ICRISAT seeks: Scientific Officer (Agricultural Economics)
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics is home to over 2 billion people, with 650 million of these being the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower those living in the semi-arid tropics, especially smallholder farmers, to overcome poverty, hunger, malnutrition and a degraded environment through more efficient and profitable agriculture. ICRISAT, established in 1972, and is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. For more details, visit www.icrisat.org
ICRISAT is seeking applications for the position of Scientific Officer (Agricultural Economics) for its West and Central Regional Research Program. The position will be based at ICRISAT, Bamako, Mali.
Duties and responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of Dr. Alphonse Singbo, Economist, Institutions and Policy, the Scientific Officer (Agricultural Economics) will participate in conducting research with regard to market economics, agricultural economics, production economics, and gender in multi-disciplinary and participatory teams of scientists. The incumbent will also assist other scientists and students for the ongoing activities in the Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) of Sorghum and Millets in sub-Saharan Africa – Phase 2 project. In particular the Scientific Officer will:  
– Assist in developing research questions and survey instruments for strategic and applied economic research in the HOPE project and other related activities in the WCA region.
– Design and develop survey instruments for data collection on socio-economic analysis.
– Build the capacity of field investigators in collecting information related to value chains and smallholder farmers’ production and consumption.
– Prepare and make presentations on summaries of recent developments in the HOPE 2 project at forums and other meetings 
– Assist in project socio-economist and gender activities and technical assistance to the HOPE 2 project including proposal development, planning and budgeting. 
– Assist in the collation of scientists’ inputs and synthesis of internal reports including medium term plan (MTP) documents, archival reports, annual reports, for the HOPE project and ICRISAT Research Program on Markets Institutions and Policies (RP-MIP).-
– Contribute to the fulfillment, in a timely and accurate fashion, of the various mandatory reporting requirements for the ongoing projects in the research program.
Minimum requirements
– Masters or Engineer (Ingénieur) degree in Agricultural Economics, Economics or in Statistics.
– Excellent knowledge of data management methods and ability to use econometrics Software such as Stata, R and spreadsheets (eg. Excel, MS Access).
– Good knowledge in digital data collection like ODK, CSPro, etc.
– Experience in fieldwork and good understanding of cereal value chains in West and Central Africa and gender research.
– Good proficiency in spoken and written English is desirable.
Selection criteria
Candidates will be assessed against the following:
– Relevance of experience related to agricultural economics research and cereal value chains.
– Experience and ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams with diverse cultural backgrounds
– Conceptual and report writing skills are required
The Reward
The initial contract will be for 2 years with a possibility of renewal for another year based on satisfactory performance, need for the position and fund availability. The position is in the category of RRS (Regionally Recruited Staff Band A), with a competitive salary and other annual allowances.
How to apply:
Applicants should apply on or before 25 March 2017 by email to: k.yena@icrisatml.org, with a letter of motivation, latest Curriculum Vitae, a scanned copy of diploma and names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable of the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience. The reference name of the position (Scientific Officer-Economics for HOPE 2 Project) should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the email.
Interviews will be held in April or May at the Samanko Station, Bamako-Mali. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Background information
ICRISAT is non-profit, nonpolitical organization that does innovative agricultural research and agricultural research and capacity building for sustainable development with a wide array of partners across the globe. It is one of the international agricultural research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research in the World.
ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer, and is especially interested in increasing participation of women on its staff.