Coordinator - Gender, Poverty and Institutions International Water Management Institute

The Person and the Job

The vision of the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Water, Land and Ecosystems (CRP5) is “a world in which agriculture thrives amongst vibrant ecosystems, and those engaged in agriculture live in good health, enjoy food and nutritional security, and have access to the inputs and resources they need to continuously improve their livelihoods.” This vision implies a multitude of, as yet, unidentified factors involving gender, poverty and institutions that, if handled correctly, will substantially improve the development impact of research. For this, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) seek aCoordinator who will ensure specialist input into the Program.

The Coordinator, reporting to the Program Director (CRP5), will be responsible for supporting research within the CRP on Water, Land and Ecosystems to ensure that it addresses significant gender, poverty and institutional factors that could improve overall development impact. The Coordinator will ensure that there is a consistent strategy for including research on gender, poverty and institutions within the Strategic Research Portfolios (SRPs) of CRP5, and ensuring that integration of these topics with the biophysical research is carried out where and best appropriate. To do so, the Coordinator will work collaboratively with designated focal persons in the other CGIAR centers that are involved in CRP5. A key feature of the position will be in shaping the strategic research direction to enable SRPs to increase their development impact. The position will be based at the headquarters of IWMI in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Coordinator will provide thematic guidance to align the different research projects within the CRP, and lead the development of a wider network of research and development partners (e.g., nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)) who can broaden support for gender and development issues within the CRP.

You will:

·Plan and implement a gender strategy for CRP5 that also incorporates the crosscutting issues of poverty and institutional research;

·work with SRP leaders and partners to ensure that gender, poverty and institutions are issues central to the problem sets designed for each SRP;

·develop a checklist to guide CGIAR centers on how to incorporate gender, poverty and institutions within future research projects;

·in collaboration with focal persons as well as other interested researchers within CRP5 partner CGIAR centers, design specific research themes for gender, poverty and institutions;

·design and organize training activities to improve and update the knowledge of researchers on conceptual and methodological approaches to gender, poverty and institutions;

·develop calls for proposals on specific gender research for both CGIAR centers/and/or PhD students and Postdoctoral Fellows;

·develop networks of researchers and implementation partners (government and NGOs) that will improve uptake and dissemination of research findings; and

·work with junior researchers to integrate gender analysis into their work.

You will possess:

·A PhD in a Social Science (geography, anthropology, sociology, development studies, economics, etc.) or equivalent experience;

·demonstrated experience in gender, poverty and/or institutional analysis;

·experience in managing projects, developing collaborative research and networks;

·experience working in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments;

·experience of research management to support the development of pro-poor, gender-sensitive and large-scale theories of change;

·background in research on gender, poverty and/or institutions;

·good record of relevant publications;

·familiarity with the CGIAR and the CGIAR change management process that has resulted in the CRPs;

·knowledge of gender, poverty and /or institutions in agricultural development;

·the ability to apply concepts of gender, poverty or institutional analysis to change processes involving water, land or ecosystems; and

·the ability to understand research on water, land or ecosystems and to communicate the potential interactions with social sciences to increase development impact.

This is an internationally recruited position with a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes a housing allowance, transport, education, shipping assistance, annual home leave, retirement, and health insurance package. IWMI’s policy is to appoint staff initially on three-year contracts which are subject to renewal, depending on performance and Institute’s needs.

The International Water Management Institute (www.iwmi.org ) is a non-profit, scientific organization engaged in research and capacity building activities for developing countries. Our mission is to overcome poverty through better management of land and water resources. Working with diverse partners and supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (www.cgiar.org), IWMI seeks to translate its research findings into actionable recommendations for policymakers, resource managers and poor rural communities. IWMI is based in Sri Lanka and has regional offices in 12 countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

IWMI is an equal opportunity employer and is keen to further diversify its staff in terms of both gender and nationality.

For information about IWMI visit: http://www.iwmi.org

For information about CRP5: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/crp5