The International Livestock Research Institute
(ILRI) seeks to recruit an Ecosystem Ecologist to contribute to research on
Dryland Systems, Ecosystem Services from Rangelands, and Climate Change
Interactions with Rangelands. We seek an early career scientist who has strong
ties to an established Centre of Excellence (university or research institute)
in ecosystem ecology, especially rangeland/grassland ecology. ILRI wishes to
strengthen our ties to one or more such centres through shared expertise and
collaboration.
The advertised position would be funded by ILRI, but shared
between the centre of excellence and ILRI. ILRI can also offer one month’s
salary to a senior staff member at the same centre of excellence, so as to
complement the skills of the early career scientist and other ILRI staff, and
strengthen the affiliation.
The ecosystem ecologist will make important
contributions to broader, interdisciplinary research agendas for developing
environmentally sound strategies to sustainably increase productivity, reduce
vulnerability and increase the resilience of pastoral and agro pastoral
livestock-based livelihoods to hazards like weather conditions and climate
change, market fluctuations and insecurity. These include options to reduce
vulnerability, such as early warning systems which monitor rangeland
conditions, and options for diversifying livelihoods through payment for
ecosystem services for biological conservation and climate change mitigation.
Much has changed in terms of ecosystem dynamics in rangelands in the last 20
years, and hence new interventions such as livestock insurance and restoration
of degraded lands will have unknown ecosystem feedbacks, and ILRI needs the
tools to evaluate these.
ILRI has a track record of applied research on dryland
ecosystem management across Africa, and this expertise is housed in its
Livestock Systems and Environment (LSE) programme
(livestocksystems.wordpress.com) LSE seeks to strengthen our skills
in ecological research with this position, to complement our other skills in
social science, GIS and remote sensing work, and modeling. The advantage of a
shared position with an advanced centre of excellence is access to senior
ecologists, opportunity to work with students, access to library resources,
while simultaneously working in Africa on critical development and management
agendas.
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.
ILRI is a not-for-profit institution with a staff of
about 700 and in 2014, an operating budget of about USD83 million. A member of
the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its
headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa and in South,
Southeast and East Asia.
Responsibilities:
The ecologist will also support work with rangeland
and climate impact models, where a sound and up to date understanding of
rangeland dynamics is required. Specifically the ecologist will:
- Undertake
research on ecosystem health and services in rangeland systems, including
how management practices affect the quality and quantity of ecosystem
services, using a variety of data collection methods and sources,
combining field data with models and remotely sensed data.
- Undertake
research on the dynamics of change in rangeland ecology, particularly how
changes in mobility and access to key grazing areas and water points are
affecting rangelands, in collaboration with research on governance of
natural resources.
- Work
with pastoralist and agropastoralist herders to develop and experiment
with rangeland monitoring and management techniques and practices
appropriate to local contexts
- Work
with modelers and remote sensing specialists to develop and ground-truth
methodologies for assessing rangeland health and productivity for
management and impact assessment
- Support
proposal-writing efforts on the above topics
- Supervise
PhD and MSc students on the above topics
Requirements:
- A
PhD in ecology or natural resource management, ideally with some
appreciation of combining research on social science and biophysical
perspectives.
- Knowledge
of rangeland ecological research in pastoral/agropastoral systems in
developing countries with a minimum of two years post-doctoral experience.
- A
systems perspective, especially related to the challenges of
sustainability and vulnerability of pastoral and agro-pastoral
livelihoods.
- Experience
and expertise in field-based ecological research
- Strong
statistical skills, including designing field data collection protocols,
and analyzing data that vary over space and time.
- Good
publications record with strong written and oral communication skills in
English and the ability to communicate with diverse audiences.
- Ability
to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams in developing
country environments.
- Experience
with community-based approaches to ecological/natural resource management
research and monitoring would be an asset.
Post location: The
position is based at ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Duration: 3
years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance
and continued funding.
Position level:
The position is Level 4C
Benefits: ILRI
offers a competitive international and salary and benefits package which
includes 15% Pension, Medical insurance, Life insurance and allowances for:
Education, Housing, Relocation, Home leave, Annual holiday entitlement of 30
days + public holidays.
*Benefits are tax free subject to compliance with
tax regulations of country of citizenship.
Applications: Applicants
should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position,
what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone
and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s
professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, people and
organizational development through our recruitment portal http://ilri.simplicant.com/ before
10 October 2014. The position title and reference number Ref: LSE /EE/8/14
should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.
ILRI is an equal opportunity employer.
Suitably qualified women and citizens of developing countries, with experience
of working internationally, are particularly encouraged to apply.
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