ILRI vacancy:Post-doctoral Scientist – Economics of Climate Services

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Post-doctoral Scientist (Economics of Climate Services), to support a USAID funded project on Climate Services for Africa. The project is implemented by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) which is a Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) research program. The position seeks to improve methodology and strengthen quantitative evidence to guide investments in climate services across Africa. Climate variability and change place significant stress on food production and availability in Africa and threaten its economic development.

ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals’ alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases. www.ilri.org

ILRI is a not-for-profit institution with a staff of about 700 and in 2016, an operating budget of about USD 83 million. A member of the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa and in South, Southeast and East Asia. www.cgiar.org

CCAFS is a strategic collaboration between the CGIAR and Future Earth that seeks to promote a food-secure world through the provision of science-based efforts that support sustainable agriculture and enhance livelihoods while adapting to climate change and conserving natural resources. East and West Africa are among the five CCAFS implementing regions and the CCAFS East Africa Program is based at ILRI in Nairobi. https://ccafs.cgiar.org/

Responsibilities:

• Develop tools and methods for ex-ante evaluation of the expected economic benefits from alternate investments in Climate Information Services (CIS) in Africa at local, national and multi-country levels, with emphasis on agriculture and food security;
• Lead economic studies and policy analysis of current and potential climate services investment for agriculture and food security in countries of shared priority for CCAFS and African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC);
• Provide strategic guidance for investments in CIS for agriculture and food security, including those through ClimDev-Africa;
• Support collaboration and coordination among ACPC, CCAFS and their partners;
• Participate in international, regional, and national meetings to collect information and to hold discussions with colleagues in other institutions;
• Provide inputs for technical papers and analytical studies on investing in climate services for agriculture and food security, and in support of science-policy links in Africa;
• Assist in the organization and servicing of expert group meetings, seminars on the economic value of climate services for agriculture and food security in Africa;
• Contributes to the preparation of materials and technical documentation for collaboration programmes and projects; and
• Performs other related duties and administrative tasks, as agreed by the CCAFS Flagship Leader on Climate Information Services and Climate-Informed Safety Nets and the ACPC Coordinator, necessary for the final delivery of relevant ACPC services.

Requirements:

• PhD in economics, agricultural economics, or closely related discipline obtained not more than 3 years ago;
• Experience in economic valuation of climate services or closely related aspects of information or risk management;
• Demonstrated expertise in economic valuation methods applied to information;
• Publication record demonstrating innovative and practical contributions to academic and/or applied literature on economic valuation of climate or closely related information;
• Familiarity with agricultural systems, climate institutions and initiatives, and climate-related agricultural risks in Africa;
• Strong organisational skills and demonstrated ability to deliver successful project outcomes (both independently and as part of a team), prioritizing and organizing own work as required;
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop good working relationships with colleagues and institutional stakeholders;
• Willingness to travel and collaborate with partner institutions;
• Excellent communication skills in english (written and oral), with demonstrated ability to communicate complex information to a range of audiences in a clear and inspiring manner.

Post location: The position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Position level: Post-doctoral level.

Duration: The position is on a 2 years fixed term contract.

Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes medical insurance, life insurance and allowances for: education, housing, home leave, and annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.

Applications:

Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the role and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development. The position title and reference number: ECS/CCAFS/02/2016 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.

All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com by 16 March 2016.

We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

To find out more about ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer.