Director of Research and Partnerships at icipe - African Insect Science for Food and Health

Overall purpose of the job

Reporting to the Director General (DG), the Director of Research and Partnership (DRP) is one of icipe’s key senior managers and acts as the DG in the latter’s absence. S/he is expected to provide strategic, political and policy analysis and advice on key programmatic and operational issues, proactively drawing attention to growth and risk areas.

Specific Duties

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Develop strategies for and management of icipe’s R&D programmes and advise the Director General on strategic planning and science governance matters.
• Identify innovative pathways for development impact and provide scientific leadership and planning to implement and monitor a coherent research agenda and research portfolio consistent with the Centre’s vision and strategy.
• Supervise the Centre’s senior scientists, coach direct reports, and promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
• Monitor staff performance and development goals and oversee their professional development.
• Take the lead in monitoring the quality and relevance of science at icipe, ensuring that research is innovative and yields publications in high impact journals and leads to concrete outcomes and impact.
• Oversee the implementation and management of research projects through the various stages of the funding cycle from proposal preparation to funding, execution, reporting and closure.
• Spearhead discussions on icipe’s key foci of upstream and downstream research and oversee the implementation of Vision and Strategy that can guide the Centre’s research, capacity building, and resource mobilisation activities.
• Work with the Senior Management team to attract world class scientific staff and maintain a stimulating environment for teamwork, scientific interactions, and performance.
• Develop and oversee mechanisms for evaluating the potential of research products for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and/or commercial development and facilitate the evolution of relevant partnerships with the private sector.
• Take the lead in institutional expansion, as well as advocacy and partnership efforts and cooperation with international, regional and national institutions, including host country institutions and the private sector.
• Contribute to raising the profile of icipe through influencing at regional and global levels and communication through public speaking at seminars, conferences and professional networking.
• Represent icipe externally as necessary and position the Centre as a research leader, serve on committees, and analyse and respond to change.
• Contribute significantly to resource mobilisation, including building good donor relations, identifying funding needs and gaps, and supervising the development of project proposals.
• Provide strategic guidance and support in governance matters and prepare programme reports to the icipe Governing Council, donors and various stakeholders of the Centre.
• Ensure compliance with Centre policies and procedures, propose upgrades, and develop relevant policies and procedures.
• In partnership with the Director of Finance and Administration, strengthen financial and risk management systems and approaches and provide authorisations of transactions, oversee budgeting and spending and sign documents on behalf of the Centre.

Requirements/Qualifications

• PhD in Entomology or similar level qualification in related natural sciences.
• At least 10 years of experience in areas directly relevant to agricultural/health/environmental or related sciences (such as animal or human health), and administrative responsibilities at a
• senior level.
• Excellent scientific credentials, including a substantive history of scientific publication in peerreviewed journals.
• Willingness to do extensive travelling to other countries and regions.

Core Competencies

• Strong research management skills.
• Ability to mobilise resources and foster and manage interdisciplinary and multicultural research teams.
• Experience in managing research in organisations going through key transition and restructuring.
• Excellent command of the English language, both written and verbal.
• Strong oral communication skills, including Microsoft PowerPoint presentation skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills required, including ability to interact effectively with staff at all levels, as well as with colleagues, donors, IGO, NGO, UN Agency personnel and individuals with diversified backgrounds and nationalities.