Head of Administration (G-24-03)

International Potato Center POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Ref: G-24-03 HA/GRS/NRS/HQ Head of Administration

Lima, Peru

The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking an experienced Head of Administration to lead the administrative unit and spearhead efforts to improve administrative efficiency.

About CIP: CIP, a member of the One CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. One CGIAR science is dedicated to transforming food, land and water systems in a climate crisis, and it is carried out by 13 CGIAR Centers/Alliances in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regionalresearchinstitutes,civilsociety organizations,academia,development organizationsand the private sector.

CIP works with partners in over 20 countries to improve diets and incomes of poor people in Africa, Asia and Latin America through scientific research, innovation, and capacity strengthening. Focusing on potato and sweetpotato as food systems entry point, CIP’s programs seek to strengthen broader agri-food systems to generate economic, social, and nutritional benefits for farmers, enterprises and consumers emphasizing the priorities of women and youth. CIP emphasizes the synergies between social and bio-physical sciences as a core strategy for making breakthroughs in our understanding of complex development challenges in food and agriculture and for our ability to overcome these. Within this pluralistic strategy, qualitative social science has a central, and increasing place for explaining human and institutional behavior and assessing benefits and risks for human development.

The position: The selected candidate plays a crucial part in transforming key organizational processes, essential for enabling CIP’s global operations to be both efficient and effective. This role focuses on enhancing administrative efficiency, promoting country and regional autonomy, reducing costs, ensuring compliance, improving stakeholder satisfaction, prioritizing sustainability, and leveraging technological advancements. The position reports to the Director of Operations.

Key Responsibilities:

Risk Management

• Determine CIP's risk profile and tolerance level to mirror the operational and programmatic risks along with potential exposures.

• Identify, analyze, and mitigate potential risks to the organization, including financial, operational, reputational, and strategic risks.

• Design an extensive plan for risk mitigation, accepting certain levels of risk in striving towards its objectives, and incorporates elements of risk coverage, including insurance.

• Develop and implement comprehensive risk management policies and procedures. • Co-lead internal corporate investigations in collaboration with corresponding business/research units.

• Establish a feedback loop mechanism to learn from experiences and improve risk management practices.

Security Oversight

• Oversee the physical and digital security of the organization.

• Implement and manage security and duty of care protocols, systems, and measures to protect organizational assets and information.

1 • Ensure these policies address various scenarios, including travel, workplace safety, and emergency response.

Incident Management

• Lead the response to security incidents and crises, coordinating with various units and external agencies as necessary.

• Develop and maintain a business continuity and disaster recovery plan.

• Conduct training programs for employees on risk management, security protocols, and compliance requirements.

Facility Management

• Oversee the maintenance, repair, and upkeep of all facilities.

• Space Management: Efficiently manage space allocation, layout planning and upgrades.

• Health and Safety Compliance: Ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

• Sustainability Initiatives: Implement and manage sustainability practices and energy-saving initiatives.

Procurement Management:

• Develop and manage global procurement processes, ensuring cost-effectiveness and compliance with international standards, ensuring ethical procurement and local opportunities (fit-for- purpose).

• Developguidelinesandtraining tobuildandmaintainrelationshipswithsuppliersandvendors (local and international), negotiating contract and terms with supplier to ensure cos-effectiveness and quality.

Travel Management and corporate admin services

• Lead the regionalization of corporate administration services, conceptualizing and planning to support and enable CIP's operations by standardizing, training, and supporting CIP offices globally. • Renegotiate contracts with agencies and service providers on a global scale. • Launch and transform policies, procedures, guidelines, and training to globally support our operations, focusing on client-centric approaches.

What are we looking for?

• Master’s degree in business Administration or related fields.

• Proven experience in administration management, preferably in an NGO setting. • Knowledge of risk management and compliance regulations.

• Strong leadership and organizational skills.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.

• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and manage cross-functional teams. • This role requires a dynamic and proactive individual who can manage diverse administrative functions in a complex, international environment, ensuring that the CIP operates smoothly and effectively.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

• Good working proficiency of Spanish is highly desirable.

How to apply?

Please Visit the following link: https://cipotato.org/open-vacancies/ and submit your cover letter and a full C.V. with your references (preferable recent supervisors). Internal candidates are welcome and encouraged to apply for this job opportunity. Nevertheless, we highly encourage all interested candidates to participate in this exciting and competitive process.

2Screening of applications will begin on 6 February 2024 and will continue until the post is filled. All applications will be acknowledged; however only short-listed candidates will be contacted. This position will NOT work or have contact with children and/or vulnerable adults. Learn more about CIP by accessing our web site at http://www.cipotato.org

CIP is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified women and professionals from developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply.

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