ICRISAT Looking For Deputy Director General – Research at Telangana, Full Time

SRI Executive Search has been retained by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics to assist with the search for an exceptional candidate to fill the position of Deputy Director General-Research.

About ICRISAT

ICRISAT is a non-profit, non- political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a pioneering, international scientific research for development organization, specializing in improving dryland farming and Agri-food systems. The Institute was established as an international organization in 1972, by a Memorandum of Agreement between the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the Government of India.

ICRISAT works with global partners to develop innovative science-backed solutions to overcome hunger, malnutrition, poverty and environmental degradation, serving the 2.1 billion people who reside in the drylands of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. The Institute is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, India and has regional centers in Mali and Kenya, with dedicated research stations in Niger, Nigeria, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Senegal.

ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropic. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. The approach is through partnership-based international agricultural research-for-development that embodies Science with a Human Face.

Aspirational targets and development outcomes

ICRISAT has set four bold targets in the next ten years that will enormously benefit the well-being of the drylands’ poorest people:

• Help halve rural poverty by increasing farm incomes through more productive, stable, diverse, and profitable crops and crop products;
• Help halve hunger by contributing innovations that increase yields by 30% on a wide scale and through policy advice that stabilizes food prices and availability;
• Help halve childhood malnutrition by enhancing the nutrient content of staple food crops and helping the poor diversify their crops, delivering more nutritious and safer food; and
• Increase resilience of dryland farming through innovations that stabilize, safeguard and enhance natural resource capital, biological and systems diversity, and land health.

Research Programs

ICRISAT is responsible for leading three regional and three global research programs:

• Asia – ICRISAT in Asia adopts an integrated and value chain approach to achieve the best possible impacts on farmers’ fields through building partnerships in countries in Asia, between our work in India and Africa, and China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar and Nepal among others.
• Africa – ICRISAT has Country offices in Mali (West and Central Africa Regional hub), Niger and Nigeria; Kenya (Regional hub), Malawi, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Together with research and development institutions in the region, ICRISAT conducts research to develop improved technologies to enhance the agricultural productivity of sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut, to address the challenges of low productivity and profitability, poor access to improved inputs (seeds, fertilizer, knowledge) and equitable markets.
• Accelerated Crop Improvement – This Global Program aims at enhancing diversity, productivity, production, nutrition quality and profitability of grain legumes and cereals in the semi-arid tropics and drylands of the world using modern germplasm conservation and improvement approaches.
• Resilient Farm and Food Systems – The focus of this Global Research Program is on rain-fed crop and crop-livestock-agroforestry systems and smallholder irrigated systems. With food demand driven by rising incomes in Asia and rapid population growth in Africa, food deficits are predicted to expand. Such deficits, which are being met increasingly by imports, can also be filled through sustainable intensification, with recent research showing that targeted investments in agricultural land and water management and associated policy interventions can double or triple crop yields.
• Enabling Systems Transformation – This program aims to provide empirical evidence and information for developing sustainable markets, policies, and regulations to create enabling conditions for the transformation from subsistence-oriented to market-oriented sustainable dryland agriculture. The program also focuses on relevant policies that support the scaling of sustainable land management and water-efficient farm management practices and landscapes. It additionally examines policies that promote the production and consumption of ICRISAT’s mandate crops contributing to affordable and sustainable diets and livelihoods.

ICRISAT, with an annual budget of over USD50 million, has a global workforce of over 3000 individuals in Asia and Africa

Role Purpose

The Deputy Director General – Research (DDG-R) is based at ICRISAT’s headquarters and reports to the Director General. The successful candidate will be both an inspiring scientific leader and an excellent research manager. The DDG-R will provide leadership in setting the strategic direction and priorities of ICRISAT’s research and for ensuring effective implementation of the Institute’s research portfolio using a systems approach to ensure the delivery of outcomes and impact through effective partnerships. The successful candidate will:

• Provide scientific and management leadership for planning, implementing and monitoring a demand-driven research agenda aligned with the institute’s mission and strategy.
• Advocate and advance ICRISAT’s research agenda and overall positioning with key stakeholders and in international meetings and fora.
• As a member of the senior management team, contribute to the effective management of ICRISAT and its resource mobilization activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Research Strategy:

• Provide scientific and management leadership for planning, implementing and monitoring an integrated research portfolio and ensure it is aligned with institute’s mission and strategy.
• Develop and enhance excellent research strategy and business plans of the Institute in the context of a broader research strategy of the Centre.

Representation and articulation of research agenda:

• Represent and articulate the rationale, role, innovation and impact of ICRISAT’s research for development of the semi-arid tropics.
• Develop and maintain an effective and harmonious relations with IARCs, National Agricultural Research Systems in both developed and developing countries, Advanced Research Institutions, private sector, NGOs in implementing the Research Strategy of the Institute.

Resource Mobilization and Donor Relations:

• Identify research areas that have donor support and ensure development and submission of appropriate project proposals to obtain such support, including building good donor relations, encouraging new initiatives, addressing funding needs and gaps.
• Ensure the availability of adequate people of the right quality and other resources to deliver the agreed objectives of the Institute in a cost-effective manner.

Education, Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Ph.D. in an area of agricultural or plant sciences with a broad perspective on agriculture in the developing world and across the research for development agenda.

Experience, Skills & Minimum Required Qualifications:

A distinguished record of achievement and innovation, including in scientific publications on topics relevant to ICRISAT’s research agenda.

• Demonstrated leadership qualities and track record in leading multicultural and multi-disciplinary teams and building partnerships for collaborative and cross-cutting research.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to build consensus and manage conflict.
• At least 15 years of relevant experience, including research management experience, with at least 5 years in developing countries with scientific responsibilities at a senior level.
• A solid understanding of the role of science in agricultural development, particularly in evidence-based decision-making.
• Strong knowledge of semi-arid tropical agriculture in developing as well as developed countries, to address the global challenges of hunger, poverty, climate change, and environmental degradation.
• Ability to think strategically, synthesize and disseminate messages from complex issues.
• Strong motivation and leadership skills to bring out the best from both individuals and teams.
• Proven ability to establish, nurture and oversee multicultural, gender-sensitive multidisciplinary research teams.
• Fluent in written and spoken English; working knowledge of French is desirable.

How to Apply

If you wish to be considered for this position, please click Apply and complete the Application Form on or before 07 September 2023. In addition, we encourage you to please attach a copy of the most recent English version of your CV in Word format.

All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.