Project Coordinator, Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement Coffee Improvement

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Department Background:

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University's second largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: natural and human systems; food, energy and environmental resources; and social, physical and economic well-being.

The CALS School of Integrative of Plant Science (SIPS) encompasses five fields: Horticulture, Plant Biology, Plant Breeding & Genetics, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, and Soil and Crop Sciences. Combined there are 100+ faculty, ~200 undergraduate majors, 200+ graduate students in six fields, and 600+ other employees located in Ithaca, Geneva, and other satellite locations across New York State. The School offers two multi-disciplinary undergraduate majors: one in the Plant Sciences and the second in Agricultural Sciences. School faculty also contribute to the Biological Sciences, Biology and Society, Global Development, and Viticulture & Enology majors.

Position Summary:

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) is seeking a Project Coordinator to provide management for a Coffee Improvement Associate Award, a five-year program sponsored through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement (ILCI).

The vision for Coffee Improvement Associate Award (CIAA) is to transform global coffee research to increase resilience and improve livelihoods for the 12.5 million smallholder coffee farmers around the world who produce 60% of the world's coffee supply. CIAA started in October 2024 with a $5,485,000 grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is a Cornell University-led collaboration with World Coffee Research (WCR), The Ohio State University (OSU), the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), and future collaborators in Brazil.

The vision for ILCI is to serve as a support system for national agricultural research institutions in target regions to identify, develop, pilot and transfer appropriate tools, technologies and methods, equipping them to deliver increased genetic gain and new varieties for key product profiles that advance economic growth, resilience and nutritional development goals of the US Government's Global Food Security Strategy. ILCI started in 2019 with a five-year, $25 million grant from USAID, which was renewed in September 2024 for an additional $25 million over five years, with possible additional funds through associate awards and buy-ins. (The Coffee Improvement Associate Award is one such associate award under ILCI.) The ILCI program works with researchers at US-based universities, collaborating with local partners in more than nine countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, with potential to expand to additional countries and regions.

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for overall project management, operational management, subcontract oversight, technical compliance, and performance reporting for CIAA. A total of four subcontracts are expected as part of CIAA, half of which will be located outside the United States. The project coordinator will coordinate closely with ILCI's business manager to support subcontract management. While much of the work and research for CIAA will be conducted by subcontractor partners, Cornell University maintains responsibility for overseeing all aspects of program implementation, performance and compliance. The project coordinator will report directly to the ILCI program manager, based at Cornell University, and liaise closely with the rest of the ILCI Management Entity staff to ensure programmatic and operational alignment, including with the ILCI finance manager, operations manager, and communications manager. The project coordinator will work directly and closely with the CIAA director to ensure programmatic success.

This hybrid (remote / in-person) position requires an ability to work independently yet as an integral part of the management and broader project teams; discipline, communication, responsiveness and motivation are key elements to success.

Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance are not available for this position.

This is a fixed-term position with the possibility of renewal annually through 9/30/2029, contingent on successful performance and continued funding.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and 2 to 4 years relevant experience or equivalent combination.
• Experience with international program management / planning with numerous and diverse partners
• Self-motivated, highly organized, and able to consistently deliver against expectations
• Attention to detail and organizational skills; ability to effectively manage a large, complex project with multiple subcontracts and institutional partners in the US and overseas
• Ability to work quickly, effectively under pressure, to use judgment in accomplishing tasks that are of urgent, sensitive, or confidential nature
• Proven experience managing contracts and subcontracts
• Working knowledge of budgeting and accounting policies and practices, grant and contract management, personnel policies and procedures
• Ability to create and manage financial reports, to project expenses and revenue, and to explain to others
• Strong knowledge of spreadsheet creation and management using MS Excel
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to communicate with a broad range of people, from diverse backgrounds
• Comfort in working in an environment where change in process/procedures is the norm
• Possess strong professional writing skills
• Must be willing and able to travel domestically and internationally to meet with project partners, including principal investigators, financial officers, and institutional leadership in CIAA partner counties; travel may be on short notice, and may require multiple trips per year, approximately one to two weeks in duration each
• Maintain a valid passport; acquire visas as needed for specific travel
• Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in a relevant field
• Proven experience working in sponsored research / grant management within higher education institutions
• Proficient in use of specific Cornell administrative and financial computer applications such as Kuali Financial System, IDR dashboards, and Workday.
• Knowledge of the donor community for international agricultural research projects, in particular prior experience working with projects or programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Prior experience working with national agricultural research institutions outside the United States, particularly with organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and / or Latin America
• Working proficiency in Portuguese or Spanish
• Prior work experience in Kenya / East Africa, Central America, or South America

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