TITLE: POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
LOCATION: WASHINGTON, D.C.
DIVISION: ENVIRONMENT, PRODUCTION & TECHNOLOGY (EPTD)
GRADE: 15B
REPORTS TO: MARK ROSEGRANT (DIVISION DIRECTOR, EPTD)
POSTING DATE: MARCH 19, 2010
CLOSING DATE: MARCH 26, 2010 OR UNTIL FILLED

Job Summary:
Under the direct supervision of the Division Director and working with
the Senior Research Fellow leading the Global Change research theme of
IFPRI, and in close collaboration with other staff as appropriate, the
successful applicant will join a team of researchers to enhance the ex
ante research evaluation capabilities of the CGIAR. This research
involves extensive revision to a widely respected partial equilibrium
model of world agriculture written in GAMS to increase its spatial
resolution and incorporate detailed modeling of land use changes. The
individual will conduct original research as well as provide research,
communications, and writing support to the other members of the research
team. The position is a two-year, fixed-term appointment, and is
renewable depending on performance and funding. Please note that
Postdoctoral Fellow appointments at IFPRI have a maximum term of three
(3) years, inclusive of any approved appointment extensions. This
position is based at IFPRI headquarters located in Washington, D.C.

Essential Duties:
Conduct independent research and collaborate on group research efforts
that results in output publishable in high quality journals, on topics
related to agricultural productivity, and sustainability of the natural
resource base in the face of climate change and other global pressures.
Work with a team undertaking major improvements in the IFPRI IMPACT
global model of agricultural supply and demand. Specific tasks include:

1. Work with a research team to develop and implement new modeling
approaches to the determinants of land use, with an emphasis on the
agricultural sector, but which also account for land use change
interactions with forestry, urban expansion, and other non-agricultural
land uses. This modeling architecture should take into account changes
in population, income and key environmental factors, such as climate
change and natural resource degradation. It should have high spatial
resolution, include standard welfare measures, incorporate links to
general equilibrium models and have detailed opportunities for
simulating the effects of agricultural technology improvements.

2. Work closely with researchers who develop and maintain other models
of biophysical crop growth, hydrology and economic policy used within
the global change program, and supervise support research staff as
necessary.

3. Carry out expert consultations with crop and animal scientists to
better define the potential for various agricultural technology
interventions to improve productivity growth and enhance sustainability.

4. Work with the extensive land use data currently held within IFPRI,
and seek other sources, where necessary, to enhance the scope and
functioning of the land use modeling tools, and strengthen the existing
database within the global change program.

5. Maintain a high level of research output for publication outlets both
within IFPRI, and within the wider scientific community, on topics of
relevance to the global change research theme.

6. Create linkages to possible external collaborators and research
groups, when possible, in order to expand the portfolio of land use
analysis tools within EPT as well as to create synergies with
complementary modeling tools and methods.

7. Support EPTD contributions to internal and external reviews such as
Program and Management Reviews as well as annual and mid-term planning.

Required Qualifications:
* Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics or other relevant fields.
* Extensive experience with mathematical modeling methods and
complementary econometric techniques, with the necessary programming
skills to implement directly
* Research experience in policy analysis and policy recommendations
relating to environmental or natural resource issues in developing
country economies.
* Outstanding ability to perform thoughtful, critical analyses of own as
well as existing research.
* Ability to work with researchers from other sciences and backgrounds.
* Excellent communication skills (both oral and written).
* Thorough knowledge of land use modeling techniques and the required
national and global databases on which they depend
* Ability to incorporate important environmental factors such as carbon
sequestration, climate, land quality and water availability into
economic policy models of land use.

Preferred Qualifications:
* Strong knowledge of GAMS or similar modeling programs, and the ability
to translate other modeling languages into a format compatible with
GAMS.
* Strong knowledge of and experience with GIS software, especially
ArcGIS and GRASS and use of spatially-oriented databases
* Knowledge of partial- and general-equilibrium economic models
* Facility with processing and analyzing data on climate, soils and
water
* Experience and demonstrated excellence in written and oral
presentations.

IFPRI is one of the international agricultural research institutes
organized under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR).  The mandate of IFPRI is to identify and
analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies
for meeting world food needs in ways that conserve the natural resource
base, with emphasis on low income and on the poorer groups in the
countries.
IFPRI offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with
competitive salary and excellent benefits.  IFPRI is an international
and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its
staff contributes to excellence. We encourage women and developing
country professionals to apply.

TO APPLY: Please visit our website at http://www.ifpri.org.