Reference: DFIDJOB-0249
Closing date: 28 September 2012
Interview date: Not Specified
Number of vacancies: 0
Salary: £ - £
Location: Palace Street, London and Abercrombie House, East Kilbride
Appointment Terms: Fixed term
Working Arrangements: Part time and Full Time
Specific requirements: Salary; Appointments will be made at a level appropriate to the responsibilities of the posts and research requirements. Salaries will be based on pro rata full time equivalent rates within DFID.
Brief description: DFID is seeking to recruit leading experts, academics and researchers in various aspects of private sector development to serve as Senior Research Fellows (SRFs) to undertake specific tasks to be agreed in the design and execution of research programmes.
Private Sector Development
Helping to create the right environment in our partner countries and thereby enabling business and entrepreneurship to flourish are integral to DFID’s growth and wealth creation strategies.
DFID aims to increase the impact of our programmes on poor people through maximising the contribution made by the private sector in two specific areas:
- Increasing private investment into and within the poorer developing countries; and
- Increasing the availability, quality and affordability of basic services
It aims to do this both by working directly with private enterprise, and by working to improve the business enabling environment in countries. Within DFID there is a strong drive to explore ways in which we can work with the private sector in an informed and constructive way. SRFs are expected to contribute to this process.
Senior Research Fellows
SRFs provide leadership on the research agenda, support DFID’s engagement with the research communities and support the development of new areas of research to inform DFID’s policy decisions. They provide an interface with researchers and users of research in DFID including Policy Division and Country Offices. SRFs contribute to DFID’s efforts to enhance the relevance of research and maximise its impact on development policy and practice.
There are currently two SRFs supporting the growth and wealth creation agenda:
- focusing on a range of growth related subjects such as FDI, finance, enterprise zones, etc. and
- focusing on agriculture.
DFID is now looking for SRFs with a strong academic background in the impact of private sector operations on development. SRFs would typically be Readers or Professors and hold senior positions in Universities or Business Schools oSRFs would be based in the Growth Research Team and report to DFID’s Chief Economist. They would be expected to establish close working relationships with the Private Sector Department (PSD), the Growth and Resilience Department (GRD) and the wider community of private sector development practitioners, both in country offices and policy/regional teams, through the Head of Profession for Private Sector Development. They would also engage with DFID’s on-going research programmes such as the International Growth Centre (IGC), Private Enterprise Development in Low Income Countries (PEDL) and Capturing the Gains and contribute to other programmes as they are developed.
Research Themes
DFID’s private sector research agenda is focused on the private sector as a mechanism of delivery. Our belief is that DFID improves and increases its beneficial development impact by working with and learning from the private sector. There is a need to test these hypotheses, and to understand the mechanisms through which private enterprise has a direct or indirect impact on poverty reduction.
DFID is particularly interested in identifying SRFs who could contribute to supporting the DFID private sector development agenda in developing countries. Possible research themes could include but not be restricted to
- Ways in which management strategies and business operations contribute to growth and poverty reduction
- The changing role and approaches taken by Multinational Corporations in developing countries
- The impact of Multinational Corporations from emerging powers in growth and development
- Relationships between Multinational Corporations and Donor Organisations
- Business support services for SMEs and mechanisms to encourage entrepreneurship
Whilst DFID is interested in experts in these themes, we are also interested in SRFs who are able to contribute across a broad research agenda and forge links between DFID and the research community.
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