Senior Research Associate – Environmental Health at Bioversity International

Main duties and responsibilities include:

• Assess the status of implementing agroecological principles in Kenyan ALLs and beyond, identify barriers to achieving effective agroecological transitions and options to overcome them, for principles like recycling, input reduction, soil health, biodiversity, farming systems diversification, and synergy.
• Contribute to testing agroecological innovations intended to enhance agroecological transitions, keeping in mind the principles listed above.
• Contribute to testing and validating indicators related to environmental health and biodiversity, used to assess the performance of the agroecological transition.
• Oversee the implementation and the progress of the research activities by the graduate students sponsored by the agroecology initiative (AEI), who are focusing on environmental health and biodiversity, and recommend correction plans when necessary.
• Conduct holistic literature reviews on the above-mentioned agroecological principles, environmental health, and biodiversity.
• Participate in the AEI meetings, workshops, and conferences.
• Contribute to AEI technical reporting.
• Contribute to peer-reviewed scientific publications and communications (e.g., reports).
• Contribute to capacity building and strengthening of food-systems actors, particularly women and youth.
• Perform any other AEI relevant duty as assigned by the supervisors.

Requirements:

• MSC in soil science, agricultural environment, agricultural biodiversity, or related fields.
• Relevant 4 years working research-experience in the field of soil health or environmental health
• Proven experience of field data collection in farmer fields in East Africa in general, and Kenya in particular
• Proven experience of statistical analysis using relevant software like SAS and R among others
• Experience in modeling would be a great asset
• Working experience in an organization or institution with a strong focus on environmental health and/or biodiversity
• Working experience in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams Core Competencies
• Fluence in English and Swahili is “a must"
• Ability to compile reader-friendly scientific or policy-related discussion documents and reports, using plain language.
• Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative, and decentralized environment, including across teams at several levels.
• Leadership skills, including interpersonal relationship, effective communication, and conflict management in multidisciplinary and multicultural environment
• Sensitivity to and respect for gender equity, youth empowerment, and social inclusion