Project Country Coordinator - Tanzania

We are seeking a dynamic, innovative and self-motivated professional for the position of Country Coordinator in Tanzania for a four year project, co-led by CIMMYT and IITA, entitled "Transformation of Agronomic Research and Delivery Services for Smallholder Farmers in maize-based systems of Sub-Saharan Africa". We are looking for an individual who is able to grasp and tackle the complexity of sustainable intensification in maize-based systems with strong analytical skills and the capacity to innovatively use modern systems and IT-based tools. This position could be filled by someone with one or more of the following skills: agronomy, soil science, geo-spatial systems and analysis, agronomic and geo-spatial database development, development of knowledge tools and APIs.

This is an internationally recruited staff position but we are primarily looking for candidates from the respective country that have the requisite skills for the position; however, we will consider other candidates from the region if no suitable national candidates are available and others are therefore encouraged to apply.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known by its Spanish acronym, CIMMYT®, is a not-for-profit research and training organization with partners in over 100 countries. Please refer to our website for more information:www.cimmyt.org

The selected candidate will be based in Tanzania. He or she will work as a member of CIMMYT's Global Conservation Agriculture Program, and will contribute to a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team applying systems approaches for agricultural research.

Specific duties of this position include:

• Plan and coordinate project activities in-country in conjunction with the Principal Investigator and host institution, and across countries with the two other country coordinators.
• Coordinate and be responsible for financial and technical reporting of in-country activities.
• Lead project activities related to his/her discipline in the country and contribute to cross-country activates activities and knowledge-sharing systems. Project activities include: multi-locational diagnostic agronomy experiments; populating agronomy data bases; yield-gap and soil constraints analysis at different scales; methods and models to link geo-spatial data across scales; development and testing of decision-support systems, tools and APIs with stakeholders.
• Promote and support cross institutional and inter-disciplinary teams with specific emphasis on the integration of bio-physical and socio-economic information at various scales/levels.
• Facilitate partnerships and build capacity of partners to co-develop, populate, and use project databases, tools, models and APIs.
• Contribute to building capacity of national institutions through the identification and co-supervision or mentoring of project supported post-graduate students programs.
• Collaborate with CGIAR and other research institutes to support/enhance project outputs and develop synergies with other projects to maximize impact.
• Communicate research results to various audiences and in various forms, papers for publication and presentations of results of this research.

We are seeking candidates with the following academic qualifications, skills and attitudes:

• PhD in a discipline relevant to the skills listed above (and the covering letter should expand on the relevance of your skill-set).
• Minimum 5 years' experience in your chosen field/discipline.
• Ability to conceptualize complex problems into analytical and operational frameworks.
• Understanding of gender and social inclusion issues and experience with ways of addressing these in research for development programs in order to promote equality of opportunity and outcomes.
• Clear understanding of the technical and institutional challenges for sustainable intensification in SSA and the role of improved scientific knowledge management for decision support to development interventions.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, experience working and interacting effectively with a variety of stakeholders (farmers, extension workers and other service providers, public and private sector entities, national programs), and demonstrated ability to collaborate well across disciplines and with key collaborative institutions and agencies.
• Strong publication record in peer reviewed journals.
• Fluent written and spoken English.
• Knowledge of farming systems in Tanzania.

We will offer an initial contract for three years, which may be renewable subject to continued need and funding for the position and performance of the staff member. Our internationally competitive salary and benefits include housing allowance, car, comprehensive health and life insurance, assistance for children's education, paid vacation, annual airfare, contribution to a retirement plan, and generous assistance with relocation shipment.

CIMMYT is an equal opportunity employer. It fosters a multicultural work environment that values gender equality, teamwork, and respect for diversity. Women are encouraged to apply.

How to apply:

To apply for this position, please email cover letter and CV no later than Friday, 7 November 2014 to HR, CIMMYT (Email: irsrecruitment@cgiar.org / Please indicate Position Reference number: 12364in the header of your email).

For further information on the selection process, please contact Esther Mendoza, Acting Staffing Specialist, ate.m.ramos@cgiar.org *Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.