Job Vacancies at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

The Position

The position will investigate livestock characteristics in agricultural production systems with a major focus on ruminants (small and large) and rangeland systems and aims at collecting a suite of data required for establishing accurate Tier 2 GHG emissions baselines across different agroecological zones for the duration of one year. A standardized protocol that was already successfully applied in Kenya and Tanzania will be followed, following its adaptation to the regional context.

Background and Problem Statement

Dietary changes and growing populations in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are leading to major increases in the demand for livestock products. In East Africa, livestock is a major source of rural income and food security. Livestock production provides between 40 and 55% of household incomes and 26% of dietary protein intake. Across East Africa, livestock production is predominantly managed by smallholder farmers. In mixed crop-livestock systems, half of the agricultural workforce is employed in livestock production; in extensive dryland livestock systems this figure exceeds 90%. Thus, growth in demand for livestock products is an important opportunity to improve incomes for smallholder livestock producers.

At the same time, livestock is a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is estimated that livestock-related GHG emissions represent over 70% of total agriculture emissions in developing countries. In more detail, GHG emission intensities (i.e. GHG emissions per unit of product) are assumed to be much higher than found in production systems in developed countries. The increasing growth in demand for livestock products is an urgent concern as this in turn could result in an increase in GHG emissions. Implementing mechanisms to remunerate smallholders to increase productivity and simultaneous-ly contributing to reduced GHG emission intensities requires accurate baseline data on GHG emissions from livestock in the first place and national policy support and engagement of the private sector in a second step. Currently, the development of Low Emissions Development Strategies (LEDS) is increasingly prioritized by East African governments and donors, and the livestock sector is a promising target given their high emissions contributions and vital role in household incomes and food security. However, the lack of reliable estimates on GHG emissions associated with different practices and productivity levels for different systems is a barrier to the implementation of LEDS.

Scope of the MSc assignment

The MSc Students Will Contribute To This By Undertaking The Following Research Activities

The MSc students will directly contribute to Activity A1 “Setting up GHG emissions baselines and performance indicators for adaptation interventions” of the project entitled “Programme for Climate-Smart Livestock Systems (PCSL)”. Activity A1 aims particularly at generating accurate Tier 2 GHG emissions baselines for livestock systems which are necessary as a first step towards establishing and evaluating mitigation options from livestock production while also enhancing the productivity and sustainability of livestock systems.

• Characterize the rangeland system in either a degraded or non-degraded rangeland area (household size, number and type of animals, size of available pastures, management, degradation indicators etc.).
• Gather livestock production-related data (i.e. liveweight gain, milk production), activity data such as distance travelled and feedstuff-related data (i.e., plant cover, chemical composition of feeds and forages) to enable better estimation of year-long energy expenditure as well as feed availability and quality.
• Perform behavioral observations including feeding behavior, diet composition and activity pattern of target ruminant livestock.
• Identification of challenges and possible strategies for sustainable improvement of animal performance and rangeland conditions.

Qualifications And Skills

The ideal candidate for either of the position will have:

• Obtained an honors Bachelor’s degree in animal production or animal (ruminant) nutrition.
• Is enrolled in an accredited MSc program in a Kenyan university and is near completion of coursework.
• Experience in East Africa and/or with agricultural production systems in developing countries.
• Willingness to work in the field, flexibility and a high degree of independence if required.
• Familiarity with statistical software such as SPSS or R. In-depth knowledge of Microsoft Excel for data entry and common practices of data quality control and data quality assurance.
• Ability to supervise and train research assistants and provide necessary advice.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Ability to converse in Kiswahili or a local language is a major asset.
• Ability to effectively communicate in a multicultural context, present findings to diverse audiences, and support facilitation of multi-stakeholder workshops.
• Good ability to integrate into an international interdisciplinary team of researcher and practitioners and ability to collaborate with social scientists in a multidisciplinary project.

LRI Program: Sustainable Livestock Systems

Project Location: Kenya

Duration: 1- year

Terms of appointment: ILRI will offer a competitive stipend to cover living expenses in the project location, medical insurance and cover research expenses. The fellowships will NOT cover tuition or any other university fees. The successful candidates will be supervised jointly by an ILRI scientist and the university/academic supervisor. The ideal candidates will be able to develop a full proposal under guidance of the university supervisor and the ILRI Mazingira Centre supervisor. It is anticipated that fieldwork will foreseeably begin from June/July 2019 onwards.

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Job description

The Position: The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Project Manager responsible for the activities in various projects in order to ensure that the projects complete their deliverables within the stipulated timeline and budget.

ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals’ alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases. www.ilri.org

General: The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org.

Job Purpose: The position is required to ensure that the projects in the Animal and Human Health program in Ethiopia achieve their set deliverables within the stipulated outline and budgets by providing project management and coronation supports across the projects, including coordination of personnel, field research, logistics, project partners co-ordination, donor interaction, research deliverables, budget management and other key outputs.

Key Responsibilities

Depending on the size and complexity of the projects the Project Manager may be responsible for one large project or several smaller projects.

• Proposal Development
  • Assist in project specific opportunity pipeline to ensure timely delivery, compliance and adherence to the Program Management Framework (PMF) process
  • Align the project level strategy with the overall program strategy and highlight any variances to the Project Leader for realignment/adjustment.
• Project Planning
  • Lead, with the Project Leader, the development of the project workplan
  • Analyze the staffing needs for the project and participate in the workforce planning process.
  • Contribute to the development of a procurement plan and closely monitor and manage the procurement activities for the project
  • Ensure project documentation and the different project activities are up to date and make the necessary update in case of variances/ changes
  • Liaise with the Program Manager to review and update the projects exit strategy/sustainability plan by providing project specific inputs
  • Liaise with the Program Manager in budgeting, assessing alignment and establishing timelines for the project work plans
  • Ensure the communication outputs align with the program communication strategy and project communication plan.
• Project Execution
  • Effectively manage the project budget, ensuring proper expenditure, booking and appropriate burn rate and/or highlighting any variances, and providing suggestions for resolution.
  • Maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders and facilitate effective flow of information between all partners, team members and relevant stakeholders in project activities
  • Work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists to ensure project level monitoring, data analysis and reporting to support effective project management.
  • Coordinate the preparation of timely and quality reports to be submitted to ILRI, Partners, and Stakeholders.
  • Lead the project management team and build their capacity on ILRI Program Management Framework to enhance their performance
  • Act as the focal point for Program Management Framework at a project level and be responsible for maintenance of the same.
• Project Closing
  • Responsible for the implementation of closure activities for the project including the disposal of physical assets, research materials and staff separation/ reassignment, archiving of documentation, impact assessment in line with the PMF process.
  • Coordinate the preparation of timely and quality reports to be submitted to ILRI, Partners, and Stakeholders.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Program Management or related field
• Program Management certification – desirable
• At least 5 years’ project management experience
• Experience in development and implementation of project management systems and tools
• Excellent people management skills in a multicultural setting
• Experience in managing stakeholder relationships
• Excellent managerial and multitasking skills,
• Problem solving skills
• Technical reporting skills
• Track record of showing initiative and driving decision making at project level

This position is job level 3B Level 3, ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes; pension, medical and other insurances for ILRI’s Nationally Recruited Staff.

Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.