Doctoral Fellow – Social Innovation and Learning

Job Description

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

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is seeking a highly motivated Post Doctoral Fellow – Social Innovation and Learning with research experience in documenting social innovations and learning processes in African agriculture and food systems. The Post Doctoral Fellow will support the Climate Action lever of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in West and Central Africa and contribute to fundraising on a need basis.

Key duties & Responsibilities

• Conceptualize innovative research approaches and develop methods and tools to document the outcomes of and lessons learnt from multi-stakeholder engagement and innovations processes (e.g., policy, capacity building, partnership, etc.).
• Contributes to the design, planning and execution of work plans in a research project.
• Design, collect and analyze primary and secondary data using Participatory Action Research methods, tools and approaches.
• Contribute to facilitation of multi-stakeholder engagement processes.
• Strengthens and supports external partnerships for scientific research with a number of colleagues and professionals from various disciplines.
• Present the work and results concisely to a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Contributes to and generates scientific publications and responsible for fulfilling a work plan for a research project.
• Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals, contributing to the academic discourse on climate change research in Africa.
• Contribute to project management, M&E activities and proposal developments.

Requirements

• PhD in Social Science, Innovation Studies, Agricultural Extension, Communication Studies, Rural Sociology, Agricultural Economics, International Development, Public Policy, or related fields with experience in monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
• Familiarity with the theory and application of monitoring and evaluation frameworks and tools, especially participatory and theory-based monitoring and evaluation.
• Proven experience in participatory action research and stakeholder engagement and facilitation.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative action research.
• Excellent qualitative analytical skills (QCA, discourse/content analysis, field work and primary data collection).
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills and ability to develop and apply innovative research approaches.
• Experience in multi-disciplinary research and/or development projects related to climate change adaptation and mitigation in African agriculture and food systems.
• Experience in systematic literature reviews and knowledge synthesis methods and tools would be an advantage.
• Proven record of academic writing (e.g., peer reviewed publications).
• Ability to analyze and capture results from various reports, collate data and information from various sources to generate synthetic insights.
• Prior experience in Gender and Social Inclusion research would be a plus.
• Excellent oral and written commands of both English and French

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position and will be based in Dakar, Senegal. The initial contract will be for up to two (2) years, subject to a probation period of six (6) months and is renewable depending on the performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG08 level, with a minimum basic annual salary of Usd 44,248 per annum 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 RFP300045-Doctoral Fellow – Social Innovation and Learning as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name and first name for ease of sorting.

Applications closing date: Friday, 31st January 2025

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