Bangladesh: Chief of Party

Job Purpose

The successful candidate will catalyze private sector engagement to strengthen the rice value chain, largely through contract grower schemes coupled to improved access for farmers to quality seed, advisory services, agricultural machinery services and market intelligence. The project will also enhance access for rice millers to improved processing machinery and to new specialty markets. The national food processing industry in general will increasingly deploy improved market knowledge and contract agricultural production to guarantee supplies of raw materials. Lessons learnt will be used to influence government and donor policy.

This position is based at IRRI Bangladesh Country Office in Dhaka. Internationally Recruited Staff benefits can be found here.

Roles and Responsibilities

Project Management

• Direct project implementation through the preparation of work plans;
• Instill the highest professional standards to all project activities;
• Define clear responsibilities and targets of project staff based from work plans;
• Ensure that project management, administrative and financial structures are understood by all staff;
• Ensure that project activities, outputs and impact are rigorously monitored and evaluated;
• Prepare and manage the project budget.

Technical Direction:

• Ensure that crop production technology researched and promoted by the project is the most appropriate for farmers in Bangladesh;
• Ensure that project training imparted to farmers, partners, and value chain actors as well as training materials provided are of the highest quality possible;
• Ensure that farmer advisory services and agricultural extension methods are effective and appropriate to the Bangladesh context;
• Develop project interventions to ensure that women receive equal opportunity to benefit from the project and can fully participate in its activities;
• Design and implement a program to develop women-led enterprises;
• Deploy the results of the project to develop proposals for new interventions.

Communication and Training:

• Ensure that donor, partners, the government of Bangladesh and IRRI staff are appraised of the impact of the project through appropriate demonstrations and field visits;
• Serve as a responsive and proactive focal point for communication with USAID Bangladesh.

Representation and Liaison:

• Coordinate the work of project staff and partners and ensure the project maintains strong working relationships with the donor, the relevant government departments and project partners;
• Communicate the results of the project effectively and persuasively to the donor, partners, the government of Bangladesh and IRRI management.

People Management:

• Develop, coach and mentor team members to stimulate professional growth;
• Endorse, support and administer IRRI's code of conduct;
• Lead staff to implement project activities and to ensure timely delivery of outputs and outcomes of the project.

Perform other duties as required by supervisors and management.

Qualifications

• MSc in Agriculture, agricultural extension or rural development subject

Skills Required

• Ability to develop good working relations with the donor and public and private sector partners in trying working environments.
• Knowledge of rice production technology and the skill to transfer that knowledge to team members.
• Detailed knowledge of current best practice for agricultural extension including the use of ICT for proving farmers with advice
• Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English required.

Preferred:

Experience in managing agricultural development projects in tropical countries with preferably experience managing at least one USAID-funded project

Click this direct link to apply via IRRI Career Site: https://goo.gl/o4sIaZ