Scientist (Gender, Social Inclusion and Development)

Animals, plants and microorganisms harvested and grown in water play a significant role in sustainably feeding and nourishing the world. Globally, 800 million people depend on small-scale fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. But these vital aquatic food systems are hindered by the insecure livelihoods of those in related jobs, their low capacity to adapt to climate change, and the loss of marine nature.

The Scientist in Gender, Social Inclusion and Development Area at WorldFish will design, lead and publish innovative and impactful strategic research for development in gender inclusive and pro-poor value chains and markets. The Scientist would contribute to CGIAR’s Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Food Systems (SAAF), the Gender Accelerator, DéSIRA+ Project in West Africa “Integrated Fish, Livestock, and Crops for Inclusive Agroecological Resilience (i-FLiCAR)” and other projects, generating evidence on gender equality, women’s empowerment, youth engagement and social inclusion in aquatic and food systems. The Scientist would examine how gender norms and power relations influence access to resources, technologies, markets, climate adaptation, and decision-making, while supporting the design of gender-transformative solutions that enhance livelihoods, resilience, sustainability, and equitable development outcomes across Africa, Asia, and other regions where WorldFish works.

About the Position

WorldFish is seeking an internationally recruited Scientist in Gender, Social-Economic Inclusion based in Nairobi, Kenya or anywhere were WorldFish has offices in Africa or Asia, apart from Malaysia.

Under the supervision of the Social and Economic Inclusion Impact Lead and together with other scientists at WorldFish, the Scientist will be responsible for co-designing, co-leading and publishing innovative and impactful strategic research for development in the area of gender-inclusive and pro-poor value chains and markets; laying the foundation of the work on women’s empowerment in the fisheries sector; unpacking “better” strategies for community-based natural resources management, importance of social networks in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, among other aspects of social and economic inclusion in these sectors.

The Scientist will undertake this interdisciplinary work through close collaboration with, and support to, WorldFish country projects teams, other CGIAR organizations researchers and partners and the WorldFish Gender Team.

Key Responsibilities

Main Purpose of Job:

• Identify potential research proposal opportunities for resource mobilization purposes in collaboration with supervisor, actively collaborating with internal or external teams or programs to advance shared goals and outcomes.
• Lead research activities, including data collection, quality assurance, and analysis, aligned with project goals and objectives.
• Develop and implement capacity development initiatives with program or government stakeholders disseminate knowledge, including training materials and technical guidance.
• Conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research relevant areas to provide evidence for targeted decision-making and policy development.
• Play a lead role in the design and implementation of innovative, impactful, and high-quality gender research in value chains and market systems, focusing on aquaculture, and fisheries in and across Africa and Asia. This will include refining and consolidation cutting-edge, gender-inclusive market approaches and business models, including, but not limited to, women-led entrepreneurship and partnerships with the private and government sector. Also, co-lead and contribute to the research work on youth in aquaculture and fisheries sector that is expanding in Africa.
• Lead the development of high-quality science outputs and enable the effective communication of research findings and scaling of the lessons within SAAF, Gender Accelerator and DéSIRA+ Project in West Africa, among other projects with partners and to key policy actors.

Main engagement, collaboration and communication responsibilities:

• Supervise a team or area by identifying learning and development opportunities, overseeing performance, and fostering an inclusive and collaborative teamwork environment.
• Engage with other team(s) and other CGIAR centers in area of work, ensuring knowledge exchange, alignment, integration and synergy.
• Collaborate with external stakeholders and partners to advance research efforts, build capacity, and implement activities aimed at making progress in area of work.
• Engage with external partners to explore funding opportunities, develop proposals and establish partnerships that strengthen program outcomes.
• Organize peer-to-peer learning opportunities and knowledge-sharing platforms to foster collaboration, innovation, and knowledge uptake.

Main responsibilities in the delivery of timely and quality services:

• Supervise a team or area by identifying learning and development opportunities, overseeing performance, and fostering an inclusive and collaborative teamwork environment.
• Engage with other team(s) and other CGIAR centers in area of work, ensuring knowledge exchange, alignment, integration and synergy.
• Collaborate with external stakeholders and partners to advance research efforts, build capacity, and implement activities aimed at making progress in area of work.
• Engage with external partners to explore funding opportunities, develop proposals and establish partnerships that strengthen program outcomes.
• Organize peer-to-peer learning opportunities and knowledge-sharing platforms to foster collaboration, innovation, and knowledge uptake.

Requirements

This job might be for you if you have the below skills and qualifications:

• A PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline, such as Gender, Development Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, International Development, Rural Development Studies, Human Geography, or related fields.
• Completed a Post Doc / Fellow Program in relevant area
• Experience conducting independent applied research in relevant area
• Has several published international peer-reviewed articles, including as a lead author
• Exposure to developing and refining research proposals, designing research, and implementing data collection strategies.
• Experience in contributing to writing grant proposals.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, government agencies, and partners in implementing and scaling research.
• Experience working in or with an international not-for-profit organization is an advantage.
• High-level competency in quantitative or qualitative research methods (i.e., able to design, analyze and write up independently as well as mentor others) and commitment to interdisciplinary and mixed methods research approaches.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• Significant experience working in Africa, with established networks in government and the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
• Experience with donor engagement (EU, AfDB, World Bank, FCDO, Gates foundation, among other philanthropic organizations) and demonstrated success securing funding.
• Strong facilitation skills for multi-stakeholder platforms, policy dialogues, and private‑sector partnerships.

Key Competencies Required

Core competencies

• Accountability: Takes ownership of work, showing initiative in problem-solving and decision-making. Stands firm on ethical issues, even when faced with challenges.
• Collaboration and Communication: Communicates clearly, articulating thoughts in a straightforward manner while interpreting nonverbal cues to enhance responses and foster productive interactions. Actively participates, seeks and listens to others’ perspective. Demonstrates a willingness to learn from others and welcomes constructive feedback to improve personal and team performance.
• Respect and Inclusion: Promotes and advocates for respect and inclusion within team, program or organization. Actively seeks incorporates diverse ideas and experiences into decision making.
• Results and Impact Orientation: Establishes clear standards of excellence to achieve results, aligns individual and team goals with organizational objectives. Uses data and metrics to assess, monitor, and improve performance. Identifies improvement opportunities by evaluating and applying emerging technologies.

Functional and Technical Competencies

• Analytical, Critical and Systems Thinking: Synthesizes diverse information for well-informed conclusions and actionable recommendations.
• Scientific Ethics, Integrity and Writing: Ensures transparency and proper research documentation and upholds ethical standards in research by following scientific ethics standards, and in scientific writing by avoiding plagiarism and accurately representing data following FAIR principles. Constructs evidence-based scientific arguments for peer-reviewed publications.
• Data Analysis and Management: Integrates data from different sources to identify trends and patterns, proactively suggests areas for further exploration and communicates data-driven insights effectively through clear presentations and impactful visualizations.
• Capacity Building: Delivers engaging capacity building approaches using diverse methods, adjusting the needs to the audience while effectively responding to participant feedback.
• Resource Mobilization: Prepares tailored input to donor proposals while proactively engaging with potential partners to cultivate and secure new funding opportunities.
• Experience with gender transformative approaches, including for engaging men in change processes and gender training.
• Successful track record of and passion for supporting staff and partner capacity development, in particular in gender and gender analysis.
• Practical experience in fisheries, aquaculture, natural resource management or agricultural development in Africa or Asia.

Leadership and Management Competencies

Managing Team Dynamics

• Recognizes and identifies personal and others' emotions and the influence of personal behavior on team dynamics, showing understanding of the emotional intelligence concept.
• Builds trust and rapport with supervisees or team members by empowering and engaging them on tasks, supporting and guiding them to reach shared goals, while setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and conducting fair assessments.
• Takes time to connect and show an interest in the well-being of team members or supervisees.

Strategic Leadership

• Recognizes relationships and partnerships as essential to achieving goals, demonstrating willingness to work in partnership, understanding and clarifying needs and mutual expectations.
• Actively participates in and supports change initiatives, adapting processes or procedures to align with evolving organization needs, showing openness to new ideas and approaches.
• Proactively identifies potential risks within their team’s operations, assesses their impact, and suggests mitigation strategies to the manager.
• Seeks to understand the organization’s purpose and goals and identifies opportunities for team process improvements and emerging technologies in alignment with organizational goals.

This Internationally Recruited Staff (IRS) position offers an annual salary of USD53,900 to USD 62,100 per annum. WorldFish's IRS shall receive an attractive retirement plan, comprehensive health insurance, life insurance, accident, and long-term disability insurance. Internationally recruited staff employed outside of their home base/country of nationality will also be eligible to receive relocation assistance, a housing allowance, home-leave plane tickets for self and eligible dependents and education assistance for school-age dependents between age 4 and high school graduation. The duration of the contract will initially be for a three-year period with possibility for extension, depending on funding and performance. All benefits are subject to terms and conditions.