Chief of Party, CSISA Bangladesh (IRS-2013-02-TR) - IRRI - Dhaka, Bangladesh

Type: Fixed-term (Renewable), International Posted on 02/14/2013 

Apply by	02/28/2013
Location	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Specialization/Skills	Agricultural Systems Research and Development
Basic purpose	The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia – Bangladesh (CSISA-B) project aims to alleviate hunger, malnutrition and poverty, and to increase food and income security among resource-poor families in Bangladesh through the accelerated development and deployment of new crop varieties and fish species, and sustainable crop and aquaculture management practices. The main crops are rice, wheat, and maize. CSISA is a joint project of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) – leading the project - , the International Maize and Wheat Improvement center (CIMMYT), and the World Fish Center (WF). CSISA-B partners with a large number of governmental, nongovernmental, and private sectors agencies in Bangladesh. USAID is the main donor of CSISA-B. The successful candidate will provide the overall technical and administrative leadership for the project, coordinate the project activities across all partners involved and ensure that the project is progressing appropriately and meeting its targets. The COP will chair the CSISA-B Management Team, including project coordinators from IRRI, CIMMYT and WorldFish. She/He will implement an effective monitoring, evaluation and communication strategy for CSISA-B. She/He will serve as the chief CSISA-B representative at meetings and events and interact with the regional CSISA Project Director on general CSISA coordination matters.
Roles and responsibilities	- Coordinate the overall management and implementation of the project, and guide the project coordinators of each center (IRRI, CIMMYT, WF) - Oversee, together with the project coordinators, the project implementation and ensure that the project is efficiently managed and meets its planned results - Implement excellent communication among all project partners - Together with the project coordinators, develop and implement annual project work plans and performance milestones and negotiate an agreement of those with USAID and partners - Ensure the timely and quality completion and reporting of all project technical and financial deliverables and reports (submission of reports through the lead center – IRRI) - Interface with USAID on management and decision-making. Ensure that project activities are meeting USAID and stakeholder expectations and that results are pro-actively disseminated - Ensure that the project meets the M&E requirements of USAID and CSISA as a whole - Serve as the project’s key representative to USAID, other donors, government counterparts, and public and private cooperating country organizations and institutions Qualification Requirements: - Master’s Degree or PhD in a discipline related to agricultural systems research and development - A minimum of 15 years professional experience in agricultural research or development. Excellent understanding of agronomy and value chain concepts. Demonstrated prior experience in a field capacity, implementing, and managing large-scale agronomy, agricultural value chain, agribusiness, and/or rural development projects for USAID or other major donors - Excellent written and oral communication skills in English Apply Online