Background

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 to recruit a Senior Research Associate. The Senior Research Associate will be based in Arusha, Tanzania with travel to project sites, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in grain trading and processing, farming communities and in the regions within Africa when necessary. The incumbent will coordinate in all the stages of project management by supporting the crop value chain actors, coordinating surveys and data analysis for PABRA projects in Tanzania.

Key duties & responsibilities

• Support the project coordinator to oversee and monitor the execution of various experiments, protocols activities in the project and adhere to rigorous scientific standards for research
• Work collaboratively with the rest of the project team to develop a deep understanding of the best ways to accelerate adoption of OPV crop cultivars.
• Support gender mainstreaming within the ABC projects and lead and carry out fieldwork in rural communities, traders for gender focused qualitative (i.e., intra-household) research and in relation to the variety turnover and evaluation with stakeholders and project partners
• Support development of digital tools to guide decisions regarding accelerating adoption of new cultivars and increasing varietal turnover by farmers, policy makers, and those in the bean, sorghum and groundnut value chains.
• Strengthen and support external partnerships for scientific research with a number of colleagues and professionals from various disciplines.
• Contribute to the design and coordination of data collection from on station and on-farm trials and project beneficiaries using digital tools and support quantitative and qualitative analysis using statistical software
• Support fostering a strong network and coordination with NARES partners, private entities, seed corporations and other key seed stakeholders and engage them for scale up pathways for high-potential digital innovations and cultivars.
• Contribute to project technical reporting (quarterly/ annual donor technical and trips) and publication of research results in peer-reviewed journals
• Perform other tasks as assigned as a member of Pan African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) team

Requirements

• MSc degree in agricultural science (agricultural economics/Agribusiness, Agriculture etc), Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, social science or related field with an understanding of seed systems and strengthening partnerships for delivery of agricultural programs in developing countries.
• Have excellent social skills in building contacts of trust with key persons in rural communities such as traders, community leaders, farmers and processors etc.
• Have experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis and management using tools such as SPSS/STATA or R and familiar with digital tools and innovations in agriculture
• Experience working on digital farmer services and knowledge of digital tools and communication platforms
• Experience working with National Agriculture Research Systems (NARES) and smallholder farmers is a plus.
• Working experience around in social science, technology transfer, development research, rural development
• Knowledge of human-centered design, design thinking and scalable digital agriculture tools is a plus
• Excellent/proven English writing skills. Other languages (e.g., Kiswahili and local languages) would be a plus.

• Support the project coordinator to oversee and monitor the execution of various experiments, protocols activities in the project and adhere to rigorous scientific standards for research
• Work collaboratively with the rest of the project team to develop a deep understanding of the best ways to accelerate adoption of OPV crop cultivars.
• Support gender mainstreaming within the ABC projects and lead and carry out fieldwork in rural communities, traders for gender focused qualitative (i.e., intra-household) research and in relation to the variety turnover and evaluation with stakeholders and project partners
• Support development of digital tools to guide decisions regarding accelerating adoption of new cultivars and increasing varietal turnover by farmers, policy makers, and those in the bean, sorghum and groundnut value chains.
• Strengthen and support external partnerships for scientific research with a number of colleagues and professionals from various disciplines.
• Contribute to the design and coordination of data collection from on station and on-farm trials and project beneficiaries using digital tools and support quantitative and qualitative analysis using statistical software
• Support fostering a strong network and coordination with NARES partners, private entities, seed corporations and other key seed stakeholders and engage them for scale up pathways for high-potential digital innovations and cultivars.
• Contribute to project technical reporting (quarterly/ annual donor technical and trips) and publication of research results in peer-reviewed journals
• Perform other tasks as assigned as a member of Pan African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) team

• Excellent social skills in building contacts of trust with key persons in rural communities such as traders, community leaders, farmers and processors etc.
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis and management using tools such as SPSS/STATA or R
• Familiar with digital tools and innovations in agriculture
• Experience working on digital farmer services and knowledge of digital tools and communication platforms
• Excellent/proven English writing skills.

• MSc degree in agricultural science (agricultural economics/Agribusiness, Agriculture etc), Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, social science or related field with an understanding of seed systems and strengthening partnerships for delivery of agricultural programs in developing countries.
• Experience working with National Agriculture Research Systems (NARES) and smallholder farmers is a plus.
• Working experience around in social science, technology transfer, development research, rural development
• Knowledge of human-centered design, design thinking and scalable digital agriculture tools is a plus
• Other languages (e.g., Kiswahili and local languages) would be a plus.