Research Associate

Research Associate – Climate Action Asia

The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (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.

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 in a climate crisis.

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

About the position

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT seeks to recruit a national candidate for the position of Research Associate, contributing to research, project implementation and logistic support of the Climate Action team in Asia, and in particular its work on climate services within the CGIAR initiative “Asia Mega Deltas (AMD)“. The Research Associate will join a multi-disciplinary team composed of national and international experts based in Vietnam and in other countries. He/she will work directly with the Vietnam country team to support project implementation, organize workshops/events, contribute to research activities, partnership building and other logistic support.

Responsibilities

• Support project implementation and innovation. Implement and support planned activities on the development and dissemination of agroclimatic advisory in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) and Ninh Thuan Province in South-Central Coast (SCC); organize and facilitate meetings and/or workshops with local stakeholders; regularly follow-up, monitor, write field reports and document the progress of field activities in the pilot sites to ensure achievement of target outputs and outcomes; and ensure immediate reporting to supervisor for urgent matters to facilitate timely troubleshooting, as necessary;
• Contribute to capacity building/knowledge sharing. Contribute to developing needs-based training designs and modules and carry out tailored training for local stakeholders (i.e., local governments), support the training and management of field enumerators, and supervise data collection (e.g., household surveys, key informant interviews, focus groups); and support organizing key project learnings and knowledge sharing workshops/meetings;
• Collaborate with stakeholders and scope for scaling opportunities. Maintain effective relationships with local partners in the provinces and help identify opportunities to scale climate services beyond pilot sites through exploration of relevant action plans, programs, and policies of potential partners including the private sector and other development organizations;
• Develop and contribute diverse and high-quality knowledge products. Contribute to develop reports/knowledge products within the context of AMD in Vietnam and develop/contribute to general communication products (newsletters, presentations/webinars, articles, blogs, etc.);
• Undertake relevant support tasks. Assist in the procurement of goods and services in support of programmatic activities and other administrative or logistic tasks as assigned by the supervisors;
• Contribute to team goals. Contribute to strategy and goals of climate action team of Asia through active involvement with the team, including representing the team in sharing project results and experiences within the organization and in partner workshops/meetings (in consultation with Vietnam country team and/or regional team) and participation in key AMD project meetings.

Required qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in natural sciences such as crop science, agriculture, sustainable natural resources management, environmental science, or another relevant field. Master’s degree is an advantage;
• At least 3 years of relevant experience in project implementation, coordinating with local stakeholders from village, commune to provincial level, providing training/capacity building workshop;
• Demonstrated experience in organizing and facilitating participatory workshops and conducting surveys, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with farmers and local stakeholders. Experience in project M&E is an advantage (e.g., baseline and end line surveys, qualitative evaluation);
• Experience in logistic arrangement for preparation and liquidation of meetings, field trips, etc.

Skills and competence                                                                          

• Well organized and able to meet tight deadlines;
• Good command of the English language;
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work well in multi-cultural teams;
• Excellent facilitation skills and decision-making;
• Good understanding of time management and able to work under pressure;
• Ability to work independently and with minimum supervision.

Terms of employment

This is a full-time position based in Hanoi, Vietnam and is available for Vietnamese nationals. The initial contract will be for one (1) year, subject to a probation period of two (2) months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. This is a position at level BG06, on a scale of 14 levels, with level 14 being the highest.

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with a competitive salary and excellent benefits. We are an equal opportunity employer, and strive for gender, diversity, and inclusion in our staff, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic.

Applications

To be considered for this position, please send an email to HR Unit: [email protected] (Ms. To Mai Trang), cc [email protected] (Ms. Monissa Raju) with the subject line “Application: Research Associate: Climate action – Your full name”. In your email, please include:

1. A cover letter illustrating your motivation to apply and suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications and work responsibilities;
2. A detailed curriculum vitae, including the names and email addresses of three professional referees who are knowledgeable about your skills and professional abilities.

This position is urgent and will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found. Only qualified applicants with relevant skills and experience will be contacted. We recommend applying as soon as possible and no later than July 16, 2023.

We invite you to learn more about us at: https://alliancebioversityciat.org/