Research Software Development Project Officer

Reporting to: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Platform Manager

Location: Remotely- based in Africa, Europe, or Central Asia

Main Purpose of the position

We are looking for a highly skilled and motivated Project Officer to manage the enhancement and maintenance of our digital assets. The successful candidate will collaborate with various stakeholders to gather and validate requirements, prepare and manage service license contracts, and ensure the successful implementation of development features. These features will ensure our digital assets are fit for purpose and can be reused by other co-sharing stakeholders. 

The candidate will work with close collaboration and under coordination of the MEL Platform Manager.

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team at ICARDA is comprised of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) sub-team, the Knowledge Management (KM) sub-team, the Data Management (DM) sub-team and the Research Software Development (RSD) sub-team. The ICARDA MEL team staff are located in several countries across the globe and work collaboratively with MEL, Data and Knowledge Management teams from the CGIAR System, other CGIAR centers and Research Programs, and non-CGIAR entities.

About ICARDA

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is a treaty-based international non-profit research organization supported by CGIAR.ICARDA’s mission is to reduce poverty, enhance food, water, and nutritional security, as well as environmental health in the face of global challenges including climate change. We do this through innovative science, strategic partnerships, linking research to development, and capacity development that take into account gender equality and the role of youth in transforming the dry areas. ICARDA works in partnership with governments, universities, civil society, national agricultural research organizations, other CGIAR Research Centers, and the private sector. With its temporary Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, ICARDA operates in regional and country offices across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. For more information: www.icarda.org.

 All CGIAR Centers are currently engaged into a reform process (“One CGIAR’”) that will help ICARDA and CGIAR achieve better impact through more strategically integrated research, unified governance, an integrated structure, and new research modalities across participating Research Centers. This transformation is supported by CGIAR donors who have committed to increased funding as a result of these reforms.

Main responsibilities

1. Development Feature Control:

·       Coordinate the implementation of new development features and enhancements, ensuring they receive prior validation from the MEL Platform Manager.

·       Coordinate with development teams to ensure timely and accurate delivery of features.

·       Track progress and resolve any issues that may arise during development.

·       Conduct testing activities to ensure the quality and functionality of enhancements.

2. Stakeholder Liaison:

·       Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to collect and document needs and requirements for digital product enhancements.

·        Maintain close contact and follow up with stakeholders on the work plan and necessary activities.

·        Facilitate regular meetings and communication channels to ensure alignment and transparency.

3. Service Contract Preparation:

·       Draft, review, and finalize service contracts related to digital product enhancements.

·       Ensure all contractual obligations are met and documented.

·       Validate terms and conditions with Grants Team and service providers.

4. Budget Preparation and Approval:

·       Develop comprehensive budgets for digital product maintenance and enhancement projects.

·       Monitor and control budget utilization to ensure financial efficiency.

·        Obtain necessary approvals for budget allocations and adjustments.

 5. Capacity Development Activities: 

·       Create and ensure that user guides and documentation are updated to reflect new features and enhancements.

·       Organize online capacity development activities to introduce major changes and train the users.

·       Work closely with the user support agent to assist with various requests. Review and validate monthly reports prior to official submission, identifying and documenting areas for potential improvement of the digital tool.

·       Review and approve final documentation before release.

6. Work Plan and Activity Follow-Up:

·       Together with MEL Platform Manager co-develop detailed work plan for enhancement

·        Track project milestones and deliverables to ensure timely completion.

·        Provide regular updates to stakeholders on project status and progress.

Requirements

Education, qualifications, and experience

Essential qualifications and competencies

·     Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Information Technology, or a related field.

·     Proven 3-5 years of work experience in project management, ideally within digital product development or enhancement in an international organization.

·     Experience with software product ownership.

·     Knowledge of digital product design and user experience principles.

·     Strong understanding of project management methodologies and tools.

·     Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.

·     Professional level of attention to detail, accuracy of work & ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

·     Proficiency in budget management and financial analysis.

·     Experience with contract preparation and vendor management.

·     Familiarity with software development lifecycle (SDLC) and quality assurance processes.

·     Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Additional language proficiencies are an asset.

·     Strong computer skills, including in using MS Office, and familiarity with web-based platforms.

·     Ability to work in interdisciplinary & multicultural teams.

·     Demonstrated ability to consistently meet deadlines and manage time well.

 Desirable qualifications and competencies

·       Experience with Agile or Scrum methodologies.

·       Proficiency in project management software (e.g.Jira, GitHub).

Benefits

Terms of appointment, salary and benefits

The successful candidate will be offered a one-year consultancy contract on a full-time basis, renewable subject to continued need for the position, availability of fund and satisfactory performance.

The Incumbent will be provided with a monthly honorarium.

Please be advised that ICARDA accepts applications only in English, as per the organization's standard communication language. Applications in other languages will not be considered.

 ICARDA is committed to increasing women representation in its workforce and strongly encourages applications from women.

Applications will be acknowledged, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates will be offered a written assessment test prior the interview.