Associate Program Director - Discovery Research

Description

About us:

CIMMYT is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow's problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries.

For more information, visit cimmyt.org.

The Associate Program Director, SAS Discovery Research contributes to the coherence and

design of projects within the program, reviews implementation of science and guides team and

partnership development in support of implementation of the innovation development agenda

of SAS. The role sets a bold research vision aligned with CIMMYT's Excellence in Science and

Innovation objectives advancing systems and scaling science through transdisciplinary teams

that bridge biological, environmental, economic, policy and social perspectives. The post holder

is a scientific-leader with a strong record in scientific excellence, transdisciplinary project design

and implementation, and cross disciplinary team leadership.

Purpose: Drive implementation of science projects and contribute to scientific leadership and

strategic direction for the Discovery portfolio oriented toward rigorous, transdisciplinary

research that makes agrifood systems more productive, inclusive, climate-resilient, and

sustainable within planetary boundaries.

1. Scientific vision: Contribute to defining and overseeing the execution of the SAS

Discovery research strategy. Use country, farmer, market and policy priorities to guide

portfolio choices and identify gaps, duplication and opportunities across projects.

2. Systems research and transdisciplinarity: Lead and support research in systems and

scaling science, and integrate agronomy, soil and environmental science, climate,

economics, social science and nutrition, together with maize, wheat, dryland crops and

genetic innovation programs.

3. New science and technologies: Integrate advances in technology, data science, gender

and inclusion research, and real-time feedback monitoring into research design and

learning.

4. Co-creation: Ensure farmers, national agricultural research systems, universities and the

private sector help shape research questions, trials and tools, using participatory and

design-thinking approaches.

5. Scientific quality and compliance: Drive excellence in science ensuring compliance with

standards for research design, implementation, and dissemination of outputs. Ensure

appropriate peer review, research ethics, data integrity, reproducibility and responsible

open science.

6. Project lifecycle management: Lead, coordinate and contribute to development of

competitive proposals including scientific donor engagement. Oversee project execution,

contributing to oversight of donor reporting and sound fiscal management. Support the

SAS Director in program-wide planning, budgeting and compliance. Monitor portfolio

commitments, staff capacity and budget performance with project leaders, Program

Managers and Finance; recommend corrective action and identify funding and costrecovery

gaps.

7. Talent: Contribute to the recruitment, development and mentoring of transdisciplinary

teams, building a high-performance culture that supports scientific excellence, scientific

equity and professional growth. Set clear objectives and provide performance feedback

for direct reports; develop succession plans and future scientific leaders.

8. Partnerships and influence: Build collaborations with national agricultural research

systems, universities, the private sector and international centers. Represent CIMMYT's

research at international forums and promote its scientific outputs.

9. Interface with CIMMYT Systems Development Actions: Co-manage the handover of

validated innovations to the Systems Development and Scaling APD, agreeing readiness

criteria and feedback loops.

Key outputs: An annual Discovery workplan and budget; a research portfolio with

milestones and indicators; peer-reviewed publications and open datasets; funded proposals;

donor reports; a pipeline of innovations rated for scaling readiness. Readiness reviews will

consider evidence quality, farmer demand, inclusion, affordability and delivery feasibility;

research engagement will continue during adaptation and scaling.

Requirements

PhD in crop science, agronomy, soil science, agroecology, environmental or climate

science, agricultural or development economics, sustainable development or a related

field.

• At least 10 years of distinguished research leadership in an international research

organization, academia or industry, including leading multidisciplinary teams.

• Proven interdisciplinary science leadership bridging biological, environmental, economic,

policy and systems perspectives. A strong record of peer-reviewed publications and

scientific contributions relevant to sustainable agrifood systems, together with evidence

of developing scientific talent.

• Demonstrated success in securing funding and managing large research budgets and

multi-partner projects.

• Strong international and developing-country experience, with a commitment to food

security through systems approaches.

• Expertise in managing research within international legal frameworks and intellectual

property agreements.

• Exceptional relationship-management, communication and advocacy skills; a resultsdriven,

agile, collaborative and humble leadership style.

The position will be based at a CIMMYT office in Latin America, Asia or Africa.

Benefits

The position is for an initial fixed-term for three (3) years, after which further employment is subject to performance and the continued availability of funds. CIMMYT’s internationally competitive salary and benefits include housing allowance, car, comprehensive health and life insurance, assistance for children’s education, paid vacation, annual home travel airfare, contribution to a retirement plan, and generous assistance with relocation shipment.

Candidates must apply online . Applications must include a CV with contact details (telephone and email address) of 3 work-related references along with the confirmation that Recruitment can contact them) and a cover letter. Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Internal applications could be considered in line with internal eligibility guidance, please contact HR for more information.

This position will remain open until filled.

CIMMYT is an equal opportunity employer. It fosters a multicultural work environment that values gender equality, teamwork, and respect for diversity. Women are encouraged to apply.