ILRI Agricultural Information Systems Specialist

Vacancy Number:AISS/RMG/12/12
Department:Research Methods Group (RMG)
Location:Nairobi,Kenya
Duration:3-Year contract renewable

General: The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 Centres of the CGIAR Consortium. ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with offices located in other regions of Africa (Mali, Mozambique, and Nigeria) as well as in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) and East Asia (China).www.ilri.org

CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future.Its science is carried out by 15 research centres that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org

The Position: This is an international appointment reporting to the Head of the Research Methods Group (RMG) and the Sustainable Livestock Futures (SLF) Team Leader. This position is on a three year term appointment with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.

Key responsibilities:

• To develop and implement a data management, archiving and sharing strategy for ILRI and specifically for the Livestock and Fish CGIAR Research Program;
• To develop and implement a platform (systems + strategies) for capturing and utilising key indicators on livestock productivity and production, livelihoods and gender and natural resource management. This includes incorporating the indicators into the research management of ILRI’s CRP’s to support evidence for ex-post impact assessment and the Consortium targeted research and development outcomes;
• To lead, manage and mentor the RMG data management (spatial and non-spatial) team and other staff across the institute, particularly in the areas of;
  • Generic programmes for the transfer of data from non-MySQL systems to MySQL, including documentation;
  • Data capture, cleaning and auditing processes;
  • High quality spatial and non-spatial databases containing data on multiple facets of tropical agricultural systems.
• To develop and document generic tools for characterising agricultural systems for climate and global change studies;
• To maintain, adapt and document ILRI’s IMPACT, IMPACT Lite and GOBLET tools as required including developing customized applications based on GOBLET or related tools;
• Coordinate, supervise and mentor RMG, SLF and other ILRI staff in running the suite of tools above and others developed by SLF and partners;
• Develop data capture systems and custom applications for specific projects;
• Participate in SLF and RMG’s resource mobilisation efforts as required.

Requirements:

• MSc and BSc in Information Systems, Informatics or related field;
• At least 5 years relevant work experience in data management and information systems with at least 3 years of experience in an international organisation supporting agricultural research in diverse areas (e.g. systems, GIS, modelling and web-GIS);
• Proven experience in the different stages of the data management process from field collection tool design and implementation of data entry tools through to databases and the development of overall data management strategies;
• Ability to facilitate discussions and communicate with scientists on areas related to data management and information sharing that facilitates better data quality and availability;
• Extensive knowledge of diverse database platforms, information system architectures (web, mobile and desktop) and development tools/languages;
• In-depth experience on software/database development (programing) in diverse areas like GIS, modelling interfaces and data capture systems;
• Experience with handling spatial, remote sensing and non-spatial data;
• In-depth experience with CSPro for survey design and data entry strongly preferred.
• Experience with large-scale survey data management preferred;
• Ability to lead and mentor technical staff in the development of data management and information system solutions;
• A team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the capacity to foster a trust-based enabling and collaborative environment for data sharing and exchange;
• Ability to effectively interact in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Terms of Appointment:  This is an Internationally Recruited Staff (IRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi Campus. The position is is on a 3-year  contract renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding. ILRI offers a competitive international remuneration and benefits package which includes : Pensions Medical insurances Life insurance and allowances for: Educations,Housing,Security,Disturbance,Relocation, Home leave; 15% pension contribution. Annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + 11 public holidays. *Benefits are tax free subject to compliance with tax regulations of country of citizenship.

Job level and Salary: The position is Scientist/Research Level 1 dependent on qualifications and experience.

Base salary dependent on experience - starting from USD 45,000per annum

Total salary & international benefits package circa USD 84,000per annum (tax free*)

Location: The position is based at ILRI’s Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Applicants should address a cover letter and CV to Human Resources Director explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience.  Email your application to AISS-RMG@cgiar.org by 06 January 2013. The position title and reference number: AISS/RMG/12/12 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Closing date: January 06,2013.

To find out more about ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer. Suitably qualified women and citizens of developing countries, with experience of working internationally, are particularly encouraged to apply.