Executive Director, Institute for Agriculture & AI

MBZUAI is seeking an Executive Director to provide overall vision, leadership, and strategic direction for the Institute for Agriculture & AI (IAAI). The Executive Director is responsible for shaping and executing the Institute’s mission at the intersection of artificial intelligence, agriculture, and sustainability.

The role oversees strategy development, institutional management, partnership building, and resource mobilization, while representing the Institute to funders, government entities, industry partners, and the global research community. The Executive Director ensures the Institute’s long-term impact, relevance, and financial sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Define and lead the Institute’s long-term vision, strategy, and priorities at the intersection of artificial intelligence, agriculture, and sustainability, in alignment with MBZUAI’s mission and global agendas.
• Translate complex agricultural and food-system challenges into AI-driven research, innovation programs, and scalable solutions with measurable impact.
• Position the Institute as a globally recognized center of excellence for responsible and impactful AI applications in agriculture.

Institutional Management and Governance

• Provide executive oversight of the Institute’s research, infrastructure, partnerships, and operational functions, ensuring effective governance, accountability, and performance management.
• Establish and oversee planning, budgeting, and reporting frameworks to ensure financial sustainability and institutional resilience.
• Ensure alignment with policies, governance structures, and strategic priorities.

Research Enablement and Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with research leadership, data engineers, technical teams, and operations functions to align infrastructure capabilities with scientific objectives and emerging research needs.
• Provide strategic input into infrastructure roadmaps, technology investments, and capacity planning to support the Institute’s long-term growth and impact.

Partnerships, Fundraising, and External Engagement

• Act as the primary representative of the Institute to governments, donors, industry partners, and international organizations.
• Lead resource mobilization efforts, including fundraising, grants, and strategic partnerships that support research, infrastructure (e.g. HPC), and impact objectives

Academic Qualifications Required

• A minimum of advanced degree in technology, development, agriculture, science, economics, public policy, or related fields.
• PhD is desirable but not mandatory where equivalent senior leadership experience is demonstrated

Professional Experience Required

Essential:

• Proven senior leadership experience at the intersection of technology, agriculture, and development, ideally within regional or global, multi-country environments.
• Significant experience engaging at senior levels with governments, ministers, regulators, private sector leaders, donors, and international organizations.
• Strong understanding of cultural, political, and socio-economic contexts in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and their implications for agricultural innovation and technology adoption.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, representation, and public speaking
• skills, with the ability to influence across sectors and disciplines.

Preferred:

• Proven track record in building, leading, and sustaining multi-stakeholder partnerships involving governments, donors, research institutions, industry, and civil society.
• Experience managing research-to-impact pipelines, including the translation of research outputs into field deployment, policy uptake, or scalable solutions.
• Familiarity with cross-cutting themes such as gender inclusion, climate resilience, and sustainability within agricultural innovation and development programs.