Vacancy Announcement from International Water Management Institute
Senior Research Officer
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is looking for a highly motivated researcher to actively engage and support cutting-edge applied research on water resources and climate change in Nepal. The researcher will work on the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems projects (e.g. NEXUS Gains) and the Water Security Project in Nepal. By working closely with the Water Resource and Climate Change Researcher, the Senior Research Officer will support to monitoring and modeling of watershed hydrology, climate change analysis, and capacity development of the government, NGOs, local communities, and farmers on water resources management. The person will coordinate and supervise project work on the ground, including supervision of the collection of water sufficiency, demand and uses data for the project team(s). The person may also be required to support national and regional initiatives of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in other countries.
The researcher will be based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and will work with multidisciplinary researchers and partners of IWMI and One CGIAR.
Duties AND Responsibilities:
- Assist in the collection, management, documentation and analysis of hydrological data from farm to watersheds and basin level.
- Lead fieldwork planning and evidence gathering related to hydrology, climate change and extreme events, and water infrastructure and ecosystems in IWMI’s project areas in Nepal and/or other countries.
- Set up hydrological and climate monitoring stations in the study watersheds.
- Apply hydrological models (e.g., Soil and Water Assessment Tool [SWAT]) to simulate the impacts of climate change, land-use change and water-use patterns on the basin flow regime.
- Perform other relevant hydrological and water resource analyses as required by projects and draft reports/publications on these analyses.
- Assist in developing capacity building materials and data analysis tools in suitable programming languages such as R, Python, etc., as required.
- Train and support Nepali staff from partner organizations in data collection techniques.
- Coordinate with the national and subnational level authorities, project partners and stakeholders in planning field visits and knowledge forums/workshops organized by IWMI’s office in Nepal.
- Plan and conduct field visits for data collection.
- Support partnership development and research project management.
- Work closely with local partner organizations, and play a key communication and coordination role between partners.
- Provide support to preparing communication materials on biophysical components of IWMI research projects.
- In the guidance of the senior researchers, take initiate to prepare blogs, Op-ed and journal articles.
- Arrange the logistics for site visits by IWMI and other international project partners.
Requirements
MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
Essential:
- Master’s degree in hydrology/hydrogeology, water resources or a closely related field.
- Knowledge on water sector development issues of Nepal and/or other countries.
- Minimum of three years of post-MSc experience in water resources management or natural resources management; a PhD degree would be an advantage.
Desirable:
- Knowledge of ecosystem services modeling is an advantage.
- Experience in working with Regional Climate Models (RCMs), groundwater monitoring and modelling, integrated water resources planning, development and management.
- Experience with computer programming languages such as R, Python, etc.
- Experience in field-based project implementation and monitoring.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Knowledge of applying catchment-scale hydrological models such as SWAT.
- Knowledge of computer programming languages such as R, Python, etc., is an advantage.
- Working knowledge of ArcGIS.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and database management.
- Experience in preparing scientific publications, technical reports and research reports
- Ability to establish and maintain partnerships and working relationship with the government, development partners, non-governmental organizations, civil society organization, research and similar institutions, and private sector actors.
- Good interpersonal and teamworking skills.
- Well-developed personal organization and priority setting skills.
- Good written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Ability to function independently and deliver research outputs on time.
- Ability to travel to remote areas on extended field trips.
- Familiar with gender and inclusion issues of Nepal.
- Respect and practice organizational values and work with professional integrity.
Benefits
TERMS OF APPOINTMENT
This is a nationally recruited position with a competitive salary commensurate with experience, an attractive retirement plan, comprehensive international health insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, long-term disability (LTD) insurance and a transportation allowance. The duration of the contract will initially be for a three-year period with possible extension.
TO APPLY
Apply for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through 14 February 2022 (Monday) at 24:00 (Sri Lanka time). Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Your application must include a copy of your curriculum vitae, list of publications, and a letter describing your motivation and how your knowledge, training and experience match IWMI’s requirements stated above. It must also include the names and contact information of at least two professional referees (indicating your relationship to each) who will be contacted if you are short-listed for the position.
IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.
