Social Scientist

Social Scientist

Position Announcement

Social Scientist

World Vegetable Center – Mali Country Office, Bamako, Mali

The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) is a non-profit, autonomous international agricultural research center with headquarters in Taiwan and five regional offices around the globe. WorldVeg conducts research and development programs that contribute to realize the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods. For more information, please visit our website: http://avrdc.org/

The WorldVeg Country Office in Mali, established in 2014, implements and provides oversight to several projects. The main projects are: 

  • “Safe locally produced vegetables for West Africa’s consumers” (SAFEVEG): A 5-year project funded by the European Union and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. SAFEVEG aims to strengthen the role, production and availability of vegetables in local food systems in Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso.
  • “Choose, Grow, Thrive” (CGT): A 3-year GIZ/BMZ-funded project in Benin and Mali. CGT aims to strengthen seed systems of TAVs (i.e., amaranth, jute mallow, and okra) and scale variety adoption so that male and female farmers and urban consumers benefit from increased production and consumption of African vegetables, which are nutritious but currently underutilized.
  • “Black Soldier Fly” (BSF): A 3-year IITA-led and NORAD-funded project in Ghana, Mali and Niger. The project aims to address the challenges of (i) unsustainable biowaste management, and (ii) unsustainable supply of protein sources for animal feed and mineral fertilizers for application on crops.
  • World Food Program (WFP) project: The overall project objective is to improve food and nutrition security and strengthen resilience in rural areas of Mali as part of the WFP Action Plan for Building Resilience 2020 - 2024. The project uses a demand-led approach to identify, adapt and implement vegetable technologies suitable for local conditions.

WorldVeg is seeking a Social Scientist to support its activities in Mali. This is a nationally-recruited early/mid-career position that will be based at WorldVeg’s Country Office in Bamako, Mali and report to the WorldVeg Agricultural Economist based in Cotonou, Benin and the Mali Country Manager based in Bamako.

Key job responsibilities:

  • Contribute to on-going projects in Mali and the West and Central Africa region.
  • Conduct research on food environments and social inclusion in food systems (i.e., women, youth, socially
  • disadvantaged groups)
  • Organize and lead the implementation of questionnaire-based surveys among farm household, consumers and other actors in fruit and vegetable value chains
  • Contribute to data analysis and publication writing for peer-reviewed journals
  • Perform any other duties as required by the needs of the Center and as directed by the Agricultural Economist or the WorldVeg Mali Country Manager.

The Person:

Required

  • A national of Mali or person with permanent residence status in Mali
  • Minimally a MSc degree in agricultural economics or environmental economics or a related social science discipline with a strong focus on applied research
  • Strong affinity for the mission of WorldVeg and strong communication skills in French and English

Desired experience

  • At least two years postgraduate work experience in conducting household surveys, data management and analysis
  • Familiarity with the fruit and vegetable sector in Mali
  • Good experience in data analysis with STATA
  • Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team
  • Excellent organizational skills
  • Skilled in using Microsoft Office tools

The Reward

This is a Nationally Recruited Staff position with competitive pay and benefits. The initial appointment is for 12 months, renewable conditional on the availability of project funding and priorities set by the project. The position is available as of February 15, 2023.

How to Apply:

Applicants should submit in English:

A letter of application explaining their suitability for and interest in the position and date of availability

A curriculum vitae

A copy of their highest academic certificate (can be in French)

Names and addresses (including telephone/e-mail) of three referees

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF file by email to recruitment.wca-d@worldveg.org indicating “Social Scientist – Mali” in the subject line. The deadline for applications is 25 January 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for in-person interviews in late January 2023.