Associate Program Director - Discovery Research at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

The Associate Program Director, SAS Discovery Research contributes to the coherence and design of projects within the program, reviews implementation of science and guides team and partnership development in support of implementation of the innovation development agenda of SAS. The role sets a bold research vision aligned with CIMMYT's Excellence in Science and Innovation objectives advancing systems and scaling science through transdisciplinary teams that bridge biological, environmental, economic, policy and social perspectives. The post holder is a scientific-leader with a strong record in scientific excellence, transdisciplinary project design and implementation, and cross disciplinary team leadership.

Purpose:

• Drive implementation of science projects and contribute to scientific leadership and strategic direction for the Discovery portfolio oriented toward rigorous, transdisciplinary research that makes agrifood systems more productive, inclusive, climate-resilient, and sustainable within planetary boundaries.
• Scientific vision: Contribute to defining and overseeing the execution of the SAS Discovery research strategy. Use country, farmer, market and policy priorities to guide portfolio choices and identify gaps, duplication and opportunities across projects.
• Systems research and transdisciplinarity: Lead and support research in systems and scaling science, and integrate agronomy, soil and environmental science, climate, economics, social science and nutrition, together with maize, wheat, dryland crops and genetic innovation programs.
• New science and technologies: Integrate advances in technology, data science, gender and inclusion research, and real-time feedback monitoring into research design and learning.
• Co-creation: Ensure farmers, national agricultural research systems, universities and the private sector help shape research questions, trials and tools, using participatory and design-thinking approaches.
• Scientific quality and compliance: Drive excellence in science ensuring compliance with standards for research design, implementation, and dissemination of outputs. Ensure appropriate peer review, research ethics, data integrity, reproducibility and responsible open science.
• Project lifecycle management: Lead, coordinate and contribute to development of competitive proposals including scientific donor engagement. Oversee project execution, contributing to oversight of donor reporting and sound fiscal management. Support the
• SAS Director in program-wide planning, budgeting and compliance. Monitor portfolio commitments, staff capacity and budget performance with project leaders, Program Managers and Finance; recommend corrective action and identify funding and costrecovery gaps.
• Talent: Contribute to the recruitment, development and mentoring of transdisciplinary teams, building a high-performance culture that supports scientific excellence, scientific equity and professional growth. Set clear objectives and provide performance feedback for direct reports; develop succession plans and future scientific leaders.
• Partnerships and influence: Build collaborations with national agricultural research systems, universities, the private sector and international centers. Represent CIMMYT's research at international forums and promote its scientific outputs.
• Interface with CIMMYT Systems Development Actions: Co-manage the handover of validated innovations to the Systems Development and Scaling APD, agreeing readiness criteria and feedback loops.
• Key outputs: An annual Discovery workplan and budget; a research portfolio with milestones and indicators; peer-reviewed publications and open datasets; funded proposals; donor reports; a pipeline of innovations rated for scaling readiness. Readiness reviews will consider evidence quality, farmer demand, inclusion, affordability and delivery feasibility; research engagement will continue during adaptation and scaling.

Requirements

• PhD in crop science, agronomy, soil science, agroecology, environmental or climate science, agricultural or development economics, sustainable development or a related field.
• At least 10 years of distinguished research leadership in an international research organization, academia or industry, including leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Proven interdisciplinary science leadership bridging biological, environmental, economic, policy and systems perspectives. A strong record of peer-reviewed publications and scientific contributions relevant to sustainable agrifood systems, together with evidence of developing scientific talent.
• Demonstrated success in securing funding and managing large research budgets and multi-partner projects.
• Strong international and developing-country experience, with a commitment to food security through systems approaches.
• Expertise in managing research within international legal frameworks and intellectual property agreements.
• Exceptional relationship-management, communication and advocacy skills; a resultsdriven, agile, collaborative and humble leadership style.
• The position will be based at a CIMMYT office in Latin America, Asia or Africa.

Benefits

• The position is for an initial fixed-term for three (3) years, after which further employment is subject to performance and the continued availability of funds. CIMMYT’s internationally competitive salary and benefits include housing allowance, car, comprehensive health and life insurance, assistance for children’s education, paid vacation, annual home travel airfare, contribution to a retirement plan, and generous assistance with relocation shipment.