Development Partnerships Specialist

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Development Partnerships Specialist who will ensure effective management of the diverse adoption partners to deliver development results through adoption of bioscience innovations under the Africa Agricultural Productivity Partnership. The position holder will be responsible for managing the performance of adoption partners working in research-for-development project teams. This is anticipated to include private sector (e.g. Cereal Millers Association of Kenya for the Aflatoxin Project), civil society (e.g. GAIN and Farm Inputs Promotions (Africa) for the Aflatoxin and Amaranth projects), local government (e.g. Busia County in Kenya and Busia and Tororo districts in Uganda for the African Swine Fever Project), national agencies (e.g. national veterinary services for the PPR project) and other regional programs (e.g. Bio-Innovate Program).

ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals’ alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases.www.ilri.org

ILRI is a not-for-profit institution with a staff of about 700 and in 2014, an operating budget of about USD83 million. A member of the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa and in South, Southeast and East Asia. www.cgiar.org

ILRI leads the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish, leads a component of a CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health on the prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases, and contributes to six other CGIAR research programs. Staff members work in integrated sciences and biosciences programs that develop and deliver science-based practices, provide scientific evidence for decision-making and develop capacities of livestock-sector stakeholders. With the African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordination Agency, ILRI also hosts and manages the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA)-ILRI Hub.

ILRI also manages the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub at ILRI, the centre for excellence in modern plant and animal biology in Africa. BecA is an initiative developed within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)/ African Union African Biosciences initiative. It consists of a Hub based on the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya and a network of regional nodes and other affiliated laboratories and organizations throughout the region. The BecA Hub facilities are world class, including a range of molecular, plant transformation, and genomics laboratories and equipment (e.g. 454 and Illumina next generation sequencing, Biosafety level 3 laboratory, plant growth facilities). The Hub hosts and conducts research in crop, microbe and livestock areas where new developments in science offer promise to address previously intractable problems constraining Africa’s development. Capacity building is a major goal of all activities. The scope covers agriculture and food security and their intersections with human health and nutrition, and the sustainable use of Africa’s natural resources. Further information is available athttp://hub.africabiosciences.org/.

The position: The Development Partnerships Specialist will work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning scientist to oversee and quality assure processes for project-level monitoring, data analysis and reporting to support effective Results Based Management by adoption partners as integral members of each research-for-development team. S/he will liaise with and support short term advisers working with BecA-ILRI Hub to strengthen brokering and negotiation of partnerships, impact assessment and systems analysis as well as performance management.

This position will uphold relevant CGIAR, ILRI and Australia Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) policies including child protection, gender, disability and fraud and corruption control. S/he will complement the work of BecA Director and BecA Partnership Coordinator to support the day-to-day management of the project implementation by each principal investigator.

Responsibilities:

• Assist the BecA Director to manage delivery by adoption partners to enable early adoption of bioscience innovations in East and Central Africa.
• Provide strategic and operational advice to the Partnership Management Committee (PMC) on delivery of development results.
• Provide strategic and operational advice to the BecA Director and the Partnership Coordinator on the negotiation, establishment and maintenance of effective adoption partnerships.
• Work with principal investigators for each research-for-development project to plan, report and seek PMC approval on work plans, reports and coordination of all technical inputs and resources, personnel and project assets in up to 5 projects.
• Ensure cross-cutting issues (e.g. child protection, fraud control, prevention of corruption, environmental management) are integrated into planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of research-for-development projects.
• Support each project team and its partners to comply with the DFAT Child Protection Policy including support to prepare a child protection strategy during inception of each project, supervision of compliance and reporting of performance against the policy.
• Work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist to oversee and quality assure processes for project-level monitoring, data analysis and reporting to support effective Results Based Management by adoption partners as integral members of each research-for-development team.
• Complement the work of the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist by ensuring that performance management feedback is provided to adoption partners and related stakeholders and that this feedback is reflected in changes to annual plans, implementation approaches and field delivery.
• Provide oversight of adoption partner engagement in the regular cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, reflection and learning.
• Mentor and coach research partners and adoption partners in their roles as change agents.
• Support BecA to (a) identify local adoption partners to support early adoption of bioscience innovations in East and Central Africa; (b) coordinate with complementary donor-funded activities in the region; and (c) communicate development results and benefits resulting from BecA innovations.
• Participate in annual reflection workshops and other communication and learning processes at the request of the BecA Director.
• Actively align the management of BecA-ILRI Hub’s adoption partnership program with Bio-Innovate program to facilitate delivery of generated innovations to the end users.

Requirements:

• Relevant degree-level qualifications in agricultural development, international development practice, project management or agricultural economics.
• At least 5 years’ varied experience in a leadership role on multidisciplinary teams delivering rural development results in complex project management environments of East or Central Africa.
• At least 10 years’ experience working with adoption partners (e.g. private sector, civil society, local government and national agencies) to plan, implement, monitor and manage rural development projects in East or Central Africa.
• At least 5 years’ experience with operational use of project finance management, monitoring and management systems (including procurement) at field level.
• Experience in strengthening organisational level strategic planning, budget, performance management processes.
• Experience in negotiating and communicating with private sector enterprises and farmers, government officials, community leaders and civil society agencies.
• Experience in community-based initiatives and projects that support vulnerable groups, such as women and youth
• Understanding of contemporary rural development theory, research-for-development concepts and practical performance management.
• An understanding of change management in the context of rural adoption and diffusion.
• Understanding of the integration of cross-cutting themes into program activities.
• An understanding of aid effectiveness (e.g. general knowledge of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action and the Busan Partnership For Effective Development Cooperation).

Post location: The position is based at ILRI’s Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya with extensive travel to other countries.

Position level: Internationally-recruited; equivalent to Senior Scientist depending on skills and experience.

Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.

Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive international and salary and benefits package which includes 15% Pension, Medical insurance, Life insurance and allowances for: Education, Housing, Relocation, Home leave, Annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.

*Benefits are tax free subject to compliance with tax regulations of country of citizenship.

Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae: a list of publications and names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience should be included in the curriculum vitae. The position title and reference number: DPS/BECA/06/2014 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter.

All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com by 11 October 2014.

To find out more about ILRI and the BecA-ILRI Hub, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org andhttp://hub.africabiosciences.org

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