Research Project Coordinator - Climate and Water Resource Management at International Livestock Research Institute

International Livestock Research Institute

Position: Research Project Coordinator - Climate and Water Resource Management

Application Deadline: August, 30/2023

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) seeks to recruit a project coordinator in Ethiopia – Climate and Water Resource Management. The specific focus of this position is to provide support, conduct, and coordinate remote-sensing, water and pasture resource monitoring, and climate modeling research activities for developing livestock water monitoring systems in Ethiopia. The overall objective is to improve the Ethiopian government's response to drought and the livelihood of the pastoral communities by providing information on water availability on a real-time basis for risk management.

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) are one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to delivering research-based solutions that address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. The Alliance focuses on the nexus of agriculture, nutrition, and the environment. We work with local, national, and multinational partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and with the public and private sectors and civil society. With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people. The Alliance is organized into six key levers: 1)Food environment and consumer behavior - reshaping the food environment and consumer behavior toward healthy and sustainable diets; 2) Multifunctional landscapes - fostering innovation for environmental health and productive landscapes to improve livelihoods; 3) Climate action - mainstreaming climate action in the food system to reduce risks; 4) Biodiversity for food and agriculture - making agricultural and tree diversity available and safeguarding it for the diverse needs of food system actors; 5) Digital inclusion - promoting inclusion in the digital agriculture revolution for equitable benefits; and 6) Crops for nutrition and health - putting nutrition and health at the heart of crop improvement to address the triple burden of malnutrition. The job will provide support to the Climate Action lever in Ethiopia by coordinating the execution and implementation of day-to-day project activities related to water, remote sensing, climate risk, and vulnerability assessment.

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead and undertake qualitative and quantitative risk and vulnerability assessments for multiple climate hazards and integrated decision support tools across the waterpoints for effective early warning;

• Lead the development of new products or methodologies to enhance the current system incorporating sub-seasonal forecast for the water points in collaboration with partners;

• Lead and coordinate remote-sensing, water and pasture resource monitoring, and climate modeling research activities progress in implementing the activities and delivering outputs and preparing an annual progress report using an agreed or donor format;

• Lead and conduct climate risk analysis at the different spatial scales and identify potential strategies to build resilient food systems;

• Conduct climate risk and risk-credit analysis to develop climate credit scoring tools for de-risking;

• Support to enhance for development and use of de-risking digital agro-advisory products and services;

• Facilitate and conduct consultative workshops with concerned stakeholders for the development of participatory water resource monitoring, pasture condition assessment, risk mitigation, climate adaptation, and resilience strategies for building climate-resilient agricultural sector in lowland areas;

• Support the capacity building of stakeholders to improve their understanding of water monitoring, pasture condition assessment, and climate risk and vulnerability assessment;

• Work with farmers and pastoralists, their representatives, and other key stakeholders to improve uptake of products/ technologies/innovations developed under climate action lever;

• Contribute to an interdisciplinary and applied research program on resilience in drylands, investigating the link between climate change, digital inclusion, climate security, rangeland productivity, water resource management, and livelihood impact;

• Support the development of project deliverables including reporting, enabling digital platforms, and communicating findings to stakeholders;

• Lead and contribute to resource mobilization through significant input to proposal development;

• Led major scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, analyze data to produce high-quality and technical reports including developing situational analysis related to drought and other factors;

• Contribute to the fulfillment, in a timely and accurate fashion, of the various mandatory reporting requirements for the ongoing climate action lever activities in Ethiopia;

• Support the dissemination of project results through available stakeholder platforms including presentations and reports;

• Any other relevant duties assigned.

Terms of appointment:

• The initial appointment is for a one-year renewable appointment based on performance and funding availability.

• ABC offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salaries and excellent benefits in line with ILRI's salary applicable for its Nationally Recruited Staff.

• CIAT is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that the diversity of its staff contributes to excellence.

Job requirements

Education:

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. degree in a relevant field of study such as Water Resource Management, Hydrology, Climate Change and Adaptation, Geospatial Sciences, Spatial Ecology, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Sciences, Meteorology, Climatology or its equivalent relevant

• In-depth knowledge in a technical and specialized field of study.

• Understanding of theoretical concepts/principles and their context.

Experience:

• Master’s degree with 9 years or Ph.D. degree with 2 years of professional experience

Skills:

• Excellent knowledge in water resource monitoring, pasture resource assessment, climate modeling, downscaling climate models and statistical and GIS-based models, Digital Elevation Modelling/ Climate Downscaling/ Statistical Modelling/scenario development, and climate vulnerability assessment/index based on climatic, environmental, and socio-economic variables

• Experience in water resource monitoring, hydrology, and remote sensing application on modeling ground and surface water

• Experience in the application of mathematical, statistical, and modeling tools and geospatial analysis with extensive experience in the use of remote sensing and GIS dataset (ASTRA, TRRM, NDVI, and MODIS, etc) for dryland resource monitoring and climate vulnerability analysis

• Deep understanding of climate-smart agriculture and climate risk profiling

• Considerable in water and natural resource management with a good understanding of agropastoral and pastoral production systems in the drylands of Ethiopia

• Proven experience in analytical and problem-solving, digital technology, dashboard development, database management, and manipulation

• Strong record of high-quality scientific publications and experience in producing training materials

• Experience in Python, R, and open-source coding to undertake extensive data analytics and modeling to perform assigned duties

• Good team player with excellent interpersonal, communication, analytical, and organizational skills

• Strong communication, writing, and presentation skills in English and knowledge of local languages.

• Working experience in and understanding of CGIAR organizations will be an added advantage

Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Position level: HG 16

Minimum Base salary: Birr 116,866 per month (Negotiable depending on the salary history of the candidate)

Terms of appointment: Initial appointment is for a one-year renewable appointment based on performance and funding availability. ABC offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salaries and excellent benefits in line with ILRI salary applicable for its Nationally Recruited Staff. CIAT is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that the diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. 

The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus with dining and sports facilities.

How to apply

Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae using this LINK

The position and reference number: RPC/ABC/20/23 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications are to be submitted online on our recruitment portal using the below apply button on or before 30 August 2023.

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

ABC/ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training).

To find more about the Alliance, visit our Website at https://alliancebioversityciat.org

Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.