University of Illinois: Senior Research Specialist Position, AgReach

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Research, Teaching, and Outreach

·         Conducting research on post-harvest loss reduction approaches and technologies and the role of gender and other economic and social factors in developing country contexts,

o   Actively work to identify opportunities and challenges in meeting project output objectives and develop and implement plans to meet project performance goals;

o   Coordinate activities between AgReach and other partners, consisting of IPB University, ADMI, ADM Cares, USAID and others;

·         Present research findings and programmatic contributions at professional conferences and meetings;

·         Write research publications jointly with Professor Paul McNamara for submission to refereed journals;

·         Developing training material for extension education;

·         Assistance with delivery and teaching of training courses in the area of extension;

·         Coordinate and conduct training courses at international sites including Njala University, Sierra Leone;

·         Conduct AgReach Program research activities through participation in face-to-face team meetings, mentoring junior colleagues, and advising and supervising student interns;

Research Support

·         Coordinate and backstop the USDA funded project with Nascent in Cameroon, and make technical contributions on our action-oriented research component;

·         Assist and contribute on other project management duties (budget tracking, expenditure review, performance tracking, research support, communications and editing among other possible tasks) within AgReach, including on the ADMI/ADM Cares projects, World Vision Honduras and Zambia activity, Nascent Solution, LLC sub-award, and other donor-funded activities;

·         Lead and contribute to proposal development work including coordinating proposals within our AgReach team and linking with other University of Illinois resource persons, identifying proposal opportunities for research and outreach activities;

·         Contribute to communications for AgReach and the projects it implements through print publications, newsletters, social media and web site;

·         Coordinate activities between AgReach and other partners, including IPB University, ADMI, GFRAS, DAI and other consultancies, World Vision and other NGOs, other universities, to identify new opportunities and to implement joint research and development action projects; 

·         Assistance and delivery of technical assistance for extension strengthening, higher education strengthening, and monitoring and evaluation and rigorous learning with projects and partners;

·         Additional research topics related to agricultural extension, international development, cooperative and farmer-based organization development, women’s empowerment and gender in development, human and institutional capacity development.

Substantial overseas travel will be required. 

required education and experience:

• PhD in Rural or International Development or Sustainable Management
• Demonstrated experience publishing peer reviewed articles
• Minimum five years of experience in international research projects in higher education and international development agriculture
• Experience writing grant proposals and garnering funding support for international development research and program activities
• Working proficiency in at least two other international languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian)

preferred education and experience:

• Experience with the University of Illinois
• Working proficiency in Spanish and French

knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• The person in this position should have an advanced level of knowledge of qualitative research, communication, cross-cultural competency, and creative problem solving.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by 6:00 pm (CST) on March 26, 2024. All requested information must be submitted via the online system for your application to be considered.  For further information, please contact Dan Breen, search chair, via e-mail at djbreen@illinois.edu .  For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

Requisition ID: 1023494
Job Category: Research
Apply at: https://jobs.illinois.edu

equal employment opportunity:

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, COVID-19 vaccination requirement, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.