Research Officer I

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Research Officer to support the research, capacity building, and communication and dissemination work of the Foresight and Policy Team within ILRI’s People, Policies and Institutions (PPI) Program and the CGIAR Science Program on Policy Innovations.

ILRI works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centres dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org

Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to analytical work of the Foresight and Policy Team within the People, Policies, and Institutions Program (PPI) of ILRI. Areas of research will include livestock foresight and policy analysis, investment prioritization, and related areas.
• Synthesis of studies and literature around topical issues affecting food, land, and water systems to generate policy relevant messages.
• Contribute to drafting and dissemination of technical reports/papers on understanding, planning, and responding to emerging food, land, and water policy crises.
• Contribute to preparation of policy dialogue meetings at national and regional levels focusing on priority topics.
• Participate in regional events/processes such as Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) processes to link CGIAR tools and analyses to regional policy agenda.
• Contribute to the communication of PPI work through preparation of publications such as working papers, policy briefs, technical reports, journal publications, conference papers, posters, brochures, and presentations at policy forums.
• Contribute to capacity sharing activities including organizing and implementing relevant training for partners and other stakeholders.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in economics, agricultural economics, development economics or other related field with application to agri-food systems.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience post-graduation with the master’s degree.
• Experience in agri-food systems research using mixed methods analysis.
• Knowledge and experience in food, land, and water systems issues in low-and-middle income countries.
• Demonstrated ability and experience in data collection, data analysis, and outputs generation—i.e., reports and scientific publications. 
• Experience in conducting literature search and drafting high-quality policy documents and related correspondence.
• Experience in capacity sharing for improved policy and investment decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain professional contacts, and to interact with national officials and experts, other researchers, international organizations, development partners, and other stakeholders.
• Proficiency in using Ms Office and statistical packages such as STATA, R, SPSS, etc.
• Demonstrated good organizational skills and ability to work with a minimum of supervision.

Post location: The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya

Terms of Appointment

This position is at job level HG 13 and it is only open to Kenyan nationals. The position is a 3-year contract, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding. ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes pension, medical and other insurances.

How to apply: Applicants should send a cover letter and CV expressing their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Head of People and Culture through our recruitment portal by clicking on "Apply Now" on or before 2 April 2025. The position title and reference number REF: PPI/1843/2025 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.

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

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

To find out more about ILRI, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org/

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