners. The position will be
part of the regional project team and reports to the regionally based Project
Leader. The principal tasks and responsibilities comprise the following:
Duties and responsibilities:
- Oversee and coordinate project activities and partnerships at country level.
- Provide technical support to national partners to ensure production and multiplication of high quality foundation planting material.
- Manage the collaboration with private sector food processing companies and implement partners from the NGO sector to ensure timely delivery of quality.
- Contribute to monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and impact assessment at country and regional levels.
- Develop and report against country-level project work plans as part of the regional project management system.
- Produce and contribute to scientific publications, policy briefs and other information materials, and participating in regional and international forums.
- Participate in national agriculture and nutrition forums to contribute to evidence-based planning and policy development.
- Coordinate and participate in periodic capacity building and training events for implementing partners and wider stakeholder groups.
- Supervise and/or facilitate associated in-country research activities by national research institutions, CIP and regional or international partners.
Selection Criteria:
- Ph.D. degree in agricultural economics, nutrition, marketing or other similar degree. Specific training related to sweetpotato is an added advantage.
- At least 2 years as a project leader in an agricultural research and development context, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa.
- A minimum of 2 years hands-on experience working in agricultural seed systems or value chains, preferably with sweetpotato or other vegetatively propagated crops.
- Strong experience with communication technologies as research and development tools.
- Solid and up-to-date understanding of M&E, Impact Assessment and scaling-up principles and methodologies.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English are required. Good working knowledge of Kiswahili or Luo preferred.
- Ability to work in an international agricultural research center, interacting with its staff and managing research programs in a variety of institutional and ecological settings.
- A good ability and demonstrated expertise to write, plan research, analyze data and complete timely reports.
- Good record of publications and citations.
- Aptitude for teamwork, leadership, training, and communications.
- Willingness to travel frequently and work under field conditions.
- Must be a citizen of an African country.
Conditions: The employment contract will be for a three-year
term (with a three month probation period) with the possibility of renewal,
subject to availability of funding. The salary will be internationally
competitive, paid in US dollars, and commensurate with experience. CIP prides
itself on its collegial and supportive working environment, which allows space
for personal and professional growth.
Applications: Applicants should apply by email,
sending a cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full
C.V. and the names and contact information of three referees knowledgeable
about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to cip-recruitment@cgiar.org, copied
to Jan Low (j.low@cgiar.org). The reference name of the position should be
clearly marked on the subject line of the email message. Screening of
applications will begin on October 09, 2013 and will continue until the
post is filled.
