The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is looking for a highly skilled Research team leader to support the climate action team’s climate smart agriculture policy and programming work, within the Climate readiness sub-lever.  The candidate will provide leadership in policy support, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives in climate-smart agriculture and broader climate finance pathways. The position involves leading in the preparation and review of key policy documents such as Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans (CSAIPs), NDC 3.0, LT-LEDS, and NAPs, alongside supporting the development of evidence to inform global policy processes (e.g., IPCC, UNFCCC). A strong emphasis is placed on facilitating multi-stakeholder platforms to promote inclusive, gender-responsive, and science-driven adaptation policies. The successful candidate will also coordinate and deliver training sessions to enhance stakeholder capacities—particularly for NDAs, National Focal Points, and policymakers—ensuring robust access to climate finance. Additional responsibilities include collecting and synthesizing evidence on climate risks and finance flows, preparing evidence-based reports, and documenting best practices for scaling investments in agriculture. This will be accompanied by coordination of the alliance’s work on climate readiness for Southern Africa.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead in the preparation and review of Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans (CSAIPs), profiles and inputs into the agriculture components of NDCs, LT-LEDS, and NAPs.​
• Promote the integration and use of climate smart agriculture investment plans and other investment documents, for the implementation of different climate policy documents.
• Promote the use of climate smart agriculture investment plans and other investment documents, for investments from a variety of sources, including public and private partnerships, MDBs’ and climate funds.
• Provide technical inputs for policy development through collaboration with national and regional organizations and partners.
• Lead technical support and coordination of climate smart agriculture policy and investment work, with multistakeholder platforms and forums.​
• Support multi-stakeholder platforms to advance inclusive, gender-responsive, and science-driven climate adaptation and peacebuilding policies.​
• Lead in the process of generation of evidence at the continental level to inform agriculture sector stakeholders and support global policies and processes such as IPCC, UNFCCC.​
• Lead in the design and delivery of training sessions to strengthen stakeholder capacities, ensuring inclusivity in policy development, and MEAL for agriculture sector, climate finance projects.
• Coordinate with external service providers and partners to support on-site capacity-building activities.​
• Contribute to the development of frameworks and capacity-building initiatives for NDAs, National Focal Points, and policymakers to develop, and execute climate smart agriculture based, climate finance program.​
• Coordinate in documenting lessons learned and best practices for finance and investment access in the agricultural sector.
• Collect, analyse, and synthesize global, regional, and national data related to climate risks, climate finance flows, and adaptation/mitigation investment commitments.​
• Support the development of evidence-based reports to inform climate finance investments.​
• Ensure data quality, consistency, and alignment with project objectives and milestones.​
• Contribute to the preparation of research proposals and related fundraising activities.

Requirements

• PhD or master’s degree with specialization or equivalent, in Climate Change, Environmental Science, Agriculture, Economics, or a related field.
• Extensive experience in process-oriented work, particularly in research or policy development related to climate adaptation and mitigation.
• Experience in stakeholder engagement and capacity-building initiatives, preferably in the climate finance or agricultural sector.
• Familiarity with climate policy frameworks such as NDCs, NAPs, and LT-LEDS.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and translate it into actionable insights.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for engaging with multi-stakeholder groups.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.
• English required, French (Desirable).