Summary of responsibilities

• Lead market intelligence research to engage with breeding programs (CGIAR, NARS, private sector) on:
  • Consumer preferences for fresh and processed foods derived from cereal crops.
  • Strategies and needs of cereal processing industry strategies (and implications for raw material sourcing).
  • Cereal seed retail markets.
  • Trends in food markets and implications for cereal processors and farmers.
• Support the capacity development of CIMMYT’s partners in the region, including seed companies, extension programs, and national agricultural research centers, in areas related to market intelligence.
• Engage local stakeholders (seed companies, breeding teams, NGOs) on strategies, policies, and research needed to inform breeding design and investments in East Africa and beyond through workshops, briefs, and periodic one-on-one engagements.
• Engage staff from CIMMYT, NARS, NGOs, and seed companies in the region to understand plant breeding, seed production, and seed distribution, as input for designing a stronger client orientation by social science in its seed systems agenda.
• Support regional efforts to mobilize resources to expand R4D agenda on seed systems and related areas of work.

Requirements

• MSc. degree in marketing (research), business management, food science and technology, agribusiness, or similar field with at least ten years of relevant experience in the private or public sector.
• Track record of quality technical reports.
• Experience in research looking at consumer preferences, food processing, product development, food marketing.
• Demonstrated ability to excel in complex multidisciplinary research or development projects.
• Good partnership building skills, including the ability to interact with private sector; deliver effectively; and moderate meetings with local partners.
• A high degree of personal organization and ability to work under pressure.

Summary of responsibilities

• Support in developing research designs for a variety of projects.
• Designing data collection instruments/protocols and training of consultants, field supervisors, and enumerators.
• Data cleaning and management.
• Statistical and econometric analysis of households, agro - dealers, and traders surveys.
• Support with design and analysis of qualitative surveys including (KIIs, FGDs).
• Writing and editing of research reports, policy notes, academic papers, and other documents.
• Liaising with partners and consultants ensure quality of all the data collected under such partnerships.
• Responding to urgent requests for rapid analytics by the PIs, project teams, donors, and other stakeholders.
• Training and mentorship of other research assistants in the program.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or PhD in agricultural economics, development economics, statistics, or a related field.
• Ten years of work experience involving research data management, analysis, and writing, and demonstrated excellence in research
• Demonstrated capacity to analyze and utilize policy-relevant information from a broad range of sources on agricultural production and marketing.
• Experience using statistical packages mainly Stata and others such as SPSS and R.
• Familiarity with theoretical and technical issues related to agriculture, economic development, poverty, food security, and/or nutrition in Kenya and the rest of East Africa.

Personal attributes and competencies

• Strong analytical skills and ability to process both quantitative as well as qualitative information.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including gender sensitivity.
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams as well as to develop strong and effective working relationships with partners.
• Ability to travel and undertake fieldwork in rural conditions.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft packages and electronic communication tools.
• Good written and oral communication skills in English.
• Proficiency to use standard software at an advanced level.
• Minor programming using macros, mail merge, designing customized reports, developing audio visual presentations.
• Provides services or information, the quality and timeliness of which are important to enable the delivery of other functions, units, or individuals.
• Attention to details ensures errors can be corrected with moderate costs and/or delays.
• Ability to prioritize and allocate work to others and supervises 1 to 10 Staff members.
• Manages own work and small projects related to own work; adapts plans and priorities to meet service and/or operational challenges.