RESEARCH PROGRAM DIRECTOR – ASIA

1. Context

• The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. 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 the people of the semi-arid tropics to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agriculture.
• ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana State, in India, with two regional hubs (Nairobi, Kenya and Bamako, Mali) and country offices in Niger, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
• ICRISAT conducts research on five highly nutritious drought-tolerant crops: chickpea, pigeon pea, pearl millet, sorghum and groundnut.
• ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropic. To achieve this, its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. It approaches this through partnership-based international agricultural research for development that embodies Science with a Human Face.
• ICRISAT was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organizations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller foundations. Its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP. Since its inception, its host country India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.
• ICRISAT is led by a full-time Director General under the overall guidance of an international Governing Board.
• ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR, which unites organizations engaged in research for a food-secure future.

2. Purpose of this Request for Proposal

This Request for Proposal is commissioned by the Director General of ICRISAT to invite interested firms to submit proposals to assist in an executive search for the Institute’s new Deputy Director General – Research. The position overview and the desired candidate profile is enclosed in Annexure I.

3. Duration of the assignment

Proposals will be received till 5pm India Time on 22 July 2020. A firm will be selected by 27 July 2020. The contract with the selected firm will be effective as of 31 July 2020. The search for the new Deputy Director General – Research will be completed before 31 October 2020.

4. Qualification and Expertise

The assignment will require the successful firm to have a high level of competence in strategic sourcing. Prior experience of providing similar services to other credible international organizations or global missions is mandatory. Therefore, bidders should ensure an appropriate mix of the following skills and experience:

• Experience of hiring research leaders of the highest caliber. This should include recent successful engagement in searches for senior executives for CG centers or similar organizations;
• Demonstrated success in accessing a relevant, high caliber, global labor market, resulting in candidate pools that are appropriately diverse, and include strong female talent and individuals from developing country contexts;
• A solid understanding of the CGIAR system and the related international development sector;
• Strong competence in the provision of quality shortlisting and selection tools;
• An ability to perform thorough background and reference checks;
• A proven track record of delivering high quality candidates on time and on scope.

5. Proposal Details

The Proposal should include the following:

• Details of the executive search firm;
• CV of the individual(s) who will be assigned to carry out the assignment;
• Consideration of the expected qualifications and expertise as laid out above;
• Brief work plan and the proposed methodology, which shall include justification for procedures to be adopted;
• Financial proposal in US$ for total cost and detailing fees, travel and incidentals; and
• Two contacts for references on recent relevant work by the firm.

6. Language

The review and all correspondence and documents exchanged with the selected firm will be in English.

7. Award of Contract

Proposals could form the basis for a contract between the executive search firm/ agency and ICRISAT. This letter is not to be construed in any way as an offer to contract with you/your institution. ICRISAT reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal and to annul the solicitation process and reject all Proposals at any time prior to the awarding of the contract, without incurring any liability to the Bidder or any obligation to inform the Bidder or Bidders of the grounds for its action. ICRISAT will award the contract to the qualified Bidder whose Proposal, after being evaluated by ICRISAT, is considered by ICRISAT to be the most competitive and appropriate for the needs of Governance Review.

8. Submission of Proposals

Proposals must be submitted by email on or before 5 PM India Time, 22 July 2020 to:

Kunal Sarkar, Acting Director – Human Resources

Email: s.kunal@cgiar.org

Annexure 1

Primary Responsibilities

• Represent ICRISAT in the Asia region through liaison with governments, pan-Asian networks and authorities, organizations and initiatives;
• Enhance partnerships in the Asia region, especially with regional/sub-regional organizations, national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES), non-governmental organizations and the private sector;
• Contribute to the strategic management and leadership of the Institute;
• Contribute to delivering on ICRISAT’s Strategic Plan, Theories of Change and Country Strategies through professional research management and leadership that prioritizes and focuses the Institute’s global research for development programs;
• Lead, coordinate, review and monitor the research activities in Asia, including resource mobilization, annual budgeting, research planning, priority assessment, proposal development, partnership relations, staff evaluation and research reporting;
• Lead the research effort of the Institute in understanding the challenges faced by farmers and communities of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and deliver a coherent research for development agenda for this region;
• Participate in the ICRISAT Research Committee that formally drives the Institute’s research agenda and so ensure science quality and research excellence across the Institute and especially within the Asia Program;
• Nurture and sustain internal cross-program interactions and teamwork, working closely with other Directors and leaders in ICRISAT to ensure strong support for and engagement with the implementation of research activities globally;
• Assist in public awareness activities and greater visibility of ICRISAT in the region;
• As part of ICRISAT’s broad partnering programs, represent the Institute in engagements within the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) and other CGIAR platforms;
• Contribute strongly to ICRISAT in the context of the changing CGIAR environment, working within the positive engagement of ICRISAT in the One CGIAR, including country engagement in Asia; and
• Perform other responsibilities assigned by the DDG-R and/or the DG.

Candidate profile

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following skills, knowledge, experience, and personal characteristics:

• PhD in Agricultural or Plant Sciences, Development Studies or related fields.
• Work experience of at least 15 years in international agricultural research for development with high levels of quality research outputs.
• Proven capability to manage a large research program, including all aspects of project management: managing budgets and staff, building and managing partnerships, monitoring and evaluating impacts and leading a diverse team.
• Experience in systems research where multiple stakeholders, including public policymakers, the private sector and agribusiness are involved in achieving research outcomes.
• Adaptability – ICRISAT is going through a process of change and requires commitment and flexibility.
• Experience in addressing governance, institutional and market aspects of agriculture with examples of successful research and development interventions.
• Demonstrated commitment to mentoring of staff, a safe workplace and protection of the environment.
• Strong motivation and leadership skills to bring out the best from both individuals and teams.
• Ability to establish, nurture and oversee multi-cultural, gender-sensitive multidisciplinary research teams.
• Demonstrated expertise in written and oral communications and public awareness activities.
• Demonstrated championing the critical areas of gender, youth, nutrition, knowledge sharing and innovation.
• Demonstration of an entrepreneurial spirit with aptitude for innovation.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is essential, knowledge of other languages, especially French, will be an asset.