Website Aga Khan Rural Support Program
Designation offered
Research Analyst/Programme Associate
Reporting to
Programme Associate / Programme Lead
Location
New Delhi, India
Purpose
India’s food system is faced with a complex challenge of ensuring nutritional security for all, improving livelihoods of those associated with food production, while adapting to a changing climate and reducing the ecological impacts of conventional agriculture on our environment. Step towards systemic transformation requires a framework for stakeholders to design, plan and evaluate scalable projects in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. There is a need to converge actions of policy makers, field workers, funders and innovators to achieve sustainability at scale.
The Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme at CEEW consists of a young and vibrant team of food policy professionals who are passionate about defining and solving the food crisis in a 360-degree approach. Systems thinking is at the core of how we look at issues in the food system.
We want to hire a suitable candidate for the Research Analyst / Programme Associate position. An appropriate offer will be made based on the candidate’s passion, experience and relevance to the programme. We are happy to discuss both consulting and full-time positions.
For the first year, the candidate will predominantly manage research, documentation and analysis on scaling up sustainable and regenerative agriculture in India for a specific project. This task includes – case study analysis (understanding theory of change of successfully scaled up initiatives in India using qualitative methods), social network analysis, applying systems thinking tools, and developing usable framework for NGOs, CSOs, private companies, public institutions and funders to design and evaluate projects aimed at scaling up and sustaining impact. The work will be complimented by policy analysis, stakeholder communication, field visits and engaging with the leaders in the sector. Prior experience in theory generation and/or impact frameworks/tool development is a plus.
They will also assist other team members in undertaking robust quantitative analysis, wherever required. In addition to the duties and responsibilities outlined below, the Research Analyst/ Programme Associate should be prepared, as and when necessary, to take on additional responsibilities and respond to events and developments that cannot be anticipated easily.
Job Duties and Accountabilities
Research
Independently manage allocated work-streams on qualitative applied research. Such workstreams include but are not limited to (i) identification of optimal research approach/framework for case study analysis (ii) conducting stakeholder consultations (iii) if required, systematic literature review (v) collation of analysis using appropriate qualitative methods (iv) communicating analyses to sector leaders in a coherent narrative (iv) application of analyses to specified geographical areas in India and evaluating findings
Regularly track policy measures at state and national levels and their implementation status in specified geographical areas of India. Identify policy convergence for scaling up sustainable and regenerative agriculture. An understanding of policy frameworks and governance systems in India is a plus.
Travel to field sites, whenever necessary, to conduct fieldwork including focus group discussions, interviews, meetings, training or gather primary information
The candidate will also be expected to support the team with quantitative research. This includes but is not limited to (i) development and execution of primary surveys (this includes designing the questionnaires, survey monitoring, coordinating with field staffs and analysis of the survey data), (ii) if required, conducting the relevant analyses using appropriate qualitative and/or quantitative tools (e.g. MS Excel, STATA, etc.), and (iii) presenting the analyses in a coherent narrative in different formats
Proactively supporting team in effectively operationalizing the CEEW’s Arc of Learning
Write high-quality research reports, publish in leading peer-reviewed journals and generate other knowledge products for the different audience such as blogs, policy briefs in regular intervals
Establishing and managing relationships with project counterparts from CEEW’s partners
Project/Programme Assistance
Support the senior researchers in conceptualising new projects, development of high-impact research proposals, and applications for research and general donor funding
Support effective outreach of research outputs through coordination with the outreach team, engagement with a broader network of stakeholders, and concerned policymakers
For Programme Associate: Manage and guide junior researchers with quantitative and qualitative research, achieving project deliverables, professional development
Participate in relevant conferences, workshops, training programmes for a comprehensive understanding of developments relevant to sustainable agriculture
Support senior team members for important meetings and sessions, prepare notes, and conduct follow-ups, as required
Participate in weekly team meetings and assist with preparing minutes and chairing the weekly meetings.
Selection Criteria
Education and experience
Master’s degree in environmental policy / environmental management / food systems / innovations in sustainability / impact evaluation / sociology / political science / development studies or any other field relevant for sustainable and regenerative agriculture is desirable.
At least, one year of relevant work experience for Research Analyst and two years of relevant work experience for Programme Associate in sustainable agriculture and food systems research is expected.
Analytical skills and prior experience of working with qualitative research methods such as grounded theory, phenomenology, case study analysis, narrative theory, systematic literature reviews and meta-analysis, and basic quantitative methods relevant for impact evaluation and evidence research
Project management skills to independently manage research workstreams (for Programme Associate) and ability to work independently with minimal supervision (for Research Analyst)
Strong communication skills for effective, efficient, and adaptive verbal and written communication, and active listening
Experience of working with or having significant engagement with some of all of the food system stakeholders (various government departments, farmer communities, grassroots CSOs etc.)
Ability to use MS Office and Google Workspace application suite, Notion, STATA, R/Python
Knowledge of qualitative software like Nvivo, Atlas.ti; GIS and remote-sensing; R/Python desirable
Desirable: Relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals/book chapters
Working knowledge of Telugu is an advantage since the geographical focus area is in Andhra Pradesh
Personality
- Willingness to learn new research and project management skills
- Ability to adapt and deliver under tight deadlines in a professional environment
- Striving for rigour in research and quality in work output
- Ability to effectively work in a team while being able to independently drive research with minimum assistance, when time demands
- Ability and willingness to dig deeper into details, while also keeping a sense of the broader objectives and big picture
- Willingness to learn, grow and develop at personal and professional front, at a rapid pace with a steep learning curve
- Ability to work in an interdisciplinary and multicultural environment.
CEEW operates in a dynamic environment, and the candidate will be required to show flexibility in undertaking a variety of tasks.
Compensation
Competitive compensation – commensurate to the experience and matching the best of standards adopted by industry or other similar organisations for similar roles.
Application Process
CEEW is an equal opportunity employer and the selection process does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, or caste. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Interested applicants are advised to apply at the earliest possible.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We appreciate your interest.
To apply for this job please visit ceew.zohorecruit.in.
