Job Vacancies at icipe – African Insect Science for Food and Health

Overall purpose of the job

• The Manager, People and Organisation Development (MPOD) reports to the Director of Finance and Administration (DFA). The MPOD leads in the provision of HR services and other applicable services to all the Centre’s staff, applicable hosted staff, visiting scientists, students and consultants. The MPOD implements employee attraction, retention, development and performance management policies and processes. S/he develops and implements programmes and supporting systems foremployee relations, staff wellbeing, workforce planning and workload management and ensures equity and diversity. S/he should be an excellent leader, people person, strategic communicator, and relationship builder.

Specific Duties:

•  Supervise leadership of the teams providing HR services.
•  Foster Business Partnerships with functions directly engaged in research for development and those in support thereof.
•  Recruiting international and national staff with the capabilities and competences required for the present and future. Work with research leaders to anticipate future needs and lead the talent pooling, attraction, and selection of staff in research roles, and ensure alignment and improvement of attraction and selection processes.
•  Implement organisation design plans, including preparation and review of job classifications, job descriptions and associated systems. Implement talent management and succession planning initiatives.
•  Lead the learning and development programmes, developing the capabilities and competences of research leaders, as well as research and research support staff, encompassing amongst others, management/supervisory skills and soft skills. Implement skills capacity development programmes, aligned with the Centre’s plans and strategic goals.
•  Develop and implement performance management policies, systems, and tools. Implement recognition and rewards policies.
•  Administer and undertake reviews of salaries, and staff related insurances and other staff benefits, in accordance with policies and guidelines and to ensure equity and value for money.
•  Contribute to the development of policies and guidelines and provide advice on their impact on the Centre. Ensure equitable and consistent interpretation and implementation of staff policies and ensure compliance with relevant requirements while being alive to precedents and approval exceptions.
•  Develop and implement HR information systems to support service delivery and decision making, specifically HR within ERP, staff attraction, staff recruitment, learning & development systems, staff performance management system, and management of consultants’ contracts and other supporting systems.
•  Be the Head of Safeguarding (HoS) and be responsible for overall management of compliance, reporting and training of Safeguarding Focal Persons (SFP) deployed on needs basis at regional offices and/or programmes.
•  Act as a link and offer communication and coordination that facilitates a close working relationship between the Centre and its hosted organizations. Handle various matters of the Centre, by participating in joint arrangements with hosted organizations.
• Additional responsibilities
• Be an authorised signatory of the Centre, and in this regard, authorise transactions as per delegated authority and the sourcing and evaluation of appropriate providers (e.g. for medical & life insurances and training consultants).
• Expand, develop, and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and represent the Centre at various meetings. Attend joint meetings of collaborating institutions and participate in HR related joint processes.
• Chair the Occupational, Health and Safety Committee (OHSC) and Training Committee (TC) of the Centre and oversee implementation of necessary procedures arising from the two committees. Membership to various Centre committees as designated from time to time.
• Undertake additional duties requested by supervisor for areas that require her/his support within the Centre’s overall business.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Advanced University degree (Masters) in relevant field.
• At least 10 years of experience in the areas of general management, including human resources at international and multicultural setups.
• Comprehensive knowledge of organizational policies and practices in research organizations is highly desirable.
• Tact, diplomacy and discretion in dealing with sensitive issues.
• Capacity to manage, supervise and evaluate the performance of staff.

Application Deadline - 22nd Aug 2023

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OVERALL PURPOSE OF THE JOB

• Overall responsibility to execute the Centre’s business strategies and for the achievement of the Centre’s operating goals and objectives and minimization of risks to the Centre while ensuring that the Centre continues to balance its budget and grow its reserves.

SPECIFIC DUTIES
Vision and strategic planning

• Develop high-quality business strategies and plans and ensure the alignment of strategy with objectives.
• Lead in the development and execution of the icipe’s long- and short-term vision and strategy to solve global issues of food and nutrition security, public health, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

Research leadership and management

• The DG delivers highest-quality scientific research for development (R4D) for solving complex problems according to the remit of icipe vision and strategy (V&S) as well as significantly increases financial resources to advance the R4D agenda. S/he provides intellectual and specific scientific leadership of the highest order that generates high-quality, client focused, integrated outcomes. S/he forges and maintains complex yet strategic partnerships with both traditional and non-traditional partners to maintain and build relationships that advance icipe's R4D agenda. S/he plans cost-effective operations and R4D activities and ensures continuous improvement in the quality and value of services and products provided by the Centre.

Research agenda

• The DG, together with icipe's management team, identifies research opportunities that are aligned with the objectives and policies of the Centre to ensure excellent science for impact. S/he negotiates alliances and partnerships with clients and investors, other providers, and private sector interests to further the business of the Centre. S/he and the management team define, prioritize, and clarify icipe's role in cooperative activities and manage the Centre's Intellectual Property. They develop plans to maximize R4D impact, identify opportunities, and keep abreast of the markets and industry trends.

Resource mobilization and business development

• The DG leads the resource mobilization efforts of icipe to secure adequate financial resources from both traditional and non-traditional donors to implement the Centre's R4D agenda. S/he builds long-term trusting relationships with funders and key partners and aligns icipe with donor priorities to guarantee the sustainability of the Centre.

Partnerships

• The DG provides leadership in stakeholder management and utilizes tact and diplomacy to forge strong, sustainable alliances and partnerships internally and externally, often involving multinational, multidisciplinary public and private sector groups. S/he engages in facilitating interactions with all R4D partners and host governments to ensure the partnerships and alliances meet the strategic objectives of the Centre.

Communication

• The DG serves as the spokesperson of the Centre on all matters and leads the icipe management team in communicating the Centre's vision, mission, overall direction, scientific purpose, research outputs, applications, relevance and impact to the science community, funders, external experts, agencies, stakeholder, and end-users. S/he executes public speaking and representational appearances through seminars, conferences and professional networking in a professional manner and uses a range of communication tools to ensure that icipe's R4D agenda remains visible on the global R4D arena.

Administrative leadership and management

• The DG oversees the management of human, financial and physical resources to achieve defined R4D outputs and other institutional objectives. S/he oversees the Centre’s financial performance, investments and other income-generating ventures. S/he supervises the development of annual plans and budgets and ensures the establishment of proper internal monitoring and control systems and procedures, tracks the progress of business initiatives, and provides solutions to ensure the Centre’s survival and growth. S/he directs the establishment, updating and alignment of the Centre’s policies and legal guidelines and negotiates and approves agreements and contracts for the Centre.

Team

• The DG is responsible for providing leadership and direction to the Centre and for instilling team attitudes and cooperative partnership approaches in senior management and other staff. S/he motivates and provides leadership to key staff and maintains a conducive work environment for attracting, retaining, and motivating employees. S/he manages the Centre’s organizational structure, hires key staff to guide Centre employees in all areas of operations. S/he supervises and evaluates the work of key staff and stimulates career development incentives to attain desired results. S/he manages performance issues affecting the Centre, resolves conflicts promptly and ensures that icipe's work remains cohesive and makes certain that responsibility and accountability are actively reinforced.

Corporate responsibility

• The DG advises the Governing Council (GC), governments and other stakeholders on all matters relating to the implementation of icipe’s mandate, and ensures the provision of regular, thorough, and prompt communication to the GC on key technical, financial and administrative matters. S/he coordinates and prepares reports and other submissions for consideration by the GC while ensuring that there is effective communication between the management and the GC as well as between various levels of management.
• The DG fosters a corporate culture that promotes the Centre’s complicity with legal and ethical practices, good corporate citizenship and maintenance of high social responsibility wherever the Centre does business.

Other

• The DG performs any other duties as may be necessary to achieve the Centre’s objectives as set out in the Charter.

QUALIFICATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITY

•  A PhD in Life Sciences or related areas.
•  A superior creative research record and excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.
•  20 years of professional experience with sustained evidence of transformation and accumulation of responsibilities in science and its administration as applied to developing countries.
•  In depth knowledge of the funding market, changes, and forces that influence the research industry matched with proven record in successful resource mobilization.
•  Excellent communication and presentation skills and the ability to translate and communicate complex subjects.
•  Excellent organisational and time management skills, ability to multi-task, mentor, and work in a multicultural environment.
•  Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills.
•  Experience in developing strategic and business plans.
•  Familiarity with R4D industry laws and management best practices.
•  Working knowledge of corporate governance, finance and people management principles.
•  A proven record in executive leadership of a complex institution.

Application Deadline - 03 Aug 2023

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Overall purpose of the job

•  To provide research and programmatic leadership to the Behavioural and Chemical Ecology Unit.
•  Coordinate and promote the broad field of chemical ecology through an interdisciplinary research approach across icipe’s 4-H Themes and within the framework of One Health.
•  To maintain a portfolio of research that is aligned with icipe’s strategic goals.
•  To undertake research of the highest quality through partnerships, within, nationally, regionally and internationally.
•  To facilitate new initiatives and opportunities in chemical ecology through resource mobilisation.
•  To build capacity through the training of the next generation of globally competitive scientists.
•  To disseminate research findings through high level publications and presentations at scientific/technical meetings.

Specific Duties:

•  Contributes to Centre’s efforts to engage with global stakeholders in research and capacity building.
•  Manages human, fiscal and physical resources of the Unit.
•  Conducts research to develop semiochemical-based management tools for improved food production, animal and human health.
•  Conducts research to promote use of beneficial organisms that conserve biodiversity.
•  Actively seek and secure external support for the activities of the Unit, including resources to develop and grow a personal research portfolio.
•  Enhance scientific productivity of the Unit through mentoring and supervising scientists, postgraduate students, and high-quality publications.
•  Initiate periodic reviews of the performance of the Unit to ensure relevance and quality.
•  Act as a spokesperson and representative of the Unit.
•  Ensure the Unit meets its legal and reporting responsibilities to all stakeholders including national licensing authorities and donors.

Requirements/Qualifications

•  PhD in Chemistry from a reputable university, with a strong background in organic chemistry or related sciences but preferably with expertise in Chemical Ecology plus appropriate or additional education in organic spectroscopy.
•  Ten (10) years’ experience gained at a senior level in either a research organization or university.
•  Track-record in chemical ecology and interdisciplinary research in tropical insect science.

Other desirable attributes

•  Excellent publication track record.
•  Track record of writing successful proposals for large grants.
•  Proven record of managing large resources (both financial and human) in a research environment.
•  Experience in capacity building through supervision and mentorship of MSc and PhD students.
•  Excellent communication skills are mandatory.
•  Track record of exemplary leadership qualities are essential.
•  High degree of organisation, adaptability and prioritisation

Application Deadline - 17th Aug 2023