Postdoctoral Fellow - Agricultural Risk Management & Climate Change (Asia - Alliance)

The Organization

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

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people.

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

About the position

The Philippine Post-Doctoral Fellow for “Agricultural Risk Management & Climate Change” will lead and support several projects and programs in the Philippines and Asia. The incumbent will focus his/her work on the areas of data- and model-based climate impact and adaptation assessments, development of climate information services (CIS) and decision support tools for the agricultural sector, and in the creation
of effective partnerships with regional organisations to sustainably scale (digital) climate advisory services (DCAS).

As a member of the Asia team for Climate Action – one of the six levers within the Alliance, he/she will also be part of a global team of scientists working on DCAS with diverse backgrounds in climate risk assessment, crop and climate modelling, agronomy, digital agriculture, user centred design, and bundles services (credit and insurance). He/she will supervise junior staffs and/or consultants with technical
expertise in geospatial modelling and mapping.

More specifically, the candidate will provide technical support to the climate action leaver under a number of new multi-year CGIAR research initiative being launched across the region (including the Asian Mega Deltas and ClimBeR initiatives), along with other ongoing and proposed bilateral projects on climate risk management and advisory services.

The candidate will provide technical and management support across several projects and programs with the following responsibilities:

• Manage Climate Action projects and activities in the Philippines and interact with the Department of Agriculture and other relevant partners in the country on behalf of the Alliance to increase its portfolio and scale innovations;
• Lead and support the design, planning, and implementation of projects on agricultural climate risks, climate impacts and adaptation, and DCAS in the Philippines and Asia;
• Support the development, deployment, and maintenance of effective, efficient, and responsible climate-informed advisory services (CIS) and develop and test innovative ideas to scale CIS;
• Use analytical skills to conduct and/or oversee data- and model-based climate impact and adaptation assessments in the areas of interest to the Alliance and its partners;
• Design and conduct quantitative data collection, processing, and analysis to support the drawing of conclusions and recommendations on the above topics;
• Work closely with project partners and other teams in the Alliance to design and perform data analysis for climate risk assessment and investment planning through the operationalization of innovative methodologies that take into consideration partners’ and local stakeholder needs;
• Support the advancement of the scaling of innovations, through strategic partnerships and building the capacity of relevant actors, including the use of Alliance technical expertise to improve functionality of promising DCAS innovations;
• Stay up to date with the most recent literature on climate impacts, adaptation, and climate risk assessments, as well as promising developments in (digital) climate advisory and contribute to the automation of analysis routines, articles in peer-reviewed journals highlighting findings from research activities, showcasing incumbent’s scientific leadership;
• Contribute to the development of concept notes and research proposals as part of the Climate Action team in Asia;
• Supervise and mentor junior researchers/consultants working on climate and geospatial data analysis and modelling;
• Coordinate activities with broader climate action team across Africa and Latin America.

• PhD degree in agricultural science, environmental science, geography, or related disciplines, with expertise on crop and climate modelling, climate impact assessments and adaptation options in agriculture;
• Experience in the design and application of various aspects of CIS such as participatory methods for CIS needs assessment, and CIS design and implementation at the field scale;
• At least 5 years of experience in the role that demonstrates capacity to work independently on the areas of quantitative assessments on climate risks, impacts, adaptation, and advisory;
• At least 2 years of experience leading and managing projects on climate risks, impacts, adaptation, and advisory;
• Experience working with government partners and high-level officials to mainstream research outputs into national policies, development and investment plans, and local actions;
• Experience working with international, national, and local partners for effective collaboration to facilitate effective uptake of research outputs and development of climate services- and climate resilient-related initiatives.

• Ability to collect, organize and analyse a diverse set of data (climate, social, hazards, etc.) to support effective deployment of services, investments, and actions;
• Ability to design scalable and innovative methodologies to provide scientific evidence of vulnerability, climate risks, and climate impacts at different spatial scales;
• Ability to support data management to develop automated procedures and services for inclusive climate information systems;
• Strong modelling background to develop crop and climate impact models;
• Preferably with a background in programming languages, i.e., MATLAB, R, Python, JavaScript;
• Preferably with strong GIS, remote sensing, and spatial modelling background to support scalable climate risk and vulnerability assessments;
• Good writing and communication skills to support the development of technical reports, popular articles (blogs, newsletters, etc.), and scientific articles, and able to represent the Alliance in meetings, conferences, and partner engagement.
  
  

Terms of employment

This is a full-time position based in Los Banos, Philippines and available for Filipino nationals. Contract is issued and renewed annually, based on performance and availability of resources. This position is subjected to an initial three-month probation period and is graded at a level BG8 in a scale of 14 levels being BG14 the highest level. The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is an equal opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity.

Applications

To be considered for this position, please send an email to T.ToMai@cgiar.org (Ms. To Mai Trang, HR Unit)with cc to C.Swaans@cgiar.org (Mr. Cornelis Swaans, Asia lead for Climate Action) with the subject line “Application – Post Doctoral Fellow – Candidate’s full name”. In your email, please include:
1. A cover letter illustrating your motivation to apply and suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications and work responsibilities.
2. A detailed curriculum vitae, including the names and email addresses of three professional referees who have worked either as your professional or academic supervisors and are knowledgeable about your skills and professional abilities.

This position is urgent and will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found. Only qualified applicants with relevant skills and experience will be contacted. We recommend applying as soon as possible and no later than 1 January 2023 (extension possible if no suitable candidate has been selected).