Ethiopia: Focal Region Manager

Sep 8, 2014 | IWMI

The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), is looking for an experienced Focal Region Manager to help ensure that there is impact from its research towards achieving the vision of WLE (‘a world in which agriculture thrives within vibrant ecosystems, where communities have higher incomes, improved food security and the ability to continuously improve their lives’). The role of the position holder will be to ensure the smooth operation of WLE’s work in the Nile focal region. The person will support the WLE Nile Focal Region Leader and be the primary point of contact for WLE activities in the focal region. For an indication of the type of work and the projects that may fall under the program, visit http://wle.cgiar.org/focal-regions/east-africa/nile-basin-eoi/. The position holder will be based at the East Africa and Nile Basin Office of IWMI in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where the WLE Nile River Program is conducted. Job Description: • represent WLE through an in-depth understanding of the program’s goals and project portfolio in the region; • facilitate coordination between new and existing WLE research activities being conducted in the region; • facilitate coordination between WLE activities and those of other CGIAR Research Programs in the region; • ensure that WLE research achieves its goals by strengthening an d/or establishing relationships with users of the program’s research, such as policymakers, investors, the private sector and development organizations; • ensure coherence around agreed research outcomes and impact pathways; • oversee the development and implementation of regional communication and gender strategies, which are linked to regularly updated focal region impact pathways; • ensure gender integration and innovation within the research activities for the region; • regularly track the progress of focal region projects via communication materials against agreed deliverables, with a focus on the quality of research outputs of regional relevance; • support WLE project teams to achieve and document outcomes from their work. Specifically, monitor and document the progress ma de towards achieving outcomes, interest from other parties in the research conducted, and provide regular technical and financial reports to WLE management; • ensure effective coordination between and amongst individual research project teams; • convene meetings of the Focal Region Advisory Committee, and monitor progress of recommendations made by the Committee; • oversee all finance and administration issues, while also ensuring that 20% of the focal region budget is assigned to gender; and • liaise with the WLE Regional Coordinator and Program Manager, and the finance and administration departments at IWMI headquarters.