Post-Doctoral Fellow, Trait Preference Research at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Job Description

• The Post-Doctoral Fellow (PDF) in Nigeria (based in the IITA HQ) will be involved in the implementation of the new One CGIAR Resilient Aquatic Food Systems (Aquatic Systems) Initiative.
• The PDF will specifically support the research in Work Package 4 (WP4) of the Aquatic Systems Initiative titled AquaGenetics. The first business cycle of the Aquatic Systems Initiative is from April 2022 to March 2025.
• The PDF will coordinate and assist in the implementation of fish trait preference research amongst users (e.g., women, men, and youth) in different market segments, including understanding the economic, social, and biophysical tradeoffs between preferences for different products and users’ willingness to pay.
• While the primary research will be conducted in Nigeria on tilapia and African catfish trait preferences, the PDF will also support the ongoing research in India and Bangladesh to ensure existing breeding programs are gender-responsive and pro-poor.
• In executing the research, the PDF will collaborate with other researchers outside of IITA who work across the different Work Packages of the Aquatic Systems Initiative.
• The PDF will work under the supervision of IITA Senior Gender Scientist, Dr. Steven Cole. The PDF will participate in all stages of the research in WP4 of the Aquatic Systems Initiative, including research design, preparation, data collection, data analysis, and reporting/writing up of science outputs.
• The PDF will also attend and/or contribute to presentations of research findings at conferences, workshops, and take advantage of certain training opportunities, as assigned.

Position Responsibilities

• Development of study protocols, questionnaires, and tools for carrying out quantitative fish trait preferences studies and related research.
• Planning and conducting, or oversight of, surveys to produce high quality data sets on trait preferences of different value chain actors, including supervision of enumerators.
• Analysis of survey results in collaboration with the genetics teams leading WP4 of the Aquatic Systems Initiative.
• Partnership engagement, with special focus on working with and strengthening partnerships with private firms.
• Publishing research papers in quality scientific journals and ensuring that research findings are communicated to the larger scientific and development practitioner community (e.g., journal articles, workshop reports, blogs, briefs).
• Perform any other job-related duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Educational Qualifications and Experience

• The candidate should possess a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics or Genetics from a highly recognized university with at least three years of prior field research experience.

Core Competencies:

• Strong training in economics and econometrics, with application in agriculture/aquaculture or in genetics with economics analysis experience.
• Proven competency with experimental design and statistical analysis.
• Ability to develop larger-scale quantitative studies to determine preferences for different agricultural products (specifically crop variety, fish strain, and/or trait preferences) across different market segments and users (specifically economic, social, and biophysical tradeoffs between preferences for different products and willingness to pay).
• Strong scientific writing and analytical skills with record of publication in high quality scientific reports and experience in leading or co-authoring scientific journal articles.
• Experience of working in rural Africa and of setting up and successfully implementing larger-scale economic/social science studies.
• Good communication skills.
• Ability to think and act independently and propose solutions in the face of challenging circumstances).
• Excellent communication skills and high proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Understanding of seed systems in a low-income country context and the role of the private sector in supporting economically sustainable, socially inclusive seed systems for improved smallholder livelihoods.

General information:

• The contract will be for an initial period of two years. IITA offers an internationally competitive remuneration package paid in U.S. Dollars.