The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. The Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation (https://alliancebioversityciat.org/)

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people.

The Alliance a member of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org ) a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

Background

The CGIAR Food Systems Accelerator (CFSA) program is a science -driven accelerator designed within The CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa, to support agribusinesses scale climate -smart innovations that address pressing challenges in East and Southern Africa food systems. By combining investment readiness with tailored science-based technical assistance, CFSA provides agribusinesses companies with the necessary tools and knowledge to become more commercially viable and sustainable. This approach promotes sustainable farming practices that can enhance food production while mitigating the impact of climate change. The program prioritizes agribusinesses scaling innovations designed with a user -centric approach for smallholder farmers and that have a strong potential for commercial sustainability.

Position Summary

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is seeking to recruit a motivated and dynamic individual to join our team as a Project Manager and Administration specialist for our Agribusiness Accelerator program. The ideal candidate will play a critical role in driving the success of the accelerator by organising and planning project activities, while also handling the day-to-day administrative functions of the program.

Main duties and responsibilities

Project Management:

• Develop and maintain a detailed project plan to ensure all program activities are executed efficiently and within deadlines.
• Monitor project progress and address issues, scope changes, or deviations from the plan.
• Prepare regular status reports for program management and stakeholders.
• Audit of the existing project management tools and recommendations for improvements.

Administration:

• Coordinate logistics for program activities, including workshops, field visits, and meetings.
• Maintain organized project documentation, including reports, and meeting minutes.
• Handle communication with program participants and external partners.
• Support data collection and reporting to measure program impact.
• Provide administrative support to project teams and offer assistance as needed.

Reporting Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive reporting framework for the project.
• Collect data and information from project teams and stakeholders to create regular progress reports.
• Prepare detailed reports on project status, including milestones achieved, challenges encountered, and next steps.
• Ensure timely submission of reports to relevant stakeholders, both internal and external.
• Communicate project updates and results to senior management and leadership.

Monitoring Responsibilities:

• Establish a monitoring system to track project activities, timelines, and outcomes.
• Regularly review project performance against established KPIs and targets.
• Identify and address deviations from project plans promptly.
• Collaborate with project teams to ensure that monitoring data is accurate and up to date.
• Recommend adjustments or improvements based on monitoring findings to enhance project effectiveness.

Evaluation Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage the project’s evaluation framework and methodology.
• Conduct periodic evaluations to assess the impact of project activities.
• Analyze evaluation results and provide recommendations for program enhancements.
• Collaborate with external evaluators or consultants as needed.
• Maintain documentation of evaluation processes and outcomes for future reference.

Learning Responsibilities:

• Foster a culture of learning within the project team and among project stakeholders.
• Encourage knowledge sharing and best practices to enhance project performance.
• Facilitate regular learning sessions and workshops for team members.
• Document lessons leacrned and create a repository of best practices.
• Continuously improve project strategies based on insights gained from monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes.

Activities and Deliverables

Project Management

• A comprehensive project plan document that outlines all program activities, tasks, timelines, dependencies.
• Ongoing progress reports with details on the status of various project activities.
• Regular status reports to program management and stakeholders.

Administration

• Event reports documenting well-organized logistics for program activities such as workshops, field visits, and meetings.
• An organized repository of project documentation, including reports, meeting minutes, and related records.
• Weekly summary reports
• Reports on data collection and measuring program impact.

Reporting Responsibilities

• Reporting framework
• Progress reports
• Detailed project status reports

Monitoring

• Monitoring system
• Performance review reports

Evaluation

• Evaluation framework and methodology
• Periodic evaluation reports

Learning

• Platform for sharing insights and experiences.
• Learning session workshops
• Lessons learned repository.

Budget:

Payment will be made monthly after submission and approval of deliverables for the month.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, project management, agriculture, or related fields (master’s preferred).
• Proven experience in project management, particularly in agriculture, business support services, or development programs.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proficiency in project management tools and software.
• Understanding of agriculture and climate-smart practices is a plus.
• Knowledge of entrepreneurship support is a plus.
• Strong passion for sustainable agriculture and a commitment to our organization’s mission.
• Willingness to travel, as needed, to oversee program activities in various locations.
• Ability to adapt to a dynamic and fast-paced work environment.

Terms of employment:

This is a nationally recruited 11-month consultancy position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary. We are an equal opportunity employer, and strive for gender, diversity, and inclusion in our staff, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://www.bioversityinternational.org/jobs/ to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number   Ref: CON-KE-LC-2023-178 as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting.

Note: The Alliance does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). The Alliance also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

Applications closing date: 22^nd December 2023

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://alliancebioversityciat.org