Research Fellow (research economist)
Last Date: March 14, 2011
THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
POSITION # 11-106 – RESEARCH FELLOW
JOB SUMMARY:
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a Research Fellow (research economist) for its HarvestChoice team in the Environment and Production Technology Division. This is a two-year, exempt, renewable appointment depending on performance and funding based at IFPRI headquarters in Washington, D.C. HarvestChoice generates data, methods, tools and, increasingly, production, market and socio-economic evaluation that serve to inform strategic, agriculture-related investment choices targeted to raising the productivity and well-being of poor smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
HarvestChoice is jointly implemented with the Center for International Science and Technology Policy and Practice (InSTePP) at the University of Minnesota, and cross-team collaboration in achieving the goals of HarvestChoice is an important source of synergy and innovation in the initiative.
The Research Fellow will work closely with IFPRI HarvestChoice team leader in conducting a work program agreed and monitored by the IFPRI HarvestChoice and the World Bank LSMS-ISA teams, in the context of the overall workplans and milestones of the entire (IFPRI and UMN) HarvestChoice initiative. Conditions of employment, benefits and performance assessment processes for this position would be those established by IFPRI.
Essential Duties:
The successful candidate will be responsible for coordination and intellectual leadership of the analysis of household, community and related survey data within the IFPRI HarvestChoice team in order to expand and enrich the integration and contribution of such data to the overall project goals. Together with other specialist team members and consultants, other responsibilities will include improved organization and management of the survey data holdings.
An increasing proportion of the household and community survey data available to HarvestChoice will be those collected and managed by the Living Standards Monitoring Survey (LSMS) group of the World Bank and, in particular, those collected under the auspices of the Integrated Survey for Agriculture project (LSMS-ISA). Both HarvestChoice and LSMS-ISA are funded primarily through grants made by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. One activity envisaged under both the LSMS-ISA and HarvestChoice is the preparation of standardized datasets for agricultural enterprises (both crops and livestock) as well as for welfare, food consumption and assets that can be used to support further thematic analyses, especially in a cross-country, comparative context. This data development work will initially be focused on a number of HarvestChoice and LSMS-ISA priority countries.
Required Qualifications:
• PhD in agricultural economics, applied economics or a very closely related field
• Minimum of 5 years post graduation experience in the analysis of large, nationally representative household survey data on issues such as agricultural production (crops and livestock), food consumption, and welfare analysis (including assets and poverty).
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Demonstrated strong writing skills and capacity to publish research findings
• Professional engagement with recognized leaders in the field,
• Demonstrated intellectual leadership in the analysis and application of household data in a development context.
• Advanced knowledge of STATA statistical software package, good econometric skills and strong familiarity with household survey data production processes.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and across disciplines.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in analysis of survey data from households and communities engaged in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
• Knowledge of LSMS field methodologies and data collection protocols
• Experience in the use of small-area estimation techniques and gender-disaggregated analyses
• Competency in empirical analysis of production functions using household or field experiment data
• Experience with techniques of deriving statistically robust typologies or clusters of household
• Significant periods of travel to and work in developing countries, especially in Africa
• Working knowledge of a second language of relevance to an African research focus (e.g., French, Portuguese, Swahili or Amharic).
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:
Go to www.ifpri.org . Click on “Careers” and “Research” to link you to Position # 11-106 –RESEARCH FELLOW. Please complete on-line application, including a complete curriculum vitae 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 . EOE
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