THE ORGANIZATION
The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crisis of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national, and multinational partners across Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia, and with public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

About the position
The Senior Associate – Program Administration will oversee the delivery of program support services for the Bean Program in Africa, working closely with the Program Lead and the Program Management Officer (PMO) to coordinate program management activities and support staff. This role will contribute to the efficient and professional implementation of the program’s portfolio of projects. The position is full-time, office-based, and located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Key duties & responsibilities
• Support the Bean Program Lead: supports the Program Lead to link and harmonize engagements with HR, Finance, PLANS, and other support teams in Africa and beyond.
• Liaison with PMO and program assistants to support the daily administration and financial activities as well as project management related engagements of the Program Lead.
• Facilitate coordination and interaction among the Bean team, Lever Director, Program Lead, Regional Focal Point, Initiative Leaders, Project PIs, Lever PMO, scientists, and administrative support staff, while monitoring progress against regional and country action plans.
• Research facilitation and project management: Coordinates project management support to the overall Bean Research Area in Africa.
• Proposal management and development: Supports the Bean program in Africa proposals pipeline by collecting proposals information, connecting with the Partnerships and Communications team to obtain information on partners, and shepherding strategic proposals through the various units and stages.
• Coordinate Financial and Budget management for the Africa Bean Portfolio: Work in close coordination with the Program Management Officer to provide information on and monitor the programs’ funding pipeline, ongoing portfolio, and Lever staff time coverage, in coordination with the regional Finance and HR teams and the Program Associates, providing feedback to the project leaders on the status of their projects advising them on action to be taken with regard to project extensions, budget reallocations and any other action.
• External Communications: Work closely with Alliance communications team to plan and execute an internal and external communications strategy for the Bean program in Africa.
• Partnership building and capacity building: Assists in institutional representation, partnership building; supports capacity building schemes for research teams and partners.
• Contribute to the planning, design, and strategic coordination of regional team meetings, knowledge management sessions, capacity-building workshops/seminars, and other events that support the advancement and visibility of the regional Bean program[MC1.1].
• Facilitate coordination across internal teams and external stakeholders to support smooth implementation of project activities and timely resolution of operational issues.
• Help ensure alignment between workplans, budget use, staff time coverage, and project implementation needs, in coordination with PMO, Finance, HR, and project leaders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in project or business management and administration 
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience, with proven capacity for program coordination/management, project design, monitoring & evaluation, and external engagement with partners.
• Experience with financial management and designing and managing budgets.
• Broad understanding of agricultural research-for-impact challenges in Africa; any region-specific work experiences and professional networks.
• Professional exposure to an international institutional/program setting, including multi-cultural and interdisciplinary working environment.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and oral, for diverse audiences including technical specialists and decision/policymakers.
• Excellent Microsoft Office skills, including Word, Power Point and Excel.
• Interest in and proven editing and proof-reading skills.
• Outstanding communication skills, to be applied in dialogues with a wide array of actors, such as international organization representatives, members of national governments members, research and private sector representatives, experts, and farmers.
• Collaborative yet entrepreneurial, with demonstrated interest in agricultural development in Africa, and the ability to provide thought leadership on a range of agricultural development challenges.
• Willingness to travel to support meetings and partnership engagements of the Program Lead[MC2.1].
• Ability to coordinate a small team and motivate others.
• Skill and experience in organized and efficient process management

Terms of employment
This is a nationally recruited position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The initial contract will be for one year, subject to a probation period of three months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG07 level, with a minimum basic salary of KES 227,931 in a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications
Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number INTERNAL CALL: RFP301224-Senior Associate as the position applied for. Cover letter and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting. The Alliance collects and process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Applications closing date: 8th May 2026
Please note that email applications will not be considered.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
We invite you to learn more about us at: 


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