Post Doctoral Scientist - Agricultural Economist

Role Overview

This research scientist position sits within an international institute dedicated to improving livestock-based livelihoods across Africa and Asia. You will drive a portfolio of work focused on understanding how climate and market risks affect vulnerable farming communities, and on testing interventions that help households and value chains absorb shocks rather than fall into poverty. Day to day, that means designing rigorous studies, analysing complex datasets, building partnerships with governments and researchers, and turning evidence into practical guidance for policies and programmes that strengthen resilience.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and lead quantitative research on risk exposure and vulnerability in mixed crop-livestock systems, using systems thinking to capture interactions across farm enterprises and supply chains.
• Develop impact evaluation studies — experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational — to measure how adoption of de-risking tools affects household welfare, productivity, and resilience over time.
• Model trade-offs and synergies between different risk management approaches, such as insurance, anticipatory action, and climate-smart practices, to identify where investments deliver the greatest benefit.
• Translate research findings into peer-reviewed journal articles, policy briefs, technical reports, toolkits, and concise donor updates.
• Build and nurture strategic relationships with universities, CGIAR centres, government ministries, donors, private sector partners, and civil society organisations working on risk reduction.
• Facilitate stakeholder dialogues, training sessions, and learning events with national governments, counties, and local communities to embed evidence into risk assessment and contingency planning.
• Manage data lifecycles for research projects — from survey design and collection through cleaning, curation, documentation, and analysis — while ensuring quality control across deliverables.
• Contribute to fundraising by drafting proposals, scoping new opportunities, and supporting the development of project budgets and milestones.

Requirements & Qualifications

• PhD in agricultural economics, development economics, environmental economics, or a closely related field, with 2–4 years of post-doctoral experience applying those skills to real-world agricultural systems.
• Advanced econometric proficiency, including causal inference methods for impact evaluation, experimental design, and analysis of panel or spatial data; strong command of at least one statistical environment — Stata, R, or Python.
• Demonstrated experience assessing risk across agricultural value chains — from smallholder production to market integration — and crafting evidence-based risk management solutions for climate-sensitive regions.
• Hands-on familiarity with tools and frameworks like index-based livestock insurance, crop index insurance, early warning systems, anticipatory action, and climate-smart agricultural practices.
• Knowledge of fragile ecosystems and the unique socioeconomic constraints facing vulnerable and marginalised communities, with readiness to work in rural and remote field sites across multiple countries.
• A solid record of publications in internationally recognised, peer-reviewed journals, alongside strong writing and editing skills for reports and policy-oriented materials.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities in English, with the capacity to engage diverse audiences from farmers to senior policymakers; working proficiency in French is a distinct advantage.
• Ability to work autonomously within multidisciplinary, multicultural teams and to mentor early-career researchers and graduate fellows, fostering their growth in analytical methods and research practice.
• Experience with resource mobilisation, proposal writing, and donor relations is an added asset, as is prior familiarity with CGIAR research platforms or other international agricultural research consortia.