MCHONGO WA KAZI HUO CHANGAMKIENI

IFPRI VACANCY POSTING

Position #13-118 (N)

LOCALLY RECRUITED POSITION

TITLE:                       Senior Research Assistant/Research Analyst

LOCATION:              Washington, DC

DIVISION:                Environment and Production Technology

REPORTS TO:         Ephraim Nkonya, Senior Research Fellow

GRADE:                    14B/14C

FLSA STATUS:        Exempt

POSTING DATE:      March 4, 2013

CLOSING DATE:     March 29, 2013 OR UNTIL FILLED

Summary:

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks to recruit a skilled and innovative data management professional to support strategic, policy-focused research across a range of geographic scales from sub-national through to global. Current regional foci are Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but global perspectives on challenges and opportunities for poverty and hunger alleviation in developing countries pervade much of the work of this program. The success of the research program will depend, in part, on its ability to develop and maintain large, integrated sets of spatial and tabular data linked to a range of biophysical (e.g. hydrological, crop growth, land degradation and land use change) and economic models. Thematically, data and analyses will encompass spatial dimensions of climate and climate change, land degradation, land management, agricultural production systems, ecosystem services, economic activities and livelihoods, market access, and multiple dimensions of human well-being. The ability to bridge gaps between different scales, methods, and disciplinary perspectives is central to the work of the program.

This is a one-year, exempt, fixed term, renewable position, depending on performance and funding. This position is based at IFPRI headquarters located in Washington, D.C., but might involve travel to the countries in which IFPRI carries out its research. Final title and grade will be determined based on experience.

Essential Duties:

The successful candidate will perform the following duties:

·       Document, catalogue, and manage a very large and growing collection of national, regional and global spatial data sets.

·       Develop/apply queries and generate statistical summaries of large databases in both spatial and non-spatial formats.

·       Write database, object-oriented or procedural language code to perform specialized analytical functions of relationship of land cover/land use and economic activities, policies, and biophysical characteristics.

·       Articulate and implement the spatial (primarily raster-based) analysis tasks required to achieve GIS related technical outputs, e.g., reclassification, reprojection, multi-criteria model building, network analysis

·       Together with IT (including WWW) specialists in IFPRI and the CGIAR contribute to the design and implementation a capacity to share spatial data, analytical tools and analytical results through both the intranet and the internet.

·       Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

·       Master’s degree in Engineering, Geography, Natural Resource Economics or related field

-        At the Research Analyst level, a Master’s degree and minimum 2-3 years’ relevant post-Master’s experience is required.

·       Proficient in scientific programming language such as C++ or Fortran.

·       Familiarity with data management, processing, and analysis.

·       Significant experience using major GIS software such as ArcGIS or GRASS.

·       Significant experience in managing and manipulating large household survey and spatial databases.

·       Fluency in oral and written English.

·       Excellent writing and analytical skills.

·       Ability to work independently and effectively with colleagues from diverse cultures.

·       Good interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

·       Sound knowledge of international agricultural policy, economic development, and natural resources.

·       Previous experience working on international development issues and/or extensive knowledge of relevant development issues within an academic context.

IFPRI is one of the international agricultural research institutes organized under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).  The mandate of IFPRI is to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting world food needs in ways that conserve the natural resource base, with emphasis on low income and on the poorer groups in the countries.

IFPRI offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits.  IFPRI is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. We encourage women and developing country professionals to apply.

TO APPLY: 

IFPRI Employees: Please send cover letter & resume – via email – to Alma López/Carla Tufano/Monica Dourado.

External Candidates: Go to www.ifpri.org .  Click on “Careers” and then click on “Research” to link you to Position # 13-118 -Senior Research Assistant/Research Analyst, EPTD.  Please complete on-line application, including a complete resume and a detailed letter of interest.  Also complete section providing 3 references.  For more information on IFPRI, please visit our website at www.ifpri.org.

For more information on IFPRI, please visit our website at www.ifpri.org.  EOE.