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Regional Director, Central and West Africa

International Development Research Centre

Location: Dakar, Senegal

As part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) champions and funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions to drive global change. IDRC invests in high quality-research in developing countries, encourages knowledge sharing for greater uptake and use, and mobilizes global alliances to build a more sustainable and inclusive world.

IDRC’s Regional Office for Central and West Africa enables advances in areas such as social and economic policy, climate change, governance, artificial intelligence, and knowledge creation. As the Regional Director, you will be the focal point of IDRC in the region, ensuring the coherence and effectiveness of IDRC’s operations, and leading the gathering and use of strategic insights to support programming in the region. Reporting to the Vice-President, Strategy, Regions and Policy, you will provide regional insights, support the scientific and technical delivery of the Centre’s programming, coordinate the implementation of corporate knowledge sharing priorities and events, manage the Regional Office operations, and represent IDRC in the region. Within IDRC, you would speak for the region and contribute a regional perspective to the development of corporate strategies and priorities.

As the ideal candidate, you possess a post graduate degree (PhD or Master’s degree) within a discipline related to IDRC’s program areas. You have extensive work experience or knowledge of the complexity and diversity of the West and Central African region and are sensitive to the dynamics there. You are a diplomatic leader with exceptional networking and relationship building skills, and you possess a successful track record of building partnerships with academia, government, civil society and international organisations, and the private sector. You are an articulate and persuasive communicator, with sound knowledge of translating research into policy and practice for programs and institutions. Your creative and innovative management and leadership style will be essential in leading a small, yet highly skilled team. Your ability to communicate in both English and French is essential to work in IDRC’s bilingual environment, as well as in your interactions in international fora in which IDRC operates.

To learn more visit https://boyden.thriveapp.ly/job/1937 or apply for this high profile and challenging leadership role, please contact Eric Lathrop or Alain Pescador of Boyden via [email protected]

We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those under consideration for the role will be contacted.

IDRC is committed to building diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible working environments and welcomes those who would contribute to the further diversification of staff including, but not limited to, women, racialized persons, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity to apply.