The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International and 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.

The Alliance works with local, national, and multinational partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, and with the public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

Background of the position

The Research Specialist leads the implementation of a Monitoring & Evaluation framework and coordinates the monitoring of the Alliance Bioversity and CIAT Programs in the context of CGIAR and bilateral projects together with the Alliance staff who have Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) responsibilities. This role is part of a bigger effort to increase the impact of our research. The incumbent will be doing so, by operationalizing a comprehensive approach to M&E, create effective linkages with teams such as, Program Management, Impact Assessment and Foresight, and Data and Information Management; contribute to improving the quality of research proposals with respect to M&E components; foster the internal processes of research planning and reporting, and facilitate learning and improvement of the processes along the research cycle.

Key duties & responsibilities

Mainstream M&E and Research Best Practices at the Alliance

·       Develop and facilitate the use by the Alliance staff of a M&E toolkit

·       Engage the Alliance’s staff who have MEL responsibilities in internal community of practice

·    Work with research support teams (Program management, Partnerships, Communications, Data Management, Impact Assessment and Foresight) to apply M&E principles and contribute meta-data and outcome findings

·       Document M&E processes and share lessons learned within the Alliance

·   Share MEL results within the Alliance (Update intranet, Internal communication: seminars, internal media, blogs) and participate in CGIAR, and beyond, MEL activities

·       Support Institutional Review Board (IRB) and mainstream due diligence on research on human subjects

Lead and facilitate yearly program reporting cycles

• Define Impact Pathways with program teams (Theories of change, identification of M&E indicators)
• Conduct monitoring with Alliance’s Program teams, socialize programmatic Impact Pathways and facilitate reporting activities
• Work with IT developers on adjustments or improvements of the reporting tool MARLO

Requirements

Required qualifications and experience

• MSc or PhD in Economics, International Development, Public Administration, or related field
• Specialized experience (4 -5 years) in supporting the design and implementation of M&E frameworks, impact pathways, M&E indicators; Knowledge and understanding of monitoring, evaluation and learning trends and practices in research for development; Skills in M&E planning, M&E strategy design, and quality assurance
• Experience with results-based management
• Proven ability of assisting others in building their capacity on M&E
• Excellent interpersonal, teamwork and analytical skills
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary and multicultural environments
• Fluency in English is essential to communicate in writing and speaking
• Fluency in Spanish to communicate in writing and speaking is highly desirable

Desirable assets

• Proven ability to initiate and refine new and complex endeavors
• The ability to network with scientists and research institutions on a global scale
• Knowledge of agricultural research and development
• Familiarity with research ethics procedures and data management.
• Knowledge and understanding of mixed-methods approaches and tools for data collection, analysis and reporting
• Experience in carrying out meta-analysis of M&E-derived data towards supporting institutional planning, program development and external communications.

Role competencies

• Impact and influence – Produces a determined effect on others to achieve the proposed objectives
• Planning and organizing – Executes opportunely and adequately work plans to achieve expected results
• Adaptability and flexibility – Takes on board novel or challenging situations in a flexible manner, adapting easily to changes
• Effective communication – Generates and maintains direct, clear and respectful communication with people in their environment

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position based in Palmira, Colombia. The initial contract will be for two years subject to a probation period of six months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG08 level, in a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission.

Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes,

national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number 103653:  Research Specialist – Monitoring and Evaluation as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name and first name for ease of sorting.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at: http://alliancebioversityciat.org