IRS26360 Associate Program Director - Discovery Research

CIMMYT; New Delhi; On-site; INR 8,555,000 - 14,259,000; Full time

Job summary

CIMMYT seeks an Associate Program Director, SAS Discovery Research, to lead transdisciplinary science projects advancing resilient agrifood systems. You will shape strategy, mentor diverse teams and foster partnerships with farmers, research institutes and industry.

You will guide high-impact research, ensure ethical standards, secure funding and drive scaling of innovations across regional programs in the Global South.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of distinguished research leadership in an international research organization, academia or industry.
• Proven interdisciplinary science leadership bridging biological, environmental, economic and policy perspectives.
• Strong record of peer-reviewed publications and developing scientific talent.
• Demonstrated success in securing funding and managing large research budgets and multi-partner projects.
• Excellent relationship-management, communication and advocacy skills.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to defining and overseeing the execution of the SAS Discovery research strategy.
• Lead and support systems research, integrating agronomy, soil, climate, economics and social science.
• Integrate advances in technology, data science and inclusion research into study designs.
• Engage with national research systems, universities and private sector to shape questions and trials.
• Ensure scientific quality, ethics, data integrity and open science practices.
• Oversee proposals, donor engagement and fund management; support program planning and budgeting.
• Mentor transdisciplinary teams and develop future scientific leaders.
• Build international collaborations and represent CIMMYT in forums.
• Co-manage handover of innovations to scaling actions with readiness criteria.

Skills

Leadership

Interdisciplinary leadership

Communication

Donor engagement

Budget management

International experience

Research excellence

Education

PhD in crop science or related field

Job description

Job Description

About us: CIMMYT is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrows 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 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.

Responsibilities

1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 8. Partnerships and influence: Build collaborations with national agricultural research systems, universities, the private sector and international centers. Represent CIMMYTs research at international forums and promote its scientific outputs.


9. 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.

PhD in crop science, agronomy, soil science, agroecology, environmental or climate science, agricultural or development economics, sustainable development or a related field.

Requirements

• 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.

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.

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.