Gender and Climate Security Scientist

The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people in a climate crisis. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

Through the development of CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security, CGIAR aims to unpack the linkages- and address knowledge gaps- with regard to the relationship between climate change and food security to leverage CGIAR expertise for peace and security outcomes. Using a multidisciplinary methodological approach, our main objective is to generate and align climate security-sensitive climate, land, food, and water systems science and evidence with ongoing efforts to address socio-political security, stability, and peace in the realms of policy, programming, and finance.

About the position

The CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security is looking for a Gender and Climate Security Specialist. The purpose of this position is to lead the research flagship on Gender and Inequality for Climate Security within the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security and ensure the delivery of state-of-the-art knowledge generation on issues related to inequality, gender, climate, conflict, and peacebuilding, with a specific focus on climate security-sensitive programming, including thorough work on some or all of the following broad themes in the program of study: 1) effect of climate risks on vulnerable populations, climate adaptation, resilience, and their relationship to conflict; 2) gender, social equity, and climate-related insecurity (issues related to unequal access, social cohesion, marginalization, political economy across multiple scales); 3) local institutions and peace (cross-cutting issues across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus in fragile and complex environments, with a focus on programming).

With a strong background in peace and conflict studies, policy, and related qualitative analysis, the successful candidate will directly contribute to the following research areas:

1. Evidence 4 Climate Security: Understanding the complexity of climate and security for informed decision-making that is gender sensitive and socially equitable. This research area will help unpack the main impact pathways that link climate, agriculture, and security in different geographies to enrich our knowledge of the complex, context-specific, socially variable, and dynamic pathways through which climate affects the risk of conflict.
2. Programming 4 Climate Security: Developing climate security sensitive operations in agricultural settings. The main goal of this component is to develop a global framework to inform the design and implementation of integrated programming at regional, national, and subnational levels improving interventions, research, policies, and investments to mitigate and prevent conflicts, reduce people’s inequalities, and vulnerabilities, and increase resilience.
3. Policy 4 Climate Security: Articulating the role of food systems in a climate crisis for policies and frameworks. This research area aims to engage with communities, civil society, and governing actors across multiple scales of governance to assess andimprove the coherence, integration, and performance of policies within climate-related and security domains.
4. Finance 4 Climate Security: Leveraging finance by aligning objectives and incentives along the Humanitarian Development and Peace Nexus. This research area aims to identify and prioritize climate adaptation investments that have the greatest peace potential to align climate adaptation and peace and security objectives of governments and donors.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead knowledge generation on issues related to gender, climate, conflict, and peacebuilding, with a specific focus on climate security-sensitive programming.
• Design high-quality research on gender and climate security issues in fragile and conflict-affected contexts
• Manage and supervise staff and researchers delivering on this agenda
• Disseminate research analysis, findings, and recommendations to various audiences,
• Fundraise and lead proposal writing for research activities related to gender, inequality, peace, and security.
• Support the global rollout of Climate Security research.
• Support the global and regional partnerships by managing and developing institutional relationships and joint initiatives with select country offices and regional bureaus
• Support on scientific/proposal writing, reporting, and fundraising
• Lead the write-up of high quality scientific papers, suitable for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Communicate and collaborate with climate security, peacebuilding, and security analysts, as well as policy- and decision-makers from relevant country and regional level institutions and bodies
• Report/communicate to supervisors and donors and discover/respond to tendering processes

Qualifications and requirements:

• A Ph.D. in gender studies, sociology, anthropology, peace and conflict studies, international relations, or political science will be desirable
• At least 5 years of experience as a researcher initiating and carrying out their own research projects on issues related to climate-related security risks and experience managing researchers or research assistants.
• Extensive experience with international research for applied research and development programs
• Extensive experience in international, multi-cultural settings and in interacting with researchers, policymakers, donors, and civil society across a wide range of contexts
• Strong knowledge of issues relating to climate-related security risks, either more broadly or in-depth to a specific sub-area (e.g., peace and conflict, development, migration, or organizational responses).
• Strong knowledge of gender, conflict and peace studies, gender and intersectional analysis, climate security, and specific areas of expertise related to these fields:
• Strong knowledge of qualitative research methods.
• Good knowledge of the multilateral system, preferably the United Nations, African Union, or the Regional Economic Communities within Africa
• A record of publications commensurate with the length of time worked in research.
• Proven ability to work and deliver when leading teams.
• Ease of working in oral and written English and/or French, with further language proficiency being an advantage.
• Excellent report writing, communication, and project management skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment
• Strong conceptual thinking to develop innovative research approaches

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position and will be based in either Nairobi (Kenya), Pretoria (South Africa), Cairo (Egypt), or Dakar (Senegal). (Please note that preference will be given to Pretoria and Cairo where possible). The initial contract will be for two (2) years, subject to a trial period of six (6) months, and is renewable based on performance and availability. This is a position at level 10, on a scale of 14 levels, with level 14 being the highest.

The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with a competitive salary and excellent benefits. We are an equal opportunity employer, and strive for gender, diversity, and inclusion in our staff, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic.