Specialist - Project Coordinationnew

About IRRI

Job Purpose

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with the support of the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has established IRRI-South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It is a regional facility that supports research collaboration, training, and service provision to institutions, scientists, farmers, and other stakeholders from India and other South Asian and African nations. ISARC leads various projects in India in partnership with NARES and private companies. 

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-supported Rural Enterprise Acceleration Project (IFAD-REAP) of Uttarakhand in collaboration with the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC), is aimed to strengthen the rice value chain especially around high quality, nutritious and premium specialty rices of Uttarakhand, across the targeted 3 districts of the state to support the implementation of interventions in rice-based systems. IRRI will provide technical support, while REAP Uttarakhand team will support in implementation of the project activities including offering extended workforce in ground level surveys and coordination and logistics during training. 

Under the minimal supervision of the IRRI Project lead(s), the Project Coordination Specialist will coordinate with donor and implementing clusters and provide essential support for systematic sampling, coordination and on ground field implementation of project activities. The Specialist will assist in coordinating and overseeing implementation of surveys, rice sample collections, field trials, demonstrations, seed production programs, and training. The incumbent will coordinate with district-level partners, research institutions, and farmer community groups to ensure smooth execution of planned activities of the project. Responsibilities include data collection and reporting, organizing training programs and meetings with partners, coordinate and monitor all the field activities, and regular engagement with stakeholders. By effectively linking field operations with technical teams and partners, the Project Coordinator will support successful implementation of the project activities in the selected project locations in Uttarakhand.

This position will be based in Uttarakhand and may only be filled by permanent citizens of India.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Plan and oversee implementation of project activities in accordance with agreed objectives, outputs, and timelines as reflected in approved impact pathway documents, and develop work plans and milestones for assigned field activities.
• Coordinate and manage the implementation of research/research-support service activities in collaboration with NARES partners.
• Serve as the administrative lead for district-level project operations, coordinating the activities of field teams, managing operational expenditures, and ensuring compliance with IRRI and partner guidelines. 
• Prepare technical reports, progress summaries, and documentation for submission to supervisors, state partners, and project stakeholders, and contribute to development of training materials and dissemination literature.
• Contribute to preparation of periodic technical, financial, and thematic reports required for IFAD, Government of Uttarakhand, and IRRI.
•  Coordinate systematic rice sample collection with the support of farmer clusters, organizations, & REAP and characterization of sample collections through ISARC CERVA labs
• Maintain engagement with donors, implementing partners, government agencies, cluster level federations (CLFs, FPOs, SHGs) and community institutions to support the delivery and scaling of tools and solutions.
• Coordinate implementation of activities with the state departments of Uttarakhand, associated partners, state agricultural universities (VPKAS Almora, GBPUAT Pantnagar), ICAR institutes, and other public private institutions for effective implementation of IRRI-supported activities.
• Work closely with multidisciplinary internal and external partners (agronomy, grain quality, post-harvest, seed systems, social science, gender, M&E, and communication) to effectively achieve project milestones.
• Build and maintain relationships with external stakeholders, including NGOs, FPOs, seed producers, processing units and exporters to advancing IRRI’ mission of providing quality services.
• Timely collection of grain and seeds from value added specialty rice varieties, monitor and evaluate their field-level performance, their seed production, agronomic technologies, and extension programs, ensuring standards of quality and accurate documentation.
• Identify implementation challenges, including technical bottlenecks in grain quality, post-harvest activities, varietal evaluation, agronomic practices, and seed production.
• Organize knowledge dissemination activities such as field schools, exposure visits, learning plots and digital training modules, and facilitate workshops and trainings for farmer capacity building, seed entrepreneurship and value addition, with a strong focus on women farmers.
• Establish partnerships with state departments, research stations, FPOs, seed producers, and service providers to facilitate testing, seed multiplication, training, and scaling activities.
• Support in identifying new potential scope for development of new proposals on strengthening value chain in state and value addition and rice crop system
• Identify, develop, and implement models for knowledge dissemination, including field schools, exposure visits, learning plots, and digital training modules.
• Participate in Institute wide activities and represent IRRI at various meetings or events.
• Perform any other relevant duties as assigned by supervisor from time to time

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Agriculture/ Agribusiness management with minimum 2 years of experience or M.Sc. with minimum 5 years of experience working in agricultural development projects, preferably on rice-based systems.

Skills Required

Mandatory

• Has experience in developing strategies
• Has strong coordination and collaboration skills and has experience in creating long term partnerships
• Strong proficiency/experience in field level agricultural practice
•  Has experience in resolving conflicts
•  Has excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills
• Has strong decision-making skills
• Have management skills for implementing projects at national level
• Has systematic data management and statistics knowledge 

Preferred

• Has worked in an international organization
• Has experience working in / familiar with rice-based systems and hilly landscapes

IRRI offers a highly extensive employee benefits package inclusive of globally-covered medical insurance, retirement plan, life and accident insurance and other allowances.

Join our team and be part of our story!

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
This position will remain open until filled.