Description
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) invites applications from Research for Development (R4D) practitioners with expertise in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) in relation to sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient agri-food systems. We invite applications from candidates with reliable MEL skills on interdisciplinary R4D projects and a strong publication record, and ability to engage with and communicate outputs to diverse actors and stakeholders. The Candidate will be based in India and be part of the exciting cross-CGIAR Asian Mega-Deltas Initiative. Reporting to the IWMI’s Country Representative- India, the incumbent will work under the guidance of senior researchers at the International Water Management Institute, other CGIAR Centers and national, regional and global partners engaged on the Asia Mega Deltas Initiative.
Background to the Asia Mega Deltas Initiative
Home to 177 million people, the densely populated Asian Mega Deltas are biodiverse, fertile, and productive food baskets dominated by rice, fisheries and aquaculture that also support millions beyond the deltas. Asian Mega Deltas are the world´s most important rice-growing areas. As national governments in the AMD regions increasingly rely on the deltas to achieve national development goals for food security, nutrition and poverty alleviation, Delta food systems are fast reaching a significant tipping point aggravated by inappropriate development pathways. The Asian Mega Deltas are also most likely to experience climate risks and impacts, including more frequent and more intense floods, salinization, water shortages, and climate extremes that will slow down economic growth. This can erode national food security and trigger new poverty traps in these emerging climate hotspots.
One CGIAR’s Securing the Food Systems of the Asian Mega-Deltas for Climate and Livelihood Resilience (AMD) Initiative aims to support governments, NGOs, private sector and local communities in the Mekong, Ganges and Ayeyarwady deltas to transition to more diverse, resilient, and inclusive food systems. At its core, we recognize that Deltas are strongly interconnected systems, and AMD sees transdisciplinary approaches as key to the design of transformative food systems solutions. Our aim is to work collaboratively with strategic public, private and other stakeholders to co-design and implement actionable pathways out of poverty for millions in the five countries of focus – Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India.
Research, implementation, and investments under the AMD are grouped into five Work Packages (WPs). The initiative: takes a systemic approach to support accelerated adaptation locally (WP1), to ensure that deltaic food systems can sustain and enhance nutrition security equitably (WP2), explores the potential for financially viable and sustainable investments strategies (WP3), emphasizes the need for sustainable, inclusive governance of natural resources on which diverse food system depend (WP4). WP5 provides regional foresight to advise of longer-term threats and opportunities.
Purpose of the position:
The incumbent will provide technical and management leadership of all MEL activities and outputs in the AMD initiative. This will include supporting AMD leads to use MEL for adaptive management of AMD activities by preparing and writing progress reports and converting MEL information into communication products. S/He will coordinate with all AMD country stakeholders, CG staff, and researchers to collect and incorporate MEL information.
The AMD initiative is structured along five WPs – maintaining synergies between the WPs will be critical if, and cross-cutting issues of social inclusion and equity are key to transforming food system diversification, productivity, and resilience. some key elements of this position will include:
- Leading the co-development of a MEL framework for AMD with WP leads, other AMD scientists and partners, that cater to both the specific needs of each WP as well as the importance of building synergies across WPs;
- Tracking the co-design, implementation and impacts of policies, technologies and other interventions to support more diverse, resilient, and inclusive food systems in the face of rapid climatic and other change;
- Evaluating socially differentiated outcomes of changes in deltaic agroecosystems and food production practices in response to multiple drivers, paying attention to food consumption patterns and behaviours and their impact on poverty, nutrition, gender and social inclusion and local food systems economies;
- Ensuring operationalization of the MEL framework provides ongoing learning that can inform adaptive planning in response to changes to external contexts or to improve AMD activities;
- Ensuring the MEL framework can provide evidence with respect to attribution linking AMD strategies and activities to outcomes and impacts, and
- Supporting AMD contribute lessons to its country, regional and global audiences around transdisciplinary approaches for promoting more diverse, resilient, and inclusive delta food systems.
General Duties and Responsibilities:
Provide technical and management leadership of all MEL in the AMD initiative.
- Design, implement, and oversee the MEL system for the AMD initiative and ensure MEL framework is Gender Equal and Socially Inclusive (GESI).
- Ensure complementarity of MEL framework with AMD theory of change, and project results framework and the institutional Results-Based Management (RBM) systems, and CGIAR MEL tools and methods.
- Organize internal training workshops and other interactive sessions to build capacity in relation to MEL, outreach and advocacy as per the AMD theory of change.
- Identify, map and facilitate networking with key boundary partners and stakeholders
- Translate AMD outputs and outcomes into accessible evidence for decision-makers.
- Align the AMD’s monitoring system with the One CGIAR reporting system and those of the One CGIAR Centers participating in AMD to ensure consistent reporting of outcomes.
- Provide expert guidance for baseline, midline and end-line surveys on performance indicators.
- Perform bi-annual and annual monitoring of all performance indicators.
- Publish at least one peer-reviewed paper on methodological insights on using MEL in a transdisciplinary initiative context.
Requirements
MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
- A PhD or Master’s Degree in Social Science, Development Studies, Economics, Communication or other related fields from any recognized University or equivalent institution
- 3 years’ post-doctoral experience or 5 years’ post Msc experience on MEL in projects, and/or as consultant
- Practical experience in designing and implementing MEL in Research for Development (R4D) initiatives.
- Experience in data management including use of statistical data management tools such as Stata and/or SPSS, Kobo Toolbox, etc.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Excellent data analyses skills, producing tables/graphs with interpretation and the ability to make verbal presentations.
- Ability to work effectively in transdisciplinary R4D teams.
- Excellent English (verbal and written) communication.
- Strong skills in essential software/packages like MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, STATA/SPSS or similar software.
Benefits
What we are offering:
This is a regionally recruited position with a competitive salary commensurate with experience, an attractive retirement plan, comprehensive international health insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, long-term disability insurance coverage and a transportation allowance.
The initial period of contract will be two years.
HOW TO APPLY: We will be accepting applications through 24:00 (IST) March 20, 2023 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis). Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.
