IRS23147 Director of Business Services

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.

For more information, visit cimmyt.org.

CIMMYT is looking for an outstanding and self-motivated professional for the position of Director of Business Services. The Director of Business Services is an experienced and result-oriented professional who has a broad strategic outlook and can propose and implement effective and sustainable business practices and interdepartmental workflows in support of CIMMYT research and corporate services operations. CIMMYT has offices in 12 countries spread over several continents, which means that the Director of Business Services needs to be active and successful in a global environment with many cultural differences.

CIMMYT experiences an exciting time of organizational growth and development where improved and efficient processes/procedures can form the base of further success. Post holder would receive the opportunity to create these conditions. The location of this position will be CIMMYT-HQ in Texcoco, Mexico.

Specific duties:

Business Services Improvement

• Ensure effective and sustainable business practices for CIMMYT services platforms at HQ and in regional offices.
• Review current operations and processes to identify opportunities for improvements; continuously monitoring the effectiveness of proposed actions and suggesting changes or innovations.
• Strengthen interdepartmental and international workflows and processes, and common planning and costing approaches across corporate services for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
• Guide and monitor the development of policies and procedures and an integral approach to these policies for all support disciplines.
• Responsibilities include but are not limited to the continuous planning, monitoring, evaluation and improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the service delivery methods and procedures.

Team management and cross-collaboration

• Partner with all corporate service functions including Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Travel Services and Communication towards the achievement of the objectives.
• Assume direct leadership and management responsibility for the following areas: Procurement, Vehicle Fleet Management, Facilities and Warehouse units.
• Ensures that all team members of Business Services have respective annual workplans; each unit has service level agreements with clients and established annual KPIs and milestones which will serve as reference for continuous improvements opportunities.
• Coordinate audits as needed in coordination with the Internal Audit Unit, Corporate Service units and other required responsible parties.
• Manage stakeholder expectations.
• Lead and inspire all Business services teams and staff to exceed targets and expectations.
• Responsible for the budget management of the Business Service Department.
• The job holder may be assigned to various work activities that arise from or are an extension of the job.

Requirements

• MBA / Master’s degree in business development from a renowned institution.
• Relevant work experience of at least seven years (of which at least five years’ experience in a comparable executive position).
• Skills:
• Demonstrated leadership experience
• Sufficient knowledge of and experience with computer applications relevant to the position, including MS Office
• Good command of English and Spanish (preferable)
• Extensive knowledge of and experience in project management and project administration
• Experience working in an international environment
• Experience with Enterprise Systems and their effective use and evolution
• Strong problem solving and change management skills and experience
• Willingness to work flexible hours.
• Personal characteristics:
• Analytical ability
• Communicative
• Pro-active
• Responsible and involved
• Stress resistant
• Decisive
• Integer and reliable
• Accurate
• Hands-on mentality
• People-oriented
• Travel required, 10-20% with some longer trips (2 weeks at a time).

• The selected candidate should exhibit the following competencies: Team Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Teamwork, and Communication.

  Benefits

The position is for an initial fixed term for three (3) years, after which further employment is subject to performance and the continued availability of funds. CIMMYT’s internationally competitive salary and benefits include housing allowance, car, comprehensive health and life insurance, assistance for children’s education, paid vacation, annual home travel airfare, contribution to a retirement plan, and generous assistance with relocation shipment.