RESEARCH TEAM LEADER 

THE ORGANIZATION

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national and multinational partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, and with the public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

About the position

CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security is searching for a highly talented professional to serve as Research Team Leader for Eastern Africa, with a strong background in peace, migration, displacement, and conflict studies, policy, climate-smart agriculture, and related fields to support the following research areas:

(1) Evidence 4 Peace: Understanding the complexity of climate and security for informed decision-making that is gender sensitive and socially equitable. This research area will help unpack the main impact pathways that link climate, agriculture, migration, displacement, and security in different geographies to enrich our knowledge of the complex, context-specific, socially variable, and dynamic pathways through which climate affects the risk of conflict and fragility.

(2) Programming 4 Peace: Developing climate security sensitive operations in agricultural settings. The main goal of this component is to develop tools and guidelines to inform the design and implementation of integrated programming at regional, national, and subnational level improving interventions, research, policies, and investments to mitigate and prevent conflicts and displacement, reduce people’s inequalities and vulnerabilities, and increase resilience.

(3) Policy 4 Peace: Articulating the role of food systems in a climate crisis for policies and frameworks. This research area aims to engage with communities, civil society, and governing actors across multiple scales of governance to assess and improve the coherence, integration, and performance of policies within climate-related and security domains.

(4) Finance 4 Peace: Increasing conflict sensitivity of climate funds but de-risking investments of international, regional, national, and local investors, including governments to increase the reach of climate investments in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Key duties & responsibilitie.

• Lead establishment and expansion of the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security regional hub covering East Africa.
• Lead the implementation of research initiatives and projects in the respective countries and regions focusing on assessing and developing co-benefits for peace and migration of climate smart agriculture and climate adaptation interventions.
• Build empirical mixed-methods models to unpack the climate, migration, displacement peace, and security nexus.
• Designing theoretical and evaluation frameworks and related methodology to link CGIAR climate-smart practices with peace, security and displacement.
• Establish a new research track on environmental peace-building and related knowledge products.
• Publish peer-reviewed articles, position papers, policy briefs and commentaries.
• Develop a policy outcome strategy to influence relevant policy decision-making processes the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security research on respective countries and regions.
• Structure a set of roadmaps for selected countries/institutions to help improve climate security mainstreaming in policy and recovery pathways.
• Lead the engagement with climate security, peace-building, migration, and security analysts, as well as policy- and decision-makers from relevant countries and regional level institutions and bodies in the respective countries and regions.
• Lead the development and implementation of fundraising strategies in the respective countries and regions.
• Report/communicate to supervisor and donors and discover/respond to tendering processes.
• Supervise national and international staff, research assistants, visiting researchers and/or students.

Requirements

Required qualifications and experience

• PhD degree in international relations, peace, migration and conflict studies, development studies, social policy, or other related social sciences.
• Excellent knowledge of the climate, peace, migration, displacement and security literature and discourses.
• Excellent qualitative analytical skills (QCA, discourse/content analysis, field work and primary data collection).
• Experience in international organizations for applied research and development programs or development-focused organizations, working on climate issues in the context of peace and security.
• Experience in international, multicultural settings and in interaction with researchers, policymakers, donors, and civil society across a wide range of contexts.
• Great interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to interpret and analyze data, evidence and text and communicate results.
• Solid conceptual thinking to develop innovative research approaches.

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The initial contract will be for 2 years subject to a probation period of six months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG09 level, on a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number RFP103726 Research Team Leader as the position applied for. Cover letter and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting. The Alliance collects and process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Applications closing date: Tuesday, 18^th April 2024

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://alliancebioversityciat.org