The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is hiring a managing director for the Aflasafe Technology Transfer Program in Africa.The managing director will work with 10 to 20 professionals across 11 African countries.
Aflasafe is a relatively new biocontrol product IITA developed in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which reduces the prevalence of aflatoxins in treated maize and groundnut by 80 to 99 percent. The product now is ready to be manufactured and distributed to farmers at scale. The Aflasafe Tech Transfer Program is designed to identify strategic options for partnership with private companies or government entities, execute those partnerships and help ensure the products reaches millions of farmers.
The Aflasafe Tech Transfer Program, funded jointly by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is designed to run for five years. It is slated to cover 11 countries where aflasafe has, or will soon be, a nationally registered product: Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, the Gambia, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda. In each country the program will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategy.
Qualifications include a degree in agribusiness, strategy, finance or related field, and at least 10 years of professional experience, with a preference for a mix of private and public/nonprofit sector experience and a focus on agribusiness in Africa.
The managing director will be based in Nigeria (Abuja or Lagos), but for the right candidate other locations across the countries of focus may be considered. The contract will be for an initial period of three years with possibility of renewal for two additional years based on performance and availability of funding.
IITA, founded in 1967 in Nigeria, works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. The nonprofit works on cowpea, soybean, banana/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize, and belongs to CGIAR.
Applications should be submitted no later than March 18, 2016. Go to www.iita.org/careers for more info.