Research Associate – Agricultural Economist at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Summary of responsibilities:

Conduct field surveys and efficient data collection.

• Lead field data teams in field data collection in large research projects involving large household surveys.
• Collect, collate, and organize survey data (household level and community level), and other information (e.g., adoption patterns, impacts etc.) as directed. Analyze such collected household survey data using advanced and most recent statistical and econometric techniques.
• Develop computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI) programs, train and supervise field data collection teams for the efficient deployment of large surveys for real and near-time data capture.

Implement data management guidelines or data quality assurance.

• Under the guidance of scientific supervisor, run statistical and econometric models on large socioeconomic datasets to identify adoption and impact pathways for sustainable intensification including but not limited to conservation agriculture methods.
• Process, consolidate, and transform data sets within and between databases using advanced data management tools to ensure efficient data sharing, findability, and inter-operability.
• Maintaining high standards and ensuring impeccable quality control of data sets and maintaining such datasets in accessible and replicable format.
• Perform other relevant qualitative analyses, as directed.

Contribute to scientific and project reports for effective project results delivery.

• Conduct literature reviews and assist in preparing strategy documents, research reports and policy briefs to strengthen research and publication efforts.
• Locate, assemble, and analyze secondary data relevant for socioeconomics and policy research in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa.
• Present socioeconomic and farm production data in spatially explicit formats to facilitate visualization, synthesis, and communication with a broad range of stakeholders.

Project management and oversight.

• Establish and maintain contacts with collaborating organizations and partners.
• Assist in organizing project and stakeholder’s meetings and participate in scientific workshops and conferences.
• Effective oversight of field budgets temporary field staff.

Requirements:

• Master’s degree (or above) in economics, computer science, statistics, math, or any other field (e.g., natural sciences) with an emphasis on computational analysis and a minimum work experience of 3 years.
• Expertise with computer-based quantitative analysis (e.g., statistics, econometrics, Python and related) and a proficiency with STATA (or R) platform is required.
• Experience with household survey design, implementation, data entry, cleaning, and analysis.
• Formal training in econometrics, statistics and/or probability theory.
• Familiarity with Geographic Information Systems is desirable.
• Familiarity with agriculture and rural development is essential.

Personal attributes and competencies.

• Ability to achieve the highest standards of professionalism in research communications.
• Transparency in our methods and approaches.
• Promotes innovation, continuous learning, problem solving and independent thinking
• Supports a work environment that fosters trust, teamwork, and diversity
  Trust.
• Fairness in sharing credit with our partners, donors and stakeholders.

The application deadline is 26 January 2023