Programme Officer at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Providing exceptional support to the Regional Director in developing annual work plans and monitoring their execution against the project baseline, including activities, deliverables, schedule, and associated costs, and ensure achievement.
• Initiate and participate in developing, implementing and evaluating operational management plans, budgets and business process improvement programmes aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness.
• Support and coordinate resource mobilizations efforts, including timely submission of proposals where RESA scientists are involved.
• Preparing technical and financial reports in consultation with project principal investigators and project team members for timely reporting to Management/donors.
• Ensure effective communication and collaboration between scientific and administrative units.
• Preparing necessary documentation and executing project sub-agreements, memoranda of understanding, consultancies, ensuring full compliance to established institutional policies and processes, monitor their implementation, and ensuring smooth closure of contracts.
• Contributes towards management of stakeholder expectations; tracking and monitoring of project deliverables, including monitoring of the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project work plans.
• Coordinate arrangements for visiting scientists, interns and students.
• Develop and implement effective and efficient tools for project tracking to monitor and report on all activities.
• Coordinate day-to-day management of a fast-paced research environment.
• Make logistical arrangements for research conferences, workshops and seminars.
• Follow through with partners and relevant sections (especially field stations and scientists on implementation of agreed agenda), Handling external enquiries for information and internal questions and queries.
• Carry out any other duties to reinforce effective and efficient project administration.
• Attend periodic internal meetings and represent ICRISAT as appropriately delegated, at external meetings.   
• Analyse reports, draw conclusions, and make presentations that will result in effective decision-making.
• Identify and take action to mitigate potential risks within own work area
• Perform any job related duties as may be assigned by Supervisor

Skill set

    • Bachelor’s degree in Biological Science and Master’s degree in related Sciences or Business Administration
    • Up to five (5) years' work experience in programme management.
    • Is conversant with scientific principles, processes and practices
    • Plans work for team and ensures set targets/deadlines are met
    • Ability to analyse reports, draw conclusions, make presentations that will result in effective decision-making.
    • Demonstrates high adaptability and flexibility in accommodating change
    • Support and foster team participation with interpersonal skills appropriate to the scope of the work.
    • Ensure compliance of activities in line with set standards under the supervisor's guidance
• Uses appropriate media to communicate e.g. face to face meetings, emails, skype etc
• Ability to provide clear direction and guidance to others
• Has organizational and priority setting skills
• Sets standards of behaviour and demands high standards from team