RFP103549-Project Leader – Servir Amazonia, Cali, Colombia At Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT

The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national and multinational partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, and with the public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

Background of the position

In 2019, The Alliance Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) led the launch of the SERVIR Amazonia hub in five Amazon Basin countries: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, and Guyana. SERVIR Amazonia is part of SERVIR Global, a joint development initiative of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Since 2005, SERVIR has partnered with countries to use information provided by Earth-observing satellites and geospatial technologies. SERVIR-Amazonia is the newest of five SERVIR hubs. During its initial five-year program (2019-2023), the hub team brought together a consortium built on local knowledge and some of the world’s best science in geospatial and Earth observation technology. The SERVIR-Amazonia hub works with regional partners to understand needs and then to translate these needs into the development of tools, products, and services that will allow countries of the Amazon basin to improve decision-making and to better incorporate the voices of women, indigenous peoples, and their communities.

The hub is entering a new 3-year phase of work, and we are seeking a Scientist to serve as Project Leader and to further develop the geospatial analytical capacities of the Alliance team. Phase 2 of the project will run for 3 years.

About the position

The Project Leader will lead the SERVIR hub in the regional and wider contexts and be responsible for the hub’s activities. He/she will lead and further develop the geospatial analytical capacities of the Alliance team and will coordinate activities in the target countries in the Amazon Basin, with focus on Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and possibly Guyana and Suriname. The position will involve frequent travel to these and other countries in the region, as required.

Key duties & responsibilities

Project Management:

• Provide management, leadership, and strategic direction to the project and supervise all aspects of project implementation.
• Serve as the principal interlocutor with USAID and NASA and ensure that the project team adheres to the grant agreement and CIAT policies and procedures.
• Ensure timely responsiveness to donor requests and formal reporting as specified in the grant agreement.
• Ensure that the project is responsive to target communities and partners.
• Select and oversee partners and sub-grantees, monitor project milestones, and ensure that deliverables are submitted in a timely manner.
• Promote the project with stakeholders, the donor community, and the general public in Amazonian countries through a pro-active communications program.
• Provide leadership in mainstreaming of gender and youth sensitive project interventions, through support and promotion of gender and youth throughout all areas of the project.
• Coordinate with CIAT’s Safety and Security Manager to ensure monitoring and analysis of the security environment and adherence by all staff to the CIAT security protocols and procedures.

Representation:

• Represent SERVIR Amazonia to governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in the region.
• Participate in regular review meetings with NASA and USAID to ensure that the project is well understood and highly regarded by the donor and project partners.
• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of national development plans related to land use and planned funding initiatives by other stakeholders in the region.
• Build and manage strong and productive partnership with NASA, USAID and implementing partners and facilitate learning and knowledge exchange across the project partnership.

Project Support Operations:

• Develop, implement, and monitor financial and operational policies and procedures for compliance with all USAID and CIAT policies, regulations, and requirements.
• Coordinate with finance, procurement, and CIAT M&E teams to ensure operational systems are in place to support local partners and activities including logistics, procurement, security, operational, and human resources.

Required qualifications and experience.

• P.h.D or master’s degree in natural resource management, agriculture, forestry, or other related fields.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the geospatial sciences and/or remote sensing related to agriculture and/or forestry.
• At least 5 years of professional work experience in developing countries.
• Experience in supervision of teams, project management, and partner liaison.
• Demonstrated capacity to raise funds.
• Fluency in English is a mandatory, ability to work in either Spanish or Portuguese is required.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, experienced in working with multicultural and multidisciplinary research teams.
• Have initiative and capable of working independently as well as in team environments.
• Competency in personal organization, priority setting, and managing multiple tasks.
• Values information sharing and continuous improvement in a cooperative atmosphere of constructive evaluation and learning.
• Experience leading a consortium consisting of multiple organizations with differing capacities.

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position based in Cali, Colombia. The initial contract will be for two years subject to a probation period of six months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG10 level, on a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission.

Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.