Indo-Australia Banana Bio fortification Project

BIRAC Project Management Unit (PMU) for Indo-Australia Banana Bio fortification Project about the Project

An Agreement has been signed between BIRAC and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia for “Development and Transfer of Technology from QUT, Australia to India for Bio fortification and disease resistance in Banana”. The project has five Indian Partners namely National Agri - Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali; National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), Tiruchirapalli; Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai; Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore; and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore. The project details can be seen here. For this, a Project Management Unit is being set up for which the following positions are required.

1. Project Director (Code No. BIRAC/Vac01/03/2012)

Would be responsible to coordinate the project activities between QUT and the Indian Partners. The Job Description and Specific responsibilities are as follows: Purpose of the Position BIRAC intends to appoint a Project Director for this project with outstanding research and project management experience in a multi-stakeholder environment, mature management and interpersonal skills, and strong commitment to the aims and objectives of the project. The coordinator will engage with all partner institutions for overall management of all activities of the project, including the research and development directions as defined in the project document, and will ensure that the scientific excellence and timelines are maintained. Specifically, the Project Director will monitor that the program outcomes are delivered in time.

a. Specific Duties of the Project Director include:

i. To provide strong general management of the project including monitoring research program priorities, development of operational directions and guidelines, allocation of resources, and program monitoring and reporting to the Managing Director of BIRAC.

ii. To ensure the stated objectives of the project are met through establishment of appropriate systems and processes, performance indicators and reporting mechanisms.

iii. To ensure the continued effectiveness of the project through establishing effective facilitative networks between the research partners.

iv. To provide effective management of the project partners including its human resources, to ensure equity of employment opportunity and non-discriminatory work practices.

v. To network broadly with project Directors in partner institutions to ensure that BIRAC policies are adhered to in the implementation of the project.

vi. To arrange meetings of the Expert Committees and on-site visits as and when required.

b. Requirement and Knowledge:

The Project Director is expected to have a proven track record in area related to the project and mature interpersonal skills relevant to the management of a joint venture involving a number of research institutions.

c. Important

i. Demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment for the objective of the project and ability to advocate its purpose.

ii. PhD in an area relevant to Agricultural Biotechnology, Molecular Biology or equivalent scientific expertise and experience of atleast 8-10 years in related area.

iii. Demonstrated record of outstanding achievement in basic and applied research.

iv. Proven and well developed leadership skills in project management.

v. An ability to work to strategy and to foresee issues and opportunities, and recommend and implement appropriate approaches to deal with them.

vi. Demonstrated ability to network effectively and cooperatively, with academia, government and public groups.

vii. Demonstrated capacity in strategic planning and development and implementation of related operational and financial plans.

viii. Experience in the development and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams that address complex projects within the agriculture biotechnology sectors.

d. Wanted

i. Outstanding interpersonal skills including written and oral communications, and a mature approach to negotiation with academic organizations.

ii. Sound knowledge of the principles of workplace health and safety with a demonstrated ability to implement these principles.

e. Payments

The Project Director would be appointed initially for 2 years on a ‘Contract for Services’. The approximate compensation would range between Rs. 1.00 lakhs to Rs. 1.50 lakhs / per month depending upon qualification and experience.

Interested Candidates may please send their application in the format (Click Here) along with detailed CV to Manager Accounts & Admin. (sagarwal.birac@nic.in) through email latest by 3rd December, 2012. The covering Letter should clearly indicate Position Title and Code No.

Announcement: Indo-Australia Banana Biofortification Project