CIMMYT Hiring Administrative Assistant

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow’s problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships.

This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries. CIMMYT is a core CGIAR Research Center, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security and improving natural resources.

The CIMMYT Regional office for Africa is located at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) at Gigiri, Nairobi, with country offices in Ethiopia, Senegal, and Zimbabwe.
In Kenya, CIMMYT is hosted by World Agroforestry (ICRAF), that is headquartered on United Nations Avenue, Nairobi.

We invite you to learn more about CIMMYT and World Agroforestry by accessing our web sites: www.cimmyt.org and www.worldagroforestry.org

The role is to provide administrative support to the Dryland Crops Program. The successful candidate will join our admin team which shares responsibilities. He/she will learn and become proficient in diverse aspects of project and program management and support, including: procurement; grants, and asset management; vendor coordination, germplasm import/export logistics; travel arrangements; logistics support to meetings; expense and budget management; document/knowledge management; secretarial support; etc. Teamwork is a key aspect of this position, including interest and willingness to become proficient in all shared tasks and “cover for each other” during peak work time or absence of any team member.

The duty station will be in Nairobi, Kenya.

Summary of responsibilities:

• Procurement and Vendor Management
  • Procurement Coordination.
    • Coordinate procurement processes for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), ensuring compliance with organizational policies and guidelines.
    • Raise ESA CAPEX requisitions and ensure timely follow-up with procurement teams.
  • Vendor Management.
    • Evaluate vendor performance to ensure quality and cost-effectiveness.
    • Upload vendor performance reports for access by the team.
• Germplasm Movement.
  • Process SMTAs (Standard Material Transfer Agreements) for germplasm movement, ensuring adherence to legal and procedural requirements.
  • Maintain an updated database of germplasm movement records.
  • Manage the processing of KeMHPIS documents, oversee DHL shipments and logistics clearance, and coordinate with procurement to ensure seamless execution.
• Grants and Financial Management
  • Subgrant Management.
    • Draft and upload subgrant agreements on SGM and ICERTIS platforms.
    • Maintain an updated Subgrants Tracker.
    • Upload partner documents for payments.
    • Notify partners of payments and track confirmation of receipt.
    • Donations Management.
    • Coordinate donations, ensuring proper documentation and alignment with applicable
      project goals.
  • Asset Management.
    • Maintain the DCP ESA assets register, ensuring accurate records of storage, maintenance,
      and usage.
    • Coordinate periodic audits to ensure accountability.
  • Knowledge Management
    • On-line information repositories.
      • Lead and manage the upload of critical project information on platforms such as Teamwork and PMP.
      • Support the program Manager to develop and oversee a detailed calendar of critical
        project milestones and necessary follow-ups.
  • Program and Team Support
    • Provide clerical support to the ADCIN Steering Committee, including documentation, meeting organization, and communication follow-ups.
    • Maintain an organized repository of ADCIN documentation for easy access.
    • Support DCP scientists:
      • Raising purchase requisitions (PRs).
      • Organizing internal team meetings.
      • Processing non-HSBC (credit card) expenses.
      • Ensuring timely documentation and follow-up on action points from meetings.
    • Teamwork: contribute to DCP’s Admin Team success by learning new tasks, rotating responsibilities, covering for each other during leaves, etc.
    • Documentation and Knowledge Management
      • Post and maintain breeding team, Subgrants, Procurement, ADCIN, Donations, Assets, SMTAs,
        and other documentation on DCP Teams to ensure accessibility and proper knowledge
        management.
      • Implement a structured folder system to enhance document retrieval efficiency.

Requirements:

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Communications, or a related
  field.
• At least 3 years of experience as an administrative assistant or similar role, preferably in an
  international or non-profit organization setting.

Personal attributes and competencies

• Proficient in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiar with administrative
  management systems and cloud-based platforms.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to multitask.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, in English; Swahili is desirable.
• High level of discretion and confidentiality.
• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team environment and under tight deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and well within teams.

This is a Locally Recruited Staff (LRS) position and on competitive remuneration in local currency, commensurate with skills and experience. The appointment will be for a period of two (2) years, inclusive of a six-month probationary
period, with the possibility of extension contingent upon performance, continued relevance of the position and available resources.

Interested candidates should apply here. The application deadline is 08 May 2025. CV and Cover Letter should be in PDF and Labelled with the applicants First and Second Names.

We will acknowledge all applications but will only contact short-listed candidates.

CIFOR-ICRAF is an equal opportunity employer. Staff diversity contributes to excellence.

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