Research Officer III - Livestock and Feed Economics

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Research Officer (III) who provides technical and analytical assistance to ILRI research on the contributions of livestock and animal feed to economic growth, crop production, employment, household welfare and the environment. Based in Addis Ababa, the incumbent will support the Ethiopia study and provide research assistance for other study countries as assigned. Working under the Head of the MELIA Unit and the technical guidance of designated economists, the incumbent will prepare and manage datasets, support Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) updates, assist with established Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and microsimulation analyses, and contribute to research reports and policy briefs. Senior researchers will provide methodological direction and approve model changes, policy scenarios, findings and final research outputs.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org.

• Review literature and compile evidence on livestock and feed production, crop-livestock linkages, employment, household welfare and environmental outcomes, using a structured source register.
• Obtain, clean and harmonize national accounts, agricultural statistics, trade, price, employment and household survey data for Ethiopia and other study countries as assigned; document sources, reference periods, units, definitions and limitations.
• Compile data on livestock products, animal stock changes, draught power and alternative feed supply chains to support analysis of livestock contributions and links with crop production and other economic sectors.
• Maintain documented datasets, data dictionaries and reproducible processing scripts; check missing values, duplicates, units and totals, and refer unresolved discrepancies to the supervising economist.

• Prepare sector and commodity concordances and support the updating, disaggregation and balancing of SAMs using procedures and allocation rules agreed by senior researchers; undertake consistency checks and document adjustments.
• Prepare model input files and approved parameter data for established CGE models, including data on livestock stocks and environmental indicators where required, following the analytical protocols supplied by lead economists.
• Assist with baseline, policy scenario and sensitivity runs using existing model code and agreed assumptions; maintain run logs, resolve routine data or file errors and refer substantive model changes to the lead economist.
• Prepare household survey data, survey weights and variable mappings for poverty, employment and welfare microsimulations, and execute assigned processing and analysis steps under technical guidance.

• Undertake assigned descriptive and statistical analyses; prepare clear tables and figures, including relevant disaggregation by sex, age or household group where the data permit.
• Summarize model results on economic growth, crop production, employment, poverty and environmental outcomes for review by senior researchers, documenting assumptions, differences across scenarios and data limitations.
• Draft data and methods notes and assigned sections of working papers, technical reports, policy briefs and presentations; incorporate reviewer feedback and maintain accurate references and supporting files.

• Follow up approved data requests with national statistics agencies, government institutions and research partners; clarify data definitions and maintain records of access conditions and correspondence.
• Support validation meetings and policy dialogue events by preparing presentation materials, organizing research inputs, recording feedback and following up agreed technical actions.
• Plan and complete assigned tasks against agreed deadlines, report progress and data gaps, and maintain research records in line with ILRI data management, confidentiality and ethical requirements.
• Perform other research support duties assigned by the Head of the MELIA Unit or their designee, consistent with the scope and grade of the position.

We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training).

• MSc/MA in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Development Economics, Econometrics or a closely related quantitative discipline.
• Training in applied SAMs, input-output analysis, and CGE modelling or microsimulation, economic analysis, statistics or econometrics. Additional training in economic analysis, statistics or econometrics is an advantage.

• A minimum of seven years of relevant experience in economic research, quantitative analysis or research data management.
• Demonstrated experience developing economic-wide modelling, SAM preparation, input-output analysis or household welfare analysis is desirable
• Demonstrated experience cleaning and analysing agricultural, national accounts, sectoral or household survey datasets and preparing documented analytical outputs.
• Experience in livestock or feed economics, or collaboration with national statistics agencies and research institutions is an advantage.

• Strong spreadsheet skills and practical proficiency in GAMS, SAM preparation, statistical package or programming language, such as Stata, for data processing and quantitative analysis.
• Understanding of economic accounts, intersectoral linkages and household welfare analysis; familiarity with GAMS or another economic modelling platform is an advantage.
• Ability to maintain reproducible scripts, organize research files and apply systematic data quality checks, with close attention to detail.
• Clear written and spoken English, including the ability to draft technical notes and explain results.
• Strong teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills; ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment and complete assigned tasks with appropriate technical supervision.
• Ability to prioritize work, meet agreed deadlines and undertake occasional travel within Ethiopia or to other study countries as required.

To find out more about ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/

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