The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to enhance the roles livestock play in pathways out of poverty in developing countries. ILRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global research partnership of 15 centres working with many partners for a food-secure future. ILRI has two main campuses in East Africa and other hubs in East, West and southern Africa and South, Southeast and East Asia. CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centres that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.
DAAD is a German Academic Exchange service which is a publicly funded, self-governing organization of the institutions of higher education in Germany. DAAD promotes international academic exchange as well as educational co-operation with developing countries through a variety of funding and scholarship programs.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to enhance the roles livestock play in pathways out of poverty in developing countries. ILRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global research partnership of 15 centres working with many partners for a food-secure future. ILRI has two main campuses in East Africa and other hubs in East, West and southern Africa and South, Southeast and East Asia. CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centres that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.
DAAD is a German Academic Exchange service which is a publicly funded, self-governing organization of the institutions of higher education in Germany. DAAD promotes international academic exchange as well as educational co-operation with developing countries through a variety of funding and scholarship programs.
Reference Number: PHDAM/DAAD/05/2013
Location: Ethiopia
Duration: 1 year from September 2013 renewable for up to 3 years subject to performance
ILRI Research Project: Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)
The IBLI program aims to enhance livelihoods and reduce vulnerability of pastoral communities through the purchase of livestock insurance contracts that provides indemnity payments after a shock arising from drought related livestock mortality. IBLI aims to help pastoralists manage drought risk, and its pernicious ex ante and ex post effects in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. The insurance serves as a productive safety net for households affected by drought-related livestock loss and to help them effectively manage the resulting shock. The expected outcome indicators arising from the IBLI program includes increased earnings from livestock as well as improved household dietary conditions.
Graduate Fellowship Project Title: The Role of Index-Based Livestock Insurance on Food Security and Livelihoods among Pastoralists in Southern Ethiopia
Position:
The graduate fellow will be part of the team developing, piloting, assessing the impact of, and scaling-up index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) products. The candidate will support team scientists with data analysis and writing to exploit the rich existing panel data and contribute to writing scientific papers. In particular, the candidate will use the panel data to establish the effects of livestock insurance on food security and incomes among the pastoral households in Southern Ethiopia in order to assess the contribution of IBLI in enhancing livelihoods and reducing vulnerability of pastoral communities through the purchase of livestock insurance contracts that provides indemnity payments after a shock arising from drought related livestock mortality.
Responsibilities:
- Provide research and analytical support to project scientists and contribute to research papers
- Write research reports summarizing and analyzing data
- Contribute to the IBLI research for development agenda (research design and strategy, survey instruments, sampling frame, survey implementation strategy, enumerator training, data collection and analysis).
- Contribute to communication and dissemination of research findings and giving periodic presentations to participating institutions
Essential Skills and Qualifications will include:
- Hold a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree with at least an upper second class in agricultural economics or development studies with at least an upper second class
- Minimum of 6 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative household-level socio-economic data collection and analysis; experience must involve field work and survey implementation as well as data analysis and report writing.
- Experience in managing or playing a leading role in research programs involving field survey implementation and empirical analysis.
- Ability to design questionnaires and implementing surveys using computer assisted personal interviewing software such as Surveybe
- Demonstrated knowledge of using statistical tools and software for research, STATA preferred
- Ability to communicate and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, enumerators, and partners
- Be a staff member of a university (or candidate considered for teaching or research staff recruitment) or from the public sector aiming at a PhD degree
- Have completed their last degree less than 6 years ago at the time of application
- Must be nationals of a Sub-Saharan African Country. Please note that it is not possible to apply for studies in your home country.
Terms of appointment: ILRI will offer a competitive stipend to cover living expenses in the project location(s). The successful candidate will be supervised jointly by an ILRI scientist and the university supervisor.
How to apply:
Interested applicants should address should submit the following documents;
- A cover letter explaining your interest in the position, what you can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about your professional qualifications and work experience.
- Curriculum Vitae without photograph; please use the Europass CV template.
- Recommendation letter by the affiliate university head of department
- Certified copies of all university degree certificates
- Certified copies of all university transcripts
- At least temporary admission letter from the host institution
- Detailed and precise description of the research project (incl. working plan and time schedule until graduation). The proposal has to be in line with the above outlined ILRIs research projects.
- Declaration of acceptance from academic/university supervisor
- Proof of employment with certification that you receive an unpaid leave (if applicable
Email your application to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on or before 31 May 2013. The position title and reference number should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.