International Institute for Environment and Development

Job Description

Climate Change Group

Job title: Researcher (Drylands Economist)

Responsible to: Principal Researcher – (Team Leader) Climate resilience, productivity and equity in the Drylands

Main contacts: Internal: Climate Change Group, colleagues within IIED.
External: national, county and district governments, international, national and local NGOs, university departments, the private sector, the media, donors and multilateral organisations.

Main purpose: To design and manage a portfolio of policy-oriented action-research on the economics of the Drylands through a climate change lens.

Contract: Permanent full-time position, 35 hours per week

Salary: Grade 4: £33,654 - £41,812 plus benefits depending on experience. For exceptional candidates with a proven track-record in fundraising, a Grade 3 Senior Researcher post will be considered (up to £44,955).

Location: London or Edinburgh

(Or a consultancy arrangement based in East Africa if the appointed candidate is unable to relocate to the UK. IIED cannot offer employment contracts to anyone not based in the UK).

Background to the post

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is a policy research organisation that provides expertise and leadership in researching and achieving sustainable development at local, national, regional and global levels. In alliance with others, we are helping to tackle the biggest issues of our times – from climate change and cities to the pressures on natural resources and the forces shaping global markets. With 107 members of staff based in the UK working with associates and partners around the world, IIED has been at the forefront of policy-making in sustainable development for over 40 years.

The Climate Change Group of IIED, in conjunction with partners, seeks to secure an equitable deal for the poorest communities in developing countries who are exposed to increasingly severe and unpredictable weather events that can devastate communities, destroy livelihoods and exacerbate poverty. IIED places particular emphasis on capacity strengthening through collaborative research with individuals and organizations in the South.

Achieving an equitable climate change regime raises issues of power and hegemony, interaction of stakeholders, and processes of redistribution. Underpinning this is the belief that development policy and practice is a government-led process driven by economic and political considerations that tend to favour dominant groups. Knowledge in itself is not enough to change policy — it must be integrated with, or linked to, power. Improving institutional frameworks and governance systems to support local adaptation therefore requires a two-pronged approach based on:

-  Building the capacities of those who have less knowledge, power, or ‘powerful knowledge’ (e.g. dryland communities and their advocates) to articulate a vision of change based on their own priorities, in a language that can be understood by others, to challenge prevailing paradigms and to participate more effectively in shaping the policies and practices that affect their livelihoods and adaptive capacity.

-  Improving the knowledge and understanding of those that are ‘in power’ (e.g. national or local government, MPs) of the rationale, dynamics and adaptive qualities of local livelihood systems, and build their capacities to use this ‘improved’ understanding to design policies and programmes that support adaptive planning.

Currently, the Climate Change Group has three action-research and advocacy objectives that address the knowledge and power dimensions for improved development and environment policy and governance:

1.  Building capacity to act on the implications of climate change for equitable and climate resilient development in the drylands (http://www.iied.org/drylands-building-climate-resilience).

2.  Achieving more equitable climate change negotiations by engaging in different arenas and processes in support of vulnerable developing countries (http://www.iied.org/helping-vulnerable-countries-achieve-equitable-solutions-climate-law-policy-making-processes)

3.  Supporting public policy responses in delivering climate-resilient development outcomes for the most poor (http://www.iied.org/supporting-public-policy-delivers-climate-resilient-development).

The post holder will work primarily on the first of these objectives. He or she will be responsible for the design and management of a portfolio of participatory action research to generate evidence on the economic, social and ecological contribution of dryland management approaches to building resilience and adaptation to climate change. This will include research on the comparative returns (in total economic valuation terms) between different land-based investments in the drylands under conditions of increasing variability and longer-term climate change. The post holder will build on the wider programme of work mentioned above (http://www.iied.org/drylands-building-climate-resilience). This includes preliminary research on the total economic valuation of pastoralism (Ethiopia and Kenya) and district economies (Tanzania).

Much of the action-research will be co-generated through in-country partnerships with government, research and teaching institutions, representative civil society groups and relevant private sector actors, initially in East Africa but extending to other areas if opportunities arise. The design and management of the research portfolio includes not only the implementation of research activities, but also the organisation and facilitation of international meetings, and writing and speaking for professional and general audiences.

The post holder while working primarily on the first of these objectives will engage with the work generated under the other two objectives within the Climate Change Group. The post holder will also work with other parts of IIED as necessary including the emerging Change Initiatives on;

i.  Inclusive transitions to climate resilience and green economy,

ii.  Consumption and Food Systems,

iii.  International engagement for a shared planet and the

iv.  Rights Plus.

The Climate Change Group is made up of the following staff:

1.  Simon Anderson, Group Head

2.  Saleemul Huq, Senior Fellow

3.  Ced Hesse, Principal Researcher* (objective leader)

4.  Achala Chandani Abeysinghe, Senior Researcher (objective leader)

5.  Nanki Kaur, Senior Researcher (objective leader)

6.  Susannah Fisher, Researcher

7.  Neha Rai, Researcher

8.  Brianna Craft, Researcher

9.  Janna Tenzing, Researcher

10.  Beth Henriette, Senior Co-ordinator

11.  Hohit Gebreegziabher, Senior Co-ordinator

12.  Marika Weinhardt, Co-ordinator

13.  Geoff Wells, Co-ordinator

14.  Teresa Sarroca, Co-coordinator

15.  David Dodman, Cities and Climate Change Senior Researcher (joint appointment with Human Settlements Group)

16.  Vacancy, Researcher

*Post holder’s line manager

Key responsibilities

Research 50 % of time the post-holder can expect to dedicate to this area of responsibility

·  Provide on demand and real time research and technical assistance to the on-going work on climate resilience planning with county and district government in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively, and the total economic valuation of pastoralism in Ethiopia and Kenya.

·  Building on the on-going work in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania, design and implement a new portfolio of action-research on the comparative returns (in total economic valuation terms) between different land-based investments in the drylands under conditions of increasing variability and longer-term climate change.

·  Assist the Climate Change Group in developing other research and capacity strengthening activities on topics related to climate change economics.

·  Undertake individual research on selected topics, and synthesise research material provided by partners, as needed.

Publications 20 % of time the post-holder can expect to dedicate to this area of responsibility

With support from the CCG and IIED Communications staff:

·  Write and technically edit research findings and contribute to disseminating these outputs to a range of technical and non-technical audiences. Products will include blogs and short briefs to more substantive research and working papers.

·  Assist partners in publishing their research by providing critical feedback and support in writing text.

·  Contribute text to maintain the Climate Change Group website.

·  Assist in keeping the Climate Change Group contact list up-to-date.

Fundraising and Representation 20 % of time the post-holder can expect to dedicate to this area of responsibility

·  Develop funding proposals and grant applications with assistance from the Team Leader and Coordinator. This will involve developing and maintaining donor relations including periodic visits to present on-going and/or proposed activities.

·  Organise and participate in seminars, workshops and conferences to represent the work of the Climate Change Group on issues related to drylands economics, climate change and development policy.

·  Liaise with governments, private sector, NGOs and other bodies in conjunction with the CCG research team. This will include responding to enquiries from donors, the media and general public.

Finance and Administration 10 % of time the post-holder can expect to dedicate to this area of responsibility

·  With support from CCG Coordinators, manage work plans and budgets, and report to donors in connection with all of the above.

·  Manage personal administrative tasks such as expenses and timesheets.

·  Attend external and internal meetings where appropriate in order to report back to staff.

·  Provide general support to overseas partners to deliver on projects, and to support their broader objectives, including monitoring visits and capacity building where necessary.

This job description defines the level of responsibility and areas of involvement of the post; the details of the duties may change over time and do not form part of the contract between IIED and the post holder.

Person specification

Essential Skills and Experience

·  A post-graduate degree in environmental economics or other relevant subject

·  Experience of designing and conducting participatory, policy-oriented action research (including facilitating workshops and trainings) ideally, but not necessarily, on dryland economies, societies and environments

·  Experience in research for advocacy – meta-analysis, literature review, report preparation, non-technical communications etc.

·  Experience and a prior track-record in fundraising and donor relations

·  Fluency in English both written and orally

·  Strong communication skills demonstrated by the ability to convey complex messages in a clear, concise and effective manner in both written and orally, including a publications record

·  Ability to work in innovative, self-motivated and organized ways and able to collaborate with people from diverse background and cultures

·  Ability to build effective relationships with a variety of people, including many in LDCs

·  Willingness to travel as appropriate to project commitments

·  Experience of managing the arrangement of meetings, seminars, workshops and conferences

·  Experience of writing and editing for a range of audiences, including proposals, narrative reports, briefing papers and technical publications

·  Advanced knowledge of business software (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook)

·  Practical work experience in LDCs ideally in Africa

Desirable attributes

·  Fluency in French, Spanish, Portuguese

Behavioural Competencies

Researchers (Grade 4) / Level
Delivering Excellence / 2
Communicating with Impact / 3/2
Initiative / 2
Information Seeking / 3/2
Integrity & Commitment / 3/2
Flexible Thinking / 3/2
Understands Context / 3/2
Working Collaboratively / 3/2

For more information you can download the Behavioural Competency Framework from the IIED website http://pubs.iied.org/G03635.html

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