Job opportunity: Director of Research

[Willingthon Pavan]

Dear colleagues, 

 

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) has the following job opportunity open and may be of interest to you and your networks: Director of Research.

Please share this opportunity with anyone in your network. 

More details are below and at: https://jobs.silkroad.com/IFDC/Careers/jobs/840

 

Kind regards,

  

Willingthon Pavan

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Willingthon Pavan  Scientist - Programmer  P.O. Box 2040  Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 35662, USA  office: +1.256.381.6600 ext. 282

Director of Research



Muscle Shoals, AL

 

Full-Time/Regular

The Organization

IFDC is an independent non-profit organization that combines innovative research, market systems development, and strategic partnerships to identify and scale sustainable soil solutions for improved food security and livelihoods around the world.

 

DIRECTOR of RESEARCH (HEADQUARTERS)

 

BACKGROUND

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is a non-profit, public international soil fertility and agricultural development center. As a center of excellence with expertise in fertilizers, IFDC has a global mandate focusing on the development of fertilizers and nutrient management technologies that improve use efficiency and increase food production while reducing negative environmental impact. The Director of Research is a research leader and manager responsible for coordinating research projects at IFDC’s headquarters in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He/she will take the lead in project procurement, implementation, and reporting. The Director of Research (HQ) reports directly to the Vice President of Research.

 

DUTIES

This position provides leadership to staff in accomplishing the goals and activities of HQ Research. Duties include:

• Research Coordination: Working in close coordination with the Directors of SOILS Consortium and Field Research, and the Head of Pilot Plant to coordinate research activities. Establishing research links with industry, universities, advanced research institutions, and public-sector partners.
• Strategic Goal: Leading the efforts towards achieving IFDC’s strategic objective on developing better technologies. Lead evidence-based research on next generation of fertilizers with respect to soil fertility, soil health, plant nutrition, improved use efficiency, and reduced environmental impact.
• Planning and Directing: Supervising and coordinating the HQ Research division activities with the assistance of unit and project managers.
• Rearranging work schedules to overcome challenges that might prevent meeting deadlines set in contracts based on available staff, budget constraints, and travel requirements; and
• Guiding project implementation to meet contractual obligations, donor requirements as well as policies, and procedures internal to IFDC.
• Fundraising: Lead proactive business development for public- and private sector-funded research programs in nutrient use efficiency, soil health, soil fertility, and adaptation to environmental changes. Increase awareness of IFDC's role in fertilizer-value chain, soil fertility, and soil health research by organizing, attending, and presenting at conferences, symposiums and workshops and establishing and cultivating relations with universities, relevant research institutions and project-specific donors, grantees, and public and private sector partners.
• Setting Standards: Establish quality standards and deadlines for work products (e.g., controlling quality of reports and articles for publication, making assignments based on staff qualifications, explaining standards to be met, working with staff in outlining work steps so that standards may be achieved).
• Appraising Performance:  Ensuring that subordinates are productive through review of work and accomplishment of goals (goals are reviewed on an on-going basis and yearly)
• Budgeting:  Preparing a formal annual budget for supervisory review (e.g., obtaining budget information from program managers, approving, or disapproving subordinate inputs on the budget based on guidelines established by the incumbent's supervisor or funding available, justifying the budget to the supervisor).  Monitoring research division performance against the budget.
• Research Visibility: Lead in developing research project proposals and concept notes and/or reviewing proposals and concept notes, reports, and publications for high quality and to promote the image of IFDC. Motivate research staff to publish research results.

 

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND DIFFICULTY OF WORK

This position requires communication skills to review and manage the research work product, to effectively communicate results and benefits from that work product, and to generate new business. This position may involve the following:

• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of the fertilizer sector including environmental implications and the international market (e.g., providing technical advice to staff and industry partners, identifying advantages and disadvantages of recommended alternatives, writing and reviewing reports and publications, and giving presentations).
• Possess proven business development skills to identify research opportunities, write compelling concept notes and proposals to raise public and private funds for research programs.
• Maintain ability to motivate subordinate staff to complete work in a timely manner while sustaining quality (e.g., providing staff with achievable goals, reviewing their progress against goals and objectives, and responding to needs for equipment, supplies, and information).
• Maintain ability to make decisions in meeting project objectives (e.g., analyzing a problem in order to provide guidance to achieve goals, asking the right questions, and convincing staff/donors of the right decision).
• Possess experience in managing and controlling research budgets and implementing actions if research costs are outside of established budgets.
• Earned a Doctorate in Soil Science, Environmental Science, Biogeochemistry (or a related soil and plant science field), with a minimum of 10 years relevant work experience.

 

RESPONSIBILITY

This position is responsible for fulfilling one of the major strategic objectives of IFDC in making fertilizers and nutrient management technologies smarter and safer while achieving food security and environmental sustainability. It also requires making daily operating decisions (e.g., reassigning staff to meet project objectives, making recommendations on a project approach, and responding to inquiries).

 

PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

Most of the time, this position requires working in a normal office environment with no unusual demands or exposure to hazardous situations. When traveling to developing countries, the risks inherently associated with that country’s environments. 

 

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