ABOUT THE COMPANY:

IWMI is a Research Center of CGIAR, the global research partnership for a food-secure future. The 2019-2021 CGIAR System Business Plan calls for innovation to transform the global system to address the world’s urgent challenges. In its commitment to this shared ambition, IWMI leads the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), which, with other CGIAR Centers and partners develops, disseminates and catalyzes solutions for sustainable and resilient land and water management.

JOB SUMMARY

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), hosted by the International Water Management Institute’s (IWMI’s) West Africa office in Accra, Ghana, seeks to recruit a consultant research officer to provide research support for quantitative foresight modeling of livestock systems. This is a short-term position reporting to Senior Agricultural Economists in the Policies, Institutions, and Livelihoods Program.

ILRI works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe, and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South, and Southeast Asia, as well as Central, East, Southern, and West Africa.

The consultant will support a team of economic and livestock systems modelers with collating, analyzing, and managing the datasets for quantitative representation of the livestock sector in a global model of agricultural commodities and trade. This contributes to an ongoing activity modeling agricultural systems for policy and decision-making related to the transformation of food, land, and water systems in developing countries.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collate national and sub-national level data on animal productivity and markets for countries (mainly Ethiopia and Tanzania) represented in IMPACT, a global model of agricultural commodities and trade.
• Support the coordination of an expert consultation process to collate, validate, and analyze model parameters on livestock productivity for up to 20 countries in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. For this, the consultant will:

1. Back-stop country teams with logistics for implementing expert workshops to build livestock datasets on animal productivity.
2. Clean, analyze, validate, and organize the data emerging from these processes, in preparation for their use as model parameters in economic simulation models.

Requirements

MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Essential:

• MPhil/M.Sc. degree in Agricultural Economics or equivalent. An advanced master’s degree student with requisite skills will be considered.
• Degree coursework in agricultural/livestock science.
• Experience working with quantitative datasets in Excel.

Desirable:

• Previous research in agricultural/livestock science or economic systems.
• Knowledge of expert elicitation/consultative processes such as focus groups or Delphi approaches.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Essential:

• Quantitative (secondary) data collection and analysis skills in MS Excel to produce robust and replicable datasets.
• Ability to draft clear and thorough documentation of work completed (data sources, processing steps, and basic analysis of content).
• Ability to work well with teams and across cultures.

Desirable:

• Familiarity with economic simulation modeling will be an advantage.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY:

• Good written and oral communication in English.

Benefits

This is a nationally hired consultancy; therefore, individuals with relevant abilities are encouraged to apply. IWMI offers a competitive rate for this assignment. The duration of the contract will be for a period of three (03) months.

HOW TO APPLY: Apply for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. We will be accepting applications through 24:00 (IST) on August 06, 2024 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis). Your application must include a CV, cover letter, and three (3) references, which may be contacted if you are shortlisted. Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.

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