Research Specialist

PISA4I

The Organization The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the general crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people.

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

About the position The Research Specialist will contribute to the implementation and coordination of research activities related to Agroecology Transitions, CGIAR Policy Innovations, and Multifunctional Landscapes programs.

Through political economy and governance analysis, methodological support, stakeholder engagement, and cross-country learning initiatives, the position will support the generation of evidence and knowledge products to inform policy

processes and strengthen project implementation. The role will contribute to the planning, monitoring, and delivery of research outputs, facilitate collaboration with project partners, and support the development of research

proposals and resource mobilization efforts across CGIAR science programs.

The position will be based in the operations center of the Americas, located in the Palmira - Colombia Campus.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

- Conduct literature reviews and provide technical and methodological support to research activities related to Agroecology Transitions Incentives and Multifunctional Landscapes projects.

- Support the implementation of research activities on governance and political economy aspects of food systems transformation,



contributing to the development and operationalization of policy innovation initiatives.

- Prepare and coordinate project deliverables, technical reports, presentations, policy briefs, communication materials, and other knowledge products for internal and external audiences.

- Contribute the preparation, review, and submission of scientific manuscripts, reports, and other research outputs in collaboration with project teams and partners.

- Prepare manuscripts for publication in high impact factor journal.

- Contribute to the development of research proposals, concept notes, and resource mobilization efforts.

- Contribute to capacity sharing and innovation dissemination efforts with national actors, producer organizations and farmers.

Qualifications and requirements

- Professional PhD, or Master’s degree in fields related to Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Political Economy and Governance, Natural Resources Management and Ecology, Digital Agriculture or any other relevant fields with an emphasis on, or strong interest in, interdisciplinary research and systemic approaches.

- Demonstrated relevant experience with participatory research approaches, mixed methods, qualitative research, systematic reviews and methods in a developing country context.

- Ability to engage in interdisciplinary work and to conduct action research in a multicultural and inter-institutional environment.

- Proficiency in relevant software packages (including Microsoft Office Suite, NVivo, STATA, graphical software, tools for virtual interactive meetings).

- Professional working proficiency in English (oral and written).





Soft Skills

- Strong teamwork, interpersonal, and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary environments.

- Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with individuals from diverse cultural and national backgrounds, demonstrating a strong service orientation toward country teams and key stakeholders.

- Sound critical thinking and analytical skills, combined with diplomatic sensitivity when engaging with institutional and external actors.

- High level of autonomy in planning and organizing work, with the ability to prioritize tasks and adapt to dynamic and evolving environments.

- Well-developed personal organization and priority setting skills, ability to work autonomously, work in multi-cultural teams, and ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks and deadlines.

Benefits

Terms of employment

This is a national call, level BG06 on a 14-level scale, where level 14 is the highest.

This is a Colombian national search and will be administered through a one (1) year fixed-term contract, subject to a probationary period in accordance with local legislation and is renewable based on performance and resource availability.

The Alliance Bioversity

International - CIAT offers a multicultural and academic research environment, with competitive salaries and excellent benefits. We are an institution that believes diversity contributes to excellence, promotes equal employment opportunities, and therefore does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, identity, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, age, marital status, or any other personal characteristic of its employees or candidates for a position.

Applications

Application closing date: August 3/2026

Learn more about us at:

Careers | Alliance Bioversity International - CIAT (alliancebioversityciat.org)

📌 7) Research Specialist -P (Palmira)
🏢 Alliance Bioversity u0026 CIAT
📍 Palmira