INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CALL: RESEARCH ASSOCIATE- EMBU, KENYA

THE ORGANIZATION

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crisis of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national, and multinational partners across Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia, and with public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

About the position

The Research Associate will support the implementation of the Nourishing Minds and Soils: Regenerative Approaches to School Nutrition project within the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The position is embedded within a multidisciplinary research team and plays a critical role in linking field activities with scientific objectives and community engagement.

The main responsibility of the role is to ensure the effective coordination and execution of field activities across participating farmers and school sites. This includes supporting the establishment and monitoring of agricultural trials, ensuring high-quality data collection in line with standardized protocols, and maintaining strong relationships with farmers, teachers, and local stakeholders.

Additionally, the position contributes to logistical coordination, facilitates community and school-based activities, and supports timely reporting and communication with the research team to ensure the delivery of high-quality project outputs.

Key duties & responsibilities

• supporting the field-level implementation of a research project aimed at generating evidence on regenerative agriculture practices and their impact on soil health, crop productivity, and food quality.

• requires coordination of multi-site field trials, systematic data collection, and integration of agricultural and educational activities within local communities.

• managing multiple field locations (farmer plots and school demonstration sites) across different agricultural seasons. The role demands a balance of technical fieldwork, data management, and community engagement, with moderate complexity due to the need to ensure protocol compliance, data quality, and stakeholder coordination under variable field conditions.

• working closely with researchers, project coordinators, and technical staff to ensure alignment with research protocols, data requirements, and project timelines.

• serve as the primary point of contact with participating farmers, school staff (teachers and garden committees), and local stakeholders

• facilitating communication, supporting training sessions and workshops, and maintaining strong working relationships to ensure active participation and adherence to project activities.

• support coordination during visits from partners, and donors, contributing to effective communication and representation of field-level progress and challenges.

• Bachelor’s degree in biology, agriculture, economy or related fields.

• Advanced English level (oral and written)

• Experience coordinating and monitoring field activities

• Experience in designing and managing data collection tools

• Expertise in working with farmers communities, community mobilization and stakeholder engagement

• Knowledge of field trial implementation and basic agronomic practices

• Ability to facilitate meetings, trainings, and participatory activities with farmers and school stakeholders

• Ability to collect, record, and manage field data following standardized protocols

• Basic skills in data entry, cleaning, and use of digital tools (e.g., Excel, mobile data collection platforms)

• Ability to conduct basic field measurements (soil, crop growth, yield)

• Understanding of monitoring and documentation processes in field-based projects

• Strong organizational and logistical coordination skills

Terms of employment

This is a nationally recruited position based in Embu, Kenya. The initial contract will be for one year, subject to a probation period of three months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG06 level, with a minimum basic salary of KES 168,837 in a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number RFP301234- Research Associate as the position applied for. Cover letter and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting. The Alliance collects and process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Applications closing date: 24th May 2026

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at: 

http://alliancebioversityciat.org