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NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (NARO)
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Agricultural Economist/Social economist
National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) is mandated to coordinate, oversee and guide agricultural research in Uganda. Through its Public Agricultural Research Institutes, NARO develops technologies, innovative methods and new knowledge that better enable farmers, especially smallholders, to make agriculture competitive and profitable as well as sustainable and resilient. NARO conducts research for development in Uganda. NARO through its National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) is seeking an Agricultural Economist/Socio-economist within a new project Cultivate Africa Future (CultiAF) that is expected to develop and promote innovative new bean based products for wider consumption.
Background
The aim is to increase the production and consumption of more diverse, safe processed bean products especially among the urban and peri-urban populations of Uganda and Kenya. A multidisciplinary research team in cooperation with national and international development organizations and partner institutes will apply a holistic, demand driven, impact oriented action research approach from farm to fork including research topics on sustainable food availability, food access, food use, food quality, food safety and food utilization, giving particular concern to gender equality, inclusive business relationships and sustainability of agricultural production.
Role and responsibilities
Working in a team focusing on promoting precooked beans, the scientist will provide capacity development to national research programs on market linkages, strengthening bean platforms and other agro-enterprise development activities related to CultiAF project. The incumbent will contribute to investigating the role of precooked beans in the nutrition and incomes of the producers and consumers and contribute to the development of the precooked bean value chains in Kenya and Uganda. The incumbent will work with partners, stakeholders at the regional, national and local levels. He/she will also provide support in designing and conducting bean product and related market studies and surveys, as well as the statistical analyses of market data in Uganda and the region.
Based at NARO Namulonge, the incumbent will have the following roles and responsibilities:
· Undertake research design, implementation and analysis of quantitative and qualitative survey data for peer-reviewed journals and other impact-oriented products from high quality research on precooked bean value chains and present at scientific fora;
· Develop and test tools and methodologies and conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of the market value chain data and document the impact of market interventions on the smallholder farmers with a gender perspective;
· Participate in the development and testing of sustainable market linkages and business models that enhance market access of smallholder farmers in collaboration with market value chain actors and other stakeholders
· Support the research on identifying market opportunities and assessing the consumer and market demand for precooked beans and determine the willingness to pay for the new products
· Design and conduct baselines and project evaluations across gender, nutrition, markets and food safety in collaboration with the project teams
· Support capacity building of different value chain actors and ensure that women and youth are not marginalized in the project interventions Support gender research and analysis within the project
· Contribute to the development of new funding opportunities including proposals and concept notes for the generation of financial and human resources to support the research agenda;
· Support engagement with key stakeholders and strategic partnerships with regional and international institutions, country government officials, international and local donors, international and local NGOs, universities and other resource institutions that work with NARO in livelihood, agriculture and nutrition programs and especially to enhance the precooked bean project outcomes;
Requirements
The candidate shall have the following competencies, skills and experience and/or shall have successfully demonstrated these attributes in actual work situations:
· MSc in either Agribusiness, Marketing, Agricultural Economics, Food and Consumer Economics, Economics, Sociology and Management or related fields attained. PhD in the named fields will be an added advantage.
· At least 2 years of research experience at the interface between agricultural value chains, consumer economics and nutrition , but preferably with good economic background, preferably in East Africa
· Proven publication record is very essential
· Experience in applying methodologies and tools to assess household food security, production and marketing, gender and empowerment, and private sector participation in value chains
· Experience in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis using statistical and Econometric models, statistical and other software (Stata, SPSS, Ms-Access etc.)
· Strong statistical skills experience with food consumption studies, sensory evaluation and focus group discussions
· Experience in managing socioeconomic and market surveys of different actors along the value chain with a good understanding of the problem of market access in Africa
· Excellent writing and oral communication skills
· Strong ability to co-ordinate, prioritize and organize workload; take initiative and work under pressure
· Ability to work independently but also in teams
· Willingness to travel and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
Applications
Applicants are invited to send a cover letter illustrating their suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications, competencies, skills together with detailed curriculum vitae, copies of certificates and academic transcripts including names and addresses of three referees. Include your working telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for ease of communication. All correspondence should be addressed to:
Director
National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge
P.O. Box 7084
Kampala, UGANDA.
directornacrri@yahoo.com
Closing date for applications: Friday 15th May 2015.
We invite you to learn more about NARO at www.naro.org
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