Principal Artificial Intelligence Officer -Data base & Systems Development job at National Agricultural Research Organisation

Background information about the job or company (e.g., role context, company overview)

The National Agricultural Research Organisation is established by the National Agricultural Research Act 2005 as a body corporate with the mandate to provide strategic direction for publicly funded agricultural research in Uganda. The organisation is composed of the Council as its governing body, Committees of Council, a Secretariat for its day-to-day operations with semi-autonomous Public Agricultural Research Institutes (PARI’s) under its policy guidance. The Director General invites suitably qualified Ugandans to apply for the following positions at PARIs and NARO Secretariat.

Job Purpose:

To provide strategic leadership in the development, implementation, governance, and scaling of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Science, and Advanced Analytics solutions that support agricultural research, innovation, technology development, knowledge management, decision-making, and service delivery across the National Agricultural Research Organization.

Responsibilities or duties:

• • Strategic Leadership and AI Governance
  • Lead the formulation, implementation, monitoring and review of NARO’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, policies, standards and governance frameworks.
  • Provide Technical leadership on AI adoption and digital transformation initiatives across NARO.
  • Advise Management on emerging AI technologies, opportunities, risks and investments relevant to agricultural research and development.
  • Develop institutional AI roadmaps aligned with national development priorities and NARO’s strategic objectives.
  • Establish ethical, responsible AI, data governance, and risk management frameworks.
  • Research and Innovation
  • Spearheading research and development of AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Generative AI, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Predictive Analytics, and Decision Support Systems.
  • Designing and overseeing development of AI-powered solutions for crop, livestock, fisheries, forestry, climate, soil and agribusiness applications.
  • Coordinating AI research projects, innovation programmes, pilots and proof-of-concept initiatives.
  • Publishing scientific research findings and contribute to intellectual property generation, patents and technology commercialization.
  • Promote the integration of AI technologies into NARO research programs and technology development initiatives.
  • Data Science and Analytics
  • Lead the development of enterprise data science, predictive modelling, forecasting, and analytics capabilities.
  • Establish institutional frameworks for agricultural big data management, integration, quality assurance and utilization.
  • Develop AI models for disease surveillance, outbreak prediction, climate risk analysis, yield forecasting, resource optimization and agricultural decision support.
  • Oversee development of enterprise dashboards, business intelligence systems and executive decision-support platforms.
  • Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and Collaboration
  • Support the establish of strategic partnerships with universities, research institutions, development partners, government agencies and private sector organizations.
  • Mobilize resources for AI research, innovation and infrastructure development.
  • Develop concept notes, project proposals, grant applications, and partnership agreements related to AI and digital innovation.
  • Capacity Building and Knowledge Management
  • Lead AI capacity-building programmes for researchers, scientists, ICT personnel, and stakeholders.
  • Offer mentorship and support supervision to data scientists, software developers and research teams within NARO.
  • Promote institutional awareness and adoption of AI technologies across NARO.
  • Develop knowledge-sharing platforms, communities of practice, and AI innovation ecosystems within NARO
  • Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
  • Establish performance indicators for AI initiatives and programmes.
  • Monitor the implementation and impact of AI solutions across NARO.
  • Prepare technical, management and policy reports on AI initiatives and investments.
  • Document lessons learnt, best practices, and institutional AI achievements.

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills):

Experience needed:

Any other provided details (e.g., benefits, work environment, team info, or additional notes):

The tenure of office is a 5-year contract renewable upon satisfactory performance.

• Lead the formulation, implementation, monitoring and review of NARO’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, policies, standards and governance frameworks.
• Provide Technical leadership on AI adoption and digital transformation initiatives across NARO.
• Advise Management on emerging AI technologies, opportunities, risks and investments relevant to agricultural research and development.
• Develop institutional AI roadmaps aligned with national development priorities and NARO’s strategic objectives.
• Establish ethical, responsible AI, data governance, and risk management frameworks.
• Spearheading research and development of AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Generative AI, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Predictive Analytics, and Decision Support Systems.
• Designing and overseeing development of AI-powered solutions for crop, livestock, fisheries, forestry, climate, soil and agribusiness applications.
• Coordinating AI research projects, innovation programmes, pilots and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Publishing scientific research findings and contribute to intellectual property generation, patents and technology commercialization.
• Promote the integration of AI technologies into NARO research programs and technology development initiatives.
• Lead the development of enterprise data science, predictive modelling, forecasting, and analytics capabilities.
• Establish institutional frameworks for agricultural big data management, integration, quality assurance and utilization.
• Develop AI models for disease surveillance, outbreak prediction, climate risk analysis, yield forecasting, resource optimization and agricultural decision support.
• Oversee development of enterprise dashboards, business intelligence systems and executive decision-support platforms.
• Support the establish of strategic partnerships with universities, research institutions, development partners, government agencies and private sector organizations.
• Mobilize resources for AI research, innovation and infrastructure development.
• Develop concept notes, project proposals, grant applications, and partnership agreements related to AI and digital innovation.
• Lead AI capacity-building programmes for researchers, scientists, ICT personnel, and stakeholders.
• Offer mentorship and support supervision to data scientists, software developers and research teams within NARO.
• Promote institutional awareness and adoption of AI technologies across NARO.
• Develop knowledge-sharing platforms, communities of practice, and AI innovation ecosystems within NARO
• Establish performance indicators for AI initiatives and programmes.
• Monitor the implementation and impact of AI solutions across NARO.
• Prepare technical, management and policy reports on AI initiatives and investments.
• Document lessons learnt, best practices, and institutional AI achievements.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Machine Learning (ML)
• Data Science
• Advanced Analytics
• Deep Learning
• Generative AI
• Computer Vision
• Natural Language Processing
• Predictive Analytics
• Decision Support Systems
• Data Management
• Data Governance
• Risk Management
• Resource Mobilization
• Project Proposal Development
• Capacity Building
• Knowledge Management
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Reporting

• Suitably qualified Ugandans