Country Representative - India and Bangladesh

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center, is seeking a dynamic leader with exceptional management aptitude and a deep understanding of water, land and agricultural development challenges and opportunities in India and Bangladesh.

This is an internationally recruited position; therefore, individuals with relevant abilities from diverse locations around the world are encouraged to apply.

The Country Representative (CR) represents the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the CGIAR’s Water Systems Unit in India & Bangladesh. The CR also maintains strong links with the CGIAR Country Coordinators for India and Bangladesh, other CGIAR units, and national and international partners. The primary responsibilities of the CR are:

• Manage all staff, interns and consultants at IWMI’s assigned offices.
• Coordinate business development in India and Bangladesh to sustain and grow a viable funding pipeline including with other CGIAR units.
• Represent IWMI and the CGIAR Water Systems unit in relevant national and regional forums and, develop and strengthen relationships with government agencies, national research organizations and implementing partners, to expand and promote uptake of research outputs.
• Country office management (people management; financial management; governance and risk management).
• Participate in research projects and programs aligned with personal expertise.

The CGIAR is a global partnership of research for development international organizations that aims to strengthen delivery of research and innovation, to tackle the complex and interconnected challenges to food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. The current CGIAR Research Centers and Alliances are the foundation of the One CGIAR and are in the process of adopting an integrated approach to how they operate in the implementation of the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework.

It is expected that the Country Representative will spend a minimum of 40% of their time on duties representing IWMI/the CGIAR Water Systems Unit, and managing people and operations, with the remaining time on project-specific research activities.

Lead country program development and implementation,

• Develop the strategic direction of the country offices, ensuring consistency with IWMI’s and the CGIAR’s Research and Innovation Strategy, strong alignment to country and regional development priorities and research needs, and complementarity with the roles of partner organizations.

• Coordinate development, funding and management of the project portfolio of the offices through contributions to and leadership of the design and development of programmatic and project proposals.
• Build a strong commitment to teamwork and collaboration among country office staff, with other CGIAR and IWMI units and external partners.
• Manage country office staff to ensure delivery of high quality, timely research and outputs that meet the requirements of partners and clients.
• Provide substantive advice to the Director General, Deputy Director General, Asia Director for Research Impact, other senior management and CGIAR leadership on the country directions in relation to water systems science and planning of relevant programs and projects.

IWMI representation,

• Manage IWMI’s relationship with the host-country governments for the Country Offices in accordance with host-country and hosting organization agreements.
• Strengthen existing and develop new working relationships within the CGIAR and other research and development partners, national and regional authorities, and different stakeholders, to raise the profile and visibility of IWMI and CGIAR’s water systems science.
• Proactively contribute to CGIAR/IWMI’s fundraising efforts by identifying relevant initiatives, developing a close network with donors, coordinating the preparation of proposals, and providing strong intellectual inputs in coordination with the Asia Director for Research Impact, and relevant strategic program directors (SPDs), research group leaders (RGLs) and the Business Development Unit (BDU).
• Promote the uptake of CGIAR/IWMI research outputs in coordination with the Asia Director for Research Impact, SPDs and research groups.
• Lead country-level communications/outreach activities in coordination with the communications and resource mobilization and partnership teams.
• Serve as IWMI’s primary point of contact for CGIAR programmatic coordination and integration at country levels, and for the CGIAR Initiatives/Science Programs in which IWMI is participating, in coordination with relevant leaders of Strategic Programs and projects.

Office management and administration,

• Take overall responsibility for the management of the India and Bangladesh offices, including annual budgeting, risk and compliance management and monthly financial reporting.
• Proactively and effectively manage resources and promote stewardship, ensuring research and operations teams have and optimize the appropriate human, financial, and material resources.
• Manage staff in accordance with CGIAR/IWMI’s policies and applicable regulations. Responsibilities include: (i) leading recruitment; (ii) planning and assigning staff to research projects in consultation with project leaders; (iii) guiding professional development and performance reviews; and (iv) addressing employee relationship issues and resolving problems.
• Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Complete performance management for direct reports, provide coaching, and strategically tailor individual development plans. Contribute to staffing plans and recruitment processes.
• Proactively manage security and mitigate security risks. Ensure a safe work and living environment through leading implementation of safety and security protocols and staff care and well-being best practices.
• Manage issues related to administration, finance, and research in the country in consultation with relevant functional units within CGIAR/IWMI (finance, human resources, information technology [ICT], partnerships, communications and resource mobilization).

Research development and implementation,

• Develop and implement projects within personal expertise and experience.
• Work with staff and partners of IWMI/CGIAR Water Systems unit and with the CGIAR Regional Country Coordinators to ensure that the research portfolio for water systems in the India and Bangladesh (i) reflects national priorities, (ii) is aligned with CGIAR’s and IWMI’s strategies, and (iii) is well implemented with the aim of producing high-quality scientific outputs, including peer-reviewed scientific papers, as well as development impacts.
• Coordinate with appropriate staff and CGIAR units to ensure that research activities undertaken by IWMI or other CGIAR programs and initiatives are well integrated into the country-level strategy.