Post Doctoral Fellow, Economist

he Center for International Forestry Research advances human wellbeing, environmental conservation and equity by conducting research to inform policies and practices that affect forests in developing countries. We are one of 15 centres within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Our headquarters are in Bogor, Indonesia, and we have offices in Asia, Africa and South America.

CIFOR is looking for a Post Doctoral Fellow, Economist

The Post Doctoral Fellow will perform economic analysis of sub-national REDD+ projects and national policies and measures for CIFOR’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (GCS REDD+). Under the supervision of Dr. Sven Wunder (CIFOR Brazil Office) and Dr. William Sunderlin (CIFOR Headquarters in Indonesia) in the Forests & Livelihoods Programme, the Post Doc will deliver research articles/papers related to study and contribute to the development of a wider research agenda on forests and climate change, with a focus on REDD+.

General Duties and Responsibilities:

Primary responsibilities:

• Support the collection, compilation, and analysis of the opportunity, implementation and transaction costs of, on the one hand, REDD+ projects, and on the other, of REDD+ policies and measures in the GCS REDD+ project countries
• Support two GCS REDD+ sub-programs working at different scales; working collaboratively with and serving as a liaison between associate researchers based in the GCS countries, the US, and Europe
• As part of this team, consolidate data and build on models and methods under development
• Help develop an easy-to-use system for estimating costs of other REDD+ projects operating in the voluntary carbon offset market or future national or nested REDD+ systems, including tools for assembling and analysing data and projecting costs
• Draw on the cost analysis to evaluate alternative benefit sharing rules in terms of their impacts on incentives to participate, income distribution, and livelihood security of poor forest-dependent populations. 

The Post Doc Fellow is also expected to:

• Draw on or develop her or his own area of expertise, e.g. applying theoretical insights and analytical methods from other areas of public economics such as natural resource and infrastructure concessions, public finance and subsidy reform, payments for environmental services, protected areas or regulatory environmental policies
• Independently and collaboratively develop research articles and reports, contribute to GCS management tasks, communicate with partners, help develop grant proposals, etc., as requested.

Requirements

Primary requirements

• The candidate must by the start date have completed all requirements for a PhD in economics or a related field of applied economics (agricultural economics, environmental economics, natural resource economics, development economics, forest economics, etc.) or business (including accounting or finance as applied to environment and natural resources)
• Strong background in a relevant field of economics (e.g. public, development, natural resources, environmental) and experience with applied economic research methods (e.g. econometric analysis or cost-benefit analysis)
• Fluent in spoken and written English and Portuguese. Ability in spoken and written Spanish will be preferred.

Desirable requirements

• Familiarity with REDD+ and/or with related fields of public economics (e.g. transaction costs, liability and risk-sharing, natural resource and public works concessions, public utility regulation, performance/results-based funding)
• Knowledge of and experience with programming methods to develop user-friendly interfaces for models
• Experience relevant to forest conservation and/or low-carbon development in Brazil, including fieldwork.

Personal attributes and competencies:

• Excellent analytical and synthesis skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, experienced in working with multicultural and multidisciplinary research teams
• Ability and desire to work with an interdisciplinary, international, and geographically dispersed research team is critical
• Excellent facilitation capacity
• Good management and organisational skills, has experience in project management
• Values the sharing of information and continuous improvement in a cooperative atmosphere of constructive evaluation and learning.

Terms and Conditions:

• CIFOR offers competitive remuneration in US dollars commensurate with skills and experience.
• The appointment will be for a period of one year with a possibility of extension up to three years contingent upon performance, continued relevance of the position, and available resources.
• The duty station will be at the CIFOR Office in Rio de Janeiro, with travel to research sites

Application process

• The position will be opened until a candidate is identified.
• We will acknowledge all applications, but we will contact only short-listed candidates.

Please send your letter of interest and CV, including contact information for three referees, to: 
Human Resources Department, CIFOR 
cifor-hr-jobs@cgiar.org  
Please indicate the position and its reference number in the email subject line.

CIFOR is an equal opportunity employer. 
Staff diversity contributes to excellence.