Director General

ICRISAT

SRI Executive Search has been contracted by ICRISAT to assist with the search for an exceptional candidate to fill the position of Director General.

About ICRISAT

ICRISAT is seeking an innovative and visionary leader who will drive the organization through a period of transformation and expansion, developing new and creative partnerships across the donor landscape, whilst building collaborative and highly effective and efficient research and development teams in developing country environments.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a pioneering International Organization committed to developing and improving dryland farming and agri-food systems. The institute does this to address the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation affecting the 2.1 billion people residing in the drylands of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond.

For over 50-years ICRISAT has played a pivotal role in delivering real and tangible development outcomes for innumerable dryland communities by directly providing sustenance, nutrition, and livelihoods, especially for women, children, and the most vulnerable.

Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, the organization maintains offices across Eastern and Southern Africa, West and Central Africa. Our three research programs — Accelerated Crop Improvement, Resilient Farm and Food Systems, and Enabling Systems Transformation — operate seamlessly with one another and across these regions and beyond, focusing on propelling dryland innovation tailored to local agro-ecologies and their socioeconomic contexts. Additionally, ICRISAT is home to a Genebank holding a vast collection of over 129,000 germplasm accessions, safeguarding the genetic diversity of 11 vital crops.

ICRISAT is an active member of the CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis.

For more information, please visit https://www.icrisat.org/

Role purpose

Our Director General will navigate and engage with the complex donor landscape, finding ways to significantly increase the financial resources available to further expand ICRISAT’s mission, and raise the visibility of the organization as a global leader in dryland agri-food systems.

The ideal candidate will expand ICRISAT’s proven track record with private and public sector research and development-intensive enterprises that are a key driver in today’s interdisciplinary and integrated world. The successful candidate will ensure ICRISAT is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading conductors of life-changing agricultural research.

Duties & Responsibilities

Based in ICRISAT’s headquarters in Hyderabad and reporting to the Governing Board, the role of the Director General is to lead ICRISAT to ever-increasing development impact through its research.

Specific responsibilities and activities:

Manage ICRISAT as Chief Executive Officer

• Provide dynamic intellectual leadership, management, and vision in a rapidly changing world, creating strategies to meet the demands of sustainable agricultural development.
• Develop innovative strategies and policies for the Institute’s research agenda, and foster commitment from scientists from various disciplines to implement the strategies and policies.
• Cultivate a strong and constructive working relationship with the Board and ensure open communication about the measurement of financial and impact performance against stated milestones and goals.
• Be responsible for overall financial stewardship of the Institute including oversight of budgets, expenditures, and accounting policies and financial controls. Oversee the allocation of resources and the acquisition and disposal of assets across regions.
• Inspire trust from staff of different nationalities and cultures, leading an internationally dispersed senior management team through modern management methods and technologies.
• Work with the management and HR teams to set in motion initiatives and frameworks that contribute to the longevity of ICRISAT, further improve it as an excellent place to work, and contribute to innovation for impact in a dynamic environment that is motivating and inspirational for its staff.
• Ensure that there are clear lines of accountability and responsibility across the teams that foster and maintain effective working relationships.

Steer the organization through CGIAR System changes and strategically position ICRISAT in the context of ‘One CGIAR’ integrated and coordinated framework.

• Lead ICRISAT through the developments in the CGIAR System while running a sustainable business enterprise.
• Provide strategic insights, tactics, and plans to help the Institute navigate through anticipated CGIAR system changes.
• Collaborate across the CGIAR network of organizations to further ICRISAT’s presence across Africa and Asia.

Policy setting, research planning, fundraising, budget development and allocation, overseeing assets and infrastructure, as well as responsibility for global political and public relations both within and outside the CGIAR network.

• Enhance and maintain collaborative relationships and strategic partnerships involving international and advanced research centers and national agricultural research institutes.
• Establish and execute a forward-looking fundraising strategy that aligns with the organization’s mission and goals.
• Identify new and innovative avenues of fundraising and partnership to attract and engage donors ranging from private sector entities, private philanthropy, government bodies, intergovernmental development banks, and other international organizations.
• Develop partnership and collaboration opportunities with non-governmental organizations.
• Develop long-term interest and support among governments for the promotion and advancement of agricultural research in the semi-arid tropics, including the effective management of the Institute’s Genebank – a globally significant international public good for dryland agriculture.
• Conceive and stimulate appropriate and productive interactions with the public and private sectors and the NGO communities in agricultural research.

Candidate Profile

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

• Proven ability to set a convincing institutional vision, and to develop and successfully implement organizational strategy.
• A track record of successfully leading complex organizations through internal and external systemic changes.
• Significant international research and development experience at the highest level, including the application of research results to product delivery strategies for developing countries' conditions (addressing food security, poverty alleviation, human nutrition and health, and building agro-ecosystem resilience).
• A sustained record of achievement and innovation, with an established reputation for cutting edge approaches; demonstrated skills as a scientist and senior administrator of scientific research.
• A track record of progressively responsible leadership experience in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary settings, including management of an organization or business unit in the public or private sectors or academia.
• Demonstrated success in delivering measurable impact and promoting research excellence in the context of multi-partner programs.
• Experience in being responsible for and directing a scientific organization with assets of at least $54M.
• Evidence of strong, sustainable resource mobilization/fundraising delivery, and effective communications with R&D and public and private sector investors, and policy communities.
• A PhD in a field relevant to agricultural research for development.
• A track record as a courageous, visionary change agent that builds and improves organization culture, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• A personal approach that exemplifies the values of the highest scientific and professional standards, with demonstrated commitment to collaboration, and gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
• A management style that is collegial, consistent and transparent in decision-making; demonstrated comfort leading in a complex global environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, with strong representational and advocacy skills.

Term of Office

The role is a mission-oriented initiative to successfully lead ICRISAT for a five (5) year fixed term, with the potential for renewal, subject to performance and funding availability.

ICRISAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. The organisation believes diversity powers its innovation, contributes to its excellence, and is critical for its mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organisation that reflects the organisation’s global character is a priority. ICRISAT encourages applicants from all cultures, races, colours, religions, sexes, ages, national or regional origins, disability statuses, orientations, and identities.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you click Apply and complete the Application Form by 19 August 2024 (23:59 hrs, GMT +3). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx).