Careers

The West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), founded in 1987, brings together the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of 23 West and Central African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tomé et Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. 

CORAF's vision mentioned in its Strategic Plan 2018-2027 is a future where the people and communities of West and Central Africa achieve food and nutrition security and prosperity. Its mission is to achieve a sustainable improvement in agricultural productivity, competitiveness and markets in West and Central Africa.

To achieve the goals of socio-economic development and human well-being, African agriculture must significantly improve its productivity, while maintaining the sustainability of diversified, high-quality agri-food systems. 

A high yield gap, estimated at 75% of potential yield, and a low average growth rate for most agricultural products (below the 6% target set by the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme or CAADP) are worrying, given the substantial investments made in the sector over the last 10 to 15 years. 

The limited availability of agricultural inputs, inadequate distribution networks in isolated communities, poor quality and counterfeit seeds, and high prices for certified seeds and inputs are ongoing challenges in West Africa, and constitute major obstacles to agricultural productivity and growth. To address these shortcomings, donors and governments in West Africa have been working through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other regional bodies to develop and operationalize consistent quality control procedures, strengthen seed systems, and make input trade easier, faster and cheaper.

ECOWAS received financial support from USAID/West Africa for the development of a Regional Agricultural Input Strategy (RAIS). CORAF developed the strategy on behalf of ECOWAS/CILSS/UEMOA, outlining an integrated approach to increasing agricultural inputs, including seeds, crops, livestock and aquaculture. As part of the strategy's implementation, CORAF, designated as the technical secretariat, has received funding to implement the West Africa Seed Sector Development Program (WASSD). The project aims to increase availability and access to quality seeds, improve yields and food security, while strengthening the private sector and the policy environment.

The overall objective of the West Africa Seed Sector Development Program (WASSD) is to improve agricultural productivity through increased farmer access to and use of improved agricultural inputs and technologies provided by West African private sector companies, and through collaborative engagement with a multitude of regional and national organizations and associations.

Design, implement and manage a high-performance Information System at CORAF 

• Define and implement a high-performance IT system at CORAF ;
• Set up, organize and lead CORAF's IT watch;
• Participate in the design of CORAF's global strategy;
• Operating ;
• Manage Information Systems projects;
• Implement and lead the Information Systems outsourcing policy;
• Provide technical support and assistance to users;
• Participate in setting up and implementing the Knowledge Management (KM) system;
• Manage or lead the IT unit. 

• Engineering degree or Master's degree (BAC+5) or equivalent in computer science, network and systems administration, or any other related field;
• Professional certifications in systems and network administration would be a plus.

• At least ten (10) years' experience in network administration, IT maintenance and web portal management in a similar organization;
• Minimum experience of ten (10) years in information systems management within a development program or a regional or international organization is a major asset;
• At least ten (10) years' experience as an IS manager;
• Minimum experience of ten (10) years in a multicultural environment.
• Minimum five (5) years' experience in resource center management and data governance;
• Minimum experience of five (5) years in Information Systems project management;
• Minimum experience of ten (10) years in the protocols used for network deployments and proven mastery of LAN, WAN, SD-WAN;
• Minimum experience of ten (10) years in database management systems (MySql, Ms-SQL, etc.);
• At least ten (10) years' experience in information systems security rules;
• Minimum experience of ten (10) years in TCP/IP protocols and associated communicating services and communicating systems such as messaging, Internet gateways, web servers;
• Minimum ten (10) years' experience with Microsoft 365 Enterprise, Active Directory, Azure and AWS;
• Minimum five (5) years' experience in HCI solutions
• Minimum ten (10) years' experience with VMware, Ubiquiti, Fortigate, Digium;
• Minimum experience of ten (10) years in operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Linux);

• Humility;
• Courtesy of ;
• Ability to work under pressure ;
• Discretion ;
• Methodical ;
• Organizational skills ;
• Team spirit ;
• Adaptability ;
• Integrity ;
• Sense of priorities ;
• Listening skills ;
• Analytical skills ;
• Anticipation ;
• Reactivity.

• Database management systems (MySql, Ms-SQL, etc.) ;
• Active Directory, Azure, DELL HCI, VMware Stack, AWS
• OWASP, security standards
• Microsoft 365 Enterprise ;
• Ubiquiti Unifi platform ;
• Fortigate, Cisco; 
• Digium IP& Voice Solution(will be replaced as obsolete and defective);
• Sentry, Prometheus, Nagios
• Nginx, Web server (Apache, LAMP, WAMP)
• KoboTool and reporting

• Knowledge of technical management, information analysis and computer systems/software;
• Demonstrated interest in agriculture, food security and development issues;

It must include : 

• A letter of motivation addressed to the Executive Director, Dakar, Senegal. The file should be named as follows: Initial of first name +Last name in upper case_LM. For example, ADIALLO_LM); 
• A detailed CV, with the names and contacts of three mandatory references (e-mail, address and telephone number). The CV file must be named as follows First name initial + Last name in uppercase_CV_Month and year. For example, ADIALLO_CV March 2024.

Applications should be sent to the following address

Youmann Executive Search