Fresh Jobs at icipe - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Overall Purpose of the Job

• To provide office administrative support in the Grants, Partnerships and Projects Office by ensuring efficient day-to-day operations and supporting the offices of the Executive Assistant to the Director General (DG).
• Serve as the focal administrative staff and offer secretariat support managing icipe’s affiliation as a Stockholm Convention Regional Centre, Kenya (SCRC, Kenya) under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Specific duties

• DG Office Reception and DG’s Executive Assistant Office
• Support the Organization’s correspondence and support the preparation of
• communication letters and responses to external stakeholders, with accurate information.
• Assist in updating the contact database for icipe.
• Assist with the preparation of Executive Board and Governing Council file documents.
• Offer administrative support to the Director General's Office, including raising required payment requests and correspondence dispatch.
• Assist in coordinating the organization’s guests' visits and travel logistics.
• Support in procurement and ensuring the DG Office supplies are in place.
• Provide Support to the Grants, Partnerships and Projects Office
• Filing of print documents related to Projects, Partner Agreements, Memorandum of
• Understanding (MoU), Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), and other partnership engagement documents in the Grants Office, including all relevant correspondence, and ensuring they are properly archived and retrievable
• Provide logistical and technical support to the Grants Office in organizing Institutional Events.
• Liaise with finance and procurement teams in following up on requisitions, payments, and purchase orders related to the Director General’s Office.
• Provide support to colleagues in program and finance as well as grants office to ensure timely submission of project reports.
• Any other tasks assigned by the Supervisor.
• Serve as the focal administrative staff and offer secretariate support managing icipe’s affiliation as a Stockholm Convention Regional Centre, Kenya (SCRC, Kenya) under the
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
• Provide logistical support to icipe Stockholm Convention Regional Centre (SCRC), Kenya, in convening and hosting the SCRC/UNEP Events.
• Provide all the support required to prepare the financial report and document the Workshop proceedings and prepare the technical reports

Requirements/ qualifications

• Diploma in Business Administration / Management/Public Administration, Operations Management or a related field.
• At least 1 year of progressively responsible work experience at national levels in office administration and project management in corporate field. NGO experience is desired.
• Experience in events management skills including reporting writing.
• Proven experience in office management, basic financial management and excellent record keeping.
• Demonstrable writing skills and experience in documentation of proceedings, including techniques of research program administration.
• Possesses excellent interpersonal skills, organizational skills and pays great attention to detail.
• Advanced computer skills, including Microsoft windows and Microsoft office suite
• Ability to write reports, and office correspondence.

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Overall Purpose of the Job

The project ‘Agroecological transitions for horticulture in arid zones to increase resilience of farmers, decent jobs and sustainable food systems (ATHAZ)’, supported by the European Union through the DeSIRA+ initiative and implemented by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is designed to enhance the livelihoods and climate resilience of smallholder horticultural farmers, contributing to a broader transition towards sustainable food systems and the creation of decent rural employment. Its core objective is to develop and validate a robust agroecological model for small-scale irrigated horticulture in the arid and semi-arid regions of Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. icipe is a key implementer of the project, and focuses on co-creating and adapting agroecological innovation packages for smallholder horticulture at the farm and landscape level, balancing environmental soundness with financial returns and operational feasibility. Innovation packages include, among others, water management, integrated pest management, pollination and insect-based bioeconomy.

Specific Duties

• Project leadership and oversight: lead the implementation of icipe’s components in ATHAZ on a day-to-day basis, while collaborating with icipe scientists, partners and other stakeholders to ensure project objectives are met.
• Communication and reporting: provide regular project updates to IFAD and the project’s Steering
• Committee, and be responsible for timely and accurate technical and financial reporting to the donor.
• Stakeholder and partner engagement: actively manage engagement with other implementing partners (BvAT, FiBL), embedded country projects from IFAD and EU, project sub-grantees, beneficiaries and other stakeholders through contracting, reporting and other engagement efforts, ensuring strong collaboration, visibility and ownership of project outcomes while maintaining positive partner relationships.
• Budgeting: ensure project expenditures, including those of project sub-grantees, are on-track and follow donor guidelines.
• Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL): contribute to project MEL systems to track progress, assess impact, and identify lessons learned.
• Team leadership and development: build, maintain and supervise a high-performing project team by fostering effective teamwork, collaboration and a positive work environment.
• Risk management and business continuity: take the lead in identifying and managing project risks and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Additional responsibilities or other duties may be assigned by the supervisor(s) and as required by the Centre.

Requirements/Qualifications

• PhD degree, preferably in entomology, agricultural science, horticulture, agricultural extension or related field.
• Minimum of 6 years of relevant postdoctoral experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience gained at mid- to senior level in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Core Competencies

• A solid track record in innovative R&D and scaling of agroecological innovations, evidenced by a great publication record.
• Strong experience in successful management of large donor-funded projects.
• Demonstrated technical competence in one or more of the following areas: horticulture, agroecology, one health, knowledge diffusion and communication.
• Experience and extensive network relating to agriculture in Southern Africa.
• Work experience at international research organizations.
• Excellent oral and written English language skills

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Overall Purpose of the Job

• To provide strategic coordination and leadership for stakeholder engagement and implementation within the Vector Atlas (VA) project. The role focuses on strengthening partnerships, facilitating effective use of VA outputs by national and regional stakeholders, and ensuring that evidence generated through the project is translated into practical, decision-relevant application through structured engagement and capacity-building activities.

Specific duties

Stakeholder Engagement & Partnerships:

• Co-lead the coordination and delivery of VA2 Workstream 3 (Engagement) in close collaboration with the VA Engagement Officer, ensuring achievement of agreed engagement outputs and milestones.
• Coordinate strategic engagement with National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs), technical partners, donors, and regional collaborators to support uptake of VA outputs.
• Coordinate the designing and delivery of structured engagement activities (e.g. workshops, technical meetings, advisory group sessions) to promote uptake of VA outputs.
• Act as a central coordination point for synthesising stakeholder feedback and translating it into actionable inputs for project adaptation and prioritisation.
• Track implementation progress and help identify and address potential risks or delays.
• Identify and lead the coordination of cross-sectoral engagements where relevant to integrated vector management objectives.

Capacity Building & Knowledge Translation:

• Coordinate implementation of capacity-building activities under VA, including workshops, training sessions, and technical exchanges.
• Oversee monitoring of participation, engagement quality, and outcomes of capacity-building initiatives, in collaboration with the VA Engagement Officer and technical leads.
• Guide development of engagement and knowledge translation materials (briefs, presentations, summaries) to support effective interpretation and application of VA outputs by decision-makers.
• Facilitate linkages between technical experts and decision-makers to strengthen the interpretation and application of project outputs.

Reporting & External Representation:

• Facilitate the synthesis of implementation progress, stakeholder engagement outcomes, and lessons learned in preparation of donor and internal reports
• Facilitate alignment of VA engagement activities with those of closely related programmes (e.g. MAP Dar and other stakeholders) through coordinated planning and messaging.
• Represent the Vector Atlas project in engagement-focused coordination and planning discussions, ensuring continuity of relationships and follow-up on agreed actions

Stakeholder Alignment & Strategic Coordination

• Provide strategic coordination to ensure stakeholder engagement activities under VA2 are aligned with approved workplans, engagement objectives, and donor expectations
• Monitor progress against VA2 engagement-related outputs (including partner onboarding, workshops, and collaborative activities), identifying emerging risks to stakeholder participation or uptake and advising on mitigation strategies.
• Facilitate alignment across technical teams and partners to ensure stakeholder engagement activities are coherent, timely, and responsive to programme priorities.
• Maintain oversight of engagement-related documentation, reporting inputs, and communications to ensure consistency, clarity, and strategic relevance.

Requirements/ qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a science related course or its equivalent.
• A Masters degree in a related field will be an added advantage.
• Additional certification or training in Project Management.
• At least 2 years’ experience in project or programme management support, preferably within an international research or development organization.
• Experience working with multi-partner projects and coordinating cross-functional activities.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, time management, ability to multitask, define and set priorities, and problem solve.
• Effective communication and writing skills taking notes and report writing.
• Experience in facilitating teamwork and collaboration with partners at all levels.
• Strong ability to anticipate and plan ahead, and take personal initiative, work both independently and as a team member, and collaborate and coordinate with others.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work under pressure.
   

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Overall Purpose of the Job

The scientist is responsible for providing strategic leadership of in digital systems in research and development, such as data management, software, cloud pipelines and artificial intelligence. The scientist will manage data and serve as the technical coordinator for data throughout all stages of research and development. The scientist will develop/implement digital platforms and collate data for analysis and generate high-quality data products/outputs. The scientist will lead and coordinate all cloud and data engineering inputs, manage complex data stewardship in the Digital Earth Africa program, the Vector Atlas, and other related scientific software systems. The scientists will lead the development of machine learning (including large language models) solutions in various domains (such as entomology, ecology, diseases, etc.), for Africa and beyond

Specific Duties

• Manage and coordinate all research on-premises and cloud infrastructure with respective data and software systems to ensure the overall maintenance and evolution.
• Contribute to resource mobilization; grant writing, and proposal development to secure sustainable funding for data-driven research and software/cloud infrastructure development.
• Be the corporate leader in data management and work with staff to establish a vision and culture that embraces data management and accountability as a cross-corporate asset.
• Develop and align the institutional data management policy with relevant regulatory, legal, and ethical mandates.
• Develop and maintain data management standards for the Centre and regularly review emerging data management tools and skill and ensure timely introduction to the Centre.
• Supervise the development of relevant databases, web systems, and other software for the collection, storage, and distribution of research data.
• Develop and maintain data/software audit trails, controls on data quality and interoperability to manage corporate data related risks.
• Manage programmes that advance the roles of data management and oversee the integrity, security, usage and availability of institutional data management policy while ensuring compliance with data governance, protection, privacy, and security requirements across systems and architectures.
• Advance modelling and conduct research to implement optimized/novel artificial intelligence and machine learning (including large language models) initiatives and solutions.
• Deploy internal and external-facing artificial intelligence applications using cutting-edge data science and software engineering practices.
• Coordinate diverse scientific project components that require a centralized data clearing house to ensure interoperability and data accessibility.
• Optimize cloud resources and products for performance and cost-effectiveness.
• Develop and facilitate in-house data management training courses and the use of R and
• Python statistical software for scientists and students.
• Enhance capacity building by supervising and mentoring software developers, data analysts, and (post)graduate students.
• Contribute and lead the drafting and publishing of high-impact manuscripts.

Requirements/Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 4 years postdoctoral experience in managing complex research data and software/cloud systems as well as modelling in machine learning artifacts.
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in designing data collection and integration architectures and software/cloud solutions.
• Previous experience at an international/ regional research organization is an added advantage.

Core Competencies

• Experience programming in Python, R, or related languages is required.
• Experience providing training and technical guidance to enhance the development of institutional capacity to use information systems, data science, and machine learning.
• Good understanding of version control systems, CI/CD, Agile (Scrum) development, data security, and governance.
• Publication of high-impact manuscripts