Jobs / fellowships / calls

Jobs

Date: January 16, 2020

Agronomy at Scale Data Scientist

(IRS Position Based in Harare, Zimbabwe)


The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known by its Spanish acronym, CIMMYT®, is a not-for-profit research and training organization with partners in over 100 countries. Please refer to our website for more information: www.cimmyt.org

CIMMYT seeks an innovative, self-motivated, and results-oriented candidate for the position of Agronomy-at-Scale Data Scientist (Associate Scientist) to work on improving maize and wheat agri-food systems in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world. The holder of this position will contribute to the development of the capacities of on-going and future projects in ‘agronomy to scale’ approach (broadly defined by the following key elements: a clear definition of the target area to influence, GIS-assisted sampling frames, field trials with effective experimental designs, spatial-explicit statistical analyses on biophysical and socio-economical information, surveys to learn about inherent variation, and fast, cheap and accurate measurements).

The specific research focus of this position is to develop analytics to guide the targeting of a suite of interventions and model their future impact (yield gap analysis, farm typologies, crop modelling, geospatial analysis, etc.), apply these analytics to existing agronomic and socioeconomic data, and develop methods and tools for cost-effective collection of spatially explicit data by ongoing and future projects. The position will contribute to several research activities focused primarily on sub-Saharan Africa, but may include activities in South Asia and Latin America.

This associate scientist will work as a member of CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Program in close collaboration with other CIMMYT programs and with public, private, local and international partners.

The position will be based at CIMMYT’s Zimbabwe office, located in Harare.

Specific duties:

® Conduct research in various projects having an ‘agronomy to scale’ component in the region, particularly on targeting and impact modelling

® Development of analytics to guide the targeting of a suite of interventions and model their future impact.

® Integration and processing of large datasets from multiple sources.

® Database management.

® Develop and/or adapt ICT-based tools for field data collection of agronomic and socioeconomic data.

® Development of scripts and tools for statistical analysis that can be used by scientists to analyze their data.

® Provide technical support and capacity building for CIMMYT scientists and national partners.

® Provide support to the development of project proposals and reports.

® Produce peer-reviewed research articles.

® Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Candidates must apply here for IRS19144_Agronomy at Scale Data Scientist. Screening and follow up of applications will begin on Monday February 17th, 2020. Applications must include a CV and a letter of interest. Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration. For further information on the selection process, please contact Yessica Castillo, at y.castillo@cgiar.org

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

This position will remain open until filled.

CIMMYT is an equal opportunity employer. It fosters a multicultural work environment that values gender equality, teamwork, and respect for diversity. Women are encouraged to apply.


Fellowships

STAARS Fellowship Program: 2020 Call for Proposals

Application deadline: January 24, 2020.

The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces (STAARS) fellowship program, a multi-institution collaboration managed by Cornell University with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), announces a call for concept proposals from early-career African researchers seeking to become STAARS fellows in 2020 to advance in-depth, rigorous, policy-oriented research on the causal determinants of productivity and income growth, asset accumulation, rural employment and risk management in African agriculture and rural spaces.

The fellowship will cover travel and training expenses. STAARS fellows will be paired with mentors at Cornell University with whom they will jointly author a paper on a topic of mutual interest relating to structural transformation in Africa south of the Sahara. PIM will support the publication of resulting research findings in high quality journals and as working papers. In addition, PIM and Cornell will facilitate fellows’ participation in scientific and policy conferences. (read more...)

Calls

INSPIRE challenge 2020

The INSPIRE Challenge will be announced early April 2020