Regional Economist (Impact Monitoring & Evaluation)

(Ref: DDG-R4D/IME/10/11)

Background: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the position of Regional Economist (Impact Monitoring & Evaluation) - Yam Improvement for Incomes and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA)

IITA is an international non-profit research-for-development (R4D) organization created in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Our R4D is anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty by reducing producer and consumer risks, enhancing crop quality and productivity, and generating wealth from agriculture. We have more than 100 internationally recruited scientists from about 35 countries and 900 nationally recruited staff based in various stations across Africa. Please visit http://www.iita.org/ for more information on IITA.

The IM&E economist will work as a member of the YIIFSWA project team in Nigeria and Ghana. Impact monitoring and evaluation (IM&E) under the YIIFSWA project provides a comprehensive assessment of technology adoption and impacts for learning lessons and providing feedback to the research and development process. Specifically, IM&E studies the socioeconomic and institutional determinants of adoption and impacts of production and postharvest technologies as well as institutional innovations aimed at developing yam value chains. This will be accomplished through collection and analyses of primary baseline survey data on yam production conditions and market opportunities as well as through follow-up survey data on adoption levels, pathways, constraints, and impacts. This information will progressively inform and enhance crop improvement and management activities and contribute to the development of more appropriate technologies, institutional arrangements, and partnerships for enhancing the delivery of yam technologies. With an appropriate feedback mechanism and management information system linking IM&E with overall project management, the research outputs and datasets resulting from IM&E activities will contribute to project management databases.

Position/Responsibilities

Under the guidance of IITA impact economists, the successful candidate will be involved primarily in the following activities relating to IM&E activities:

• Design and conduct baseline household, community, and market surveys to establish baseline database and undertake analyses of current yam production conditions, household incomes, and market opportunities;
• Design and conduct follow-up household, community, institutional, and market surveys to assess adoption levels, pathways, constraints, and impacts at household, village, and market levels;
• Assess yam markets and value chains to identify and promote institutional innovations that improve market access and incomes for yam producers;
• Participate actively in annual project review and planning meetings;
• Work closely with project management staff, objective leaders and contribute to periodic monitoring and evaluation reports;
• Contribute to capacity strengthening of project staff and partners through on-the-job training as well as structured training workshops;
• Publish research findings and contribute to dissemination of results to stakeholders.

Educational Qualifications

The candidate should have a PhD in agricultural economics or related fields from a recognized university.

Core Competencies:

• Experience in designing and conducting household and market surveys in Africa.
• Proficiency with SPSS and STATA.
• Excellent spoken and written English.
• Ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary and multi-cultural environment.
• Understanding of technology adoption processes, value chains, and markets in Africa.
• Demonstrated ability to write and publish journal articles.

Duty station: Ibadan, Nigeria but involves substantial time outside duty station, domestic and some international travel.

General information: Initial appointment is for three years. IITA offers a competitive remuneration package paid in US dollars.

Applications: Applications including curriculum vitae, names and addresses of three referees should be addressed to the Human Resources Manager. Please complete our online application form using this link: http://www.iita.org/irs-online-application

Closing Date: The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

IITA is an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from women candidates.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.