ECONOMIST

Vacancy Number: ECON/PGI/06/11
Department: Poverty, Gender and Impact team
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: one year with the possibility of renewal

Base salary from USD 50,000 plus attractive international staff benefits package

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with other offices located in other regions of Africa (Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria) as well as in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) and East Asia (China).

ILRI seeks to recruit an Economist as part of its Poverty, Gender and Impact team. Under the leadership of the team leader and in coordination with other research staff within the team and the Institute, the appointee will develop and implement research on the multiple roles of livestock in rural livelihoods and how livestock’s contribution to poverty alleviation can be enhanced. Specific responsibilities will include developing and leading implementation of monitoring and evaluation strategies for the CGIAR research program of Livestock and Fish and other large ILRI programs. The appointee will bring strong quantitative skills to a multi-disciplinary team working with mixed methods and approaches to identify and evaluate livestock-based strategies and options to reduce poverty, inequity and vulnerability for livestock-dependent people and communities.

Responsibilities

• Quantify the contribution of livestock to the livelihoods of the poor and the actual/potential impact of livestock-related strategies and interventions on poverty and vulnerability;
• Develop and support implementation of monitoring and evaluation strategies for ILRI programs including the CGIAR research program on livestock and fish, leading the collection, management, analysis and reporting of baseline, evaluation and impact assessment data;
• Identify factors that constrain or enhance the ability of the poor to keep livestock or to benefit from innovations along the livestock value chain, and extract lessons for policy and program design;
• Participate in team resource mobilization efforts, including donor relations and proposal development;
• Working closely with the team leader and others, contribute to defining ILRI’s research agenda in the area of livelihoods, evaluation and impact assessment and in the building and managing a team to implement it;
• Contribute to the formation and strengthening of strategic partnerships that are relevant to the research theme;
• Serve as an ambassador for ILRI and represent the Institute in research, donor, partnership and other fora as required. This includes developing and delivering effective external communications about the PGI team and ILRI as a whole.

Requirements:

• A Ph.D. in agricultural economics, economics, or other agricultural or social science with strong minor in economics or statistics;
• Expert disciplinary knowledge related agricultural and rural development, poverty analysis, and evaluation and impact assessment methods;
• Excellent skills in data base management and quantitative data analysis, and experience analyzing farm and household surveys and panel data sets;
• At least 5 years’ experience working on poverty analysis and quantitative evaluation of agricultural and rural development programs;
• Experience with mixed-methods (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, spatial) evaluations and gender analysis will be highly desirable;
• Work experience in developing country(s) and willingness to travel extensively;
• Experience with livestock or livestock-related research and development;
• Well developed understanding of the interface between research and development and experience using research and evaluation results to improve development programming
• Well developed research ability with proven originality, creativity and innovation culminating in a substantial contribution to knowledge;
• Demonstrated ability to form and work effectively in multi-regional teams with members drawn from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures and scientific disciplines
• Well developed oral and written communication skills;
• Understanding of electronic communications, standard office computer software and analytical packages;
• Knowledge of other languages including French and Portuguese will be highly desirable.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya with frequent travel to areas where there are ILRI activities.

Terms of appointment: The position is Scientist/Research Level 2 and is on a two year term appointment with possibility for renewal for one year contingent upon individual performance and continued funding. ILRI offers a competitive international remuneration and benefits package which includes: – Medical insurance – Life insurance – and allowances for: – Children’s Education – Housing and baggage.

Applications: Applicants should send a cover letter explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and indicating earliest availability, curriculum vitae and the names and addresses (including telephone, fax and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to email: recruit-ilri-Ken@cgiar.org by 23 July 2011.

The position title and reference number ECONOMIST: ECON/PGI/06/11 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email applications. Due to the high volume of applications that we receive, we regret but only online applications will be considered and only short listed candidates will be contacted.

To find more about ILRI, visit our Website at www.ilri.org

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates from African countries, particularly women, are encouraged to apply.