The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites applications from suitably qualified African scholars to fill the vacant position of Senior Programme Officer in the Training, Grants and Fellowships (TGF) Programme at its pan-African Secretariat located in Dakar, Senegal. This is a senior position in the Council and as such is filled on the basis of an international recruitment process. The successful candidate will work with a team of senior members of the Secretariat under the overall supervision of the Executive Secretary of the Council.
The CODESRIA TGF Programme has, over the last two decades, evolved to encompass activities targeted at senior scholars in search of support for sustained scientific work of a longitudinal type, mid-career academics interested in strengthening their research and research training engagements, and younger, aspiring researchers in need mentoring in order to advance their scholarly careers. The programme also organises conferences tied to the Council’s intellectual agenda. Among the activities currently managed within TGF are the Advanced Senior Research Grants for Higher Education; the annual Institutes on Democratic Governance, Gender, the CODESRIA/CASB Summer School in African Studies; and the College of Mentors. Additional activities that have been incorporated into the programme in line with the Council’s Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027 include the Institute on Health, Politics & Society and a revitalisation of the Council’s continental work on academic freedom. More information about CODESRIA and its TGF Programme can be obtained from the Council’s website: www.codesria.org.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Candidates wishing to apply for the position should note that this is a Programme Head position and the successful candidate has as their primary responsibility the provision of intellectual leadership for the Council’s TGF Programme and the day-to-day management of all aspects of the portfolio of projects under TGF. This includes overseeing the work of programme staff domiciled in the TGF Programme and managing partnerships with individuals and institutions the programme and Council collaborates with. In addition to these core responsibilities, the successful candidate will be called upon to perform the following functions:
- Initiate, develop and, where appropriate, manage new projects and programmes.
- Organise academic and policy meetings on behalf of the Council.
- Develop and maintain links and networks with African Higher Education institutions, African academics in the social sciences and humanities, professional associations and regional organisations.
- prepare research and funding proposals on themes connected to their areas of expertise as may be requested by the Executive Secretary and liaise with funding organisations under the direction of the Executive Secretary.
- Represent the Council in regional, continental and global meetings as may be requested by the Executive Secretary.
- Play an active role in the realization of all other aspects of the scientific mandate of the Council.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
Applicants must :
- Be scholars in their own right possessing a PhD level university education in the social sciences or humanities.
- Have at least 6 years post-doctoral working experience in a research and/or training environment.
- Demonstrate a good knowledge of CODESRIA and the ability to mobilise and promote the work of African academics and researchers.
- Be familiar with the African and international scientific community.
- Possess first hand knowledge of the African university environment and a track-record of teaching and training within the university system.
- Have proven experience of management in an academic environment.
- Be experienced in fund-raising, resource management and the preparation of reports to funders.
- Have proven leadership experience and success in the management of projects of an academic nature, including leading teams, delegating responsibilities, and motivating others to engage in collaborative work to achieve shared goals.
- Have a distinguished record of publications in peer-reviewed journals.
- Be fluent in French or English and have a good working knowledge of the other language.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The position will be based at the Council’s secretariat in Dakar and will involve frequent work-related travel within the continent and outside.
The salary offered will be competitive, based on the successful applicant’s experience and qualifications, and will be comparable to those of similar posts in other international organizations that apply the UN salary grill.
HOW TO APPLY
All applicants wishing to be considered for the position are required to submit the following documents:
- An application letter.
- A detailed CV describing the candidate’s academic and professional experience.
- Three reference letters, two of which must come from people living in countries other than the applicant’s country of residence; and
- Three of the candidate’s recent publications, two of which must be single-authored.
- Copies of relevant academic certificates.
All application materials must be submitted via submission portal available at https://submission.codesria.org/. An automatic confirmation will be generated upon successful uploading of the application. PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY APPLICATIONS RECEIVED VIA THIS LINK WILL BE CONSIDERED. The Council will, however, accept reference letters that are emailed directly to: executive.secretary@codesria.org (emails with reference letters attached to them should have the words ‘CONFIDENTIAL REFERENCE’ written in the subject line).
It is CODESRIA’s policy to reflect the disciplinary, gender, generational and linguistic diversity of the African social science and humanities community in its structures. In this connection, female candidates and younger professionals meeting the qualifications set out are especially encouraged to submit their applications.
CLOSING DATE
All applications must be received by 15 May 2024. Any application received after this date will not be considered.
