CODESRIA
CODESRIA Job Vacancy Announcement
CODESRIA/IUCN/UIUC RFGI PROGRAMME
Social Science Post-Doctoral Fellow
Responsive Forest Governance Initiative (RFGI)
The Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites applications for the position of Post-Doctoral Fellow in its Responsive Forest Governance Initiative (RFGI). The position will be based in the Council's Executive Secretariat in Dakar. The Fellow would also be expected to spend part of their time participating in various programs of the University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in terms of existing collaboration agreements between CODESRIA and UCAD. The RFGI is a joint programme of CODESRIA, the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is an Africa-wide environmental-governance research and training program focusing on enabling responsive and accountable decentralization to strengthen the representation of forest-based rural people in local-government decision making. Further information on RFGI can be found at www.codesria.org.
Under the overall authority of the Executive Secretary and the direct supervision of the RFGI Coordinator, the Post-Doctoral Fellow will be based in Dakar and will work closely with the RFGI Coordinator on the day-to-day scientific management of the RFGI. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will also be required to contribute to the research and training objectives of the RFGI.
The key tasks and responsibilities of the Programme Manager will include:
• Assist the Program Coordinator with the Scientific management of the day-to-day activities of the RFGI;
• Develop and carry out research on a topic relevant to the objectives of the RFGI.
• Provide support and technical backstopping to researchers in different parts of Africa, and collaborating researchers elsewhere;
• Liaison with RFGI researchers;
• Participate in the review of proposals, research reports, background papers and manuscripts commissioned by the RFGI core team.
• Assist the Coordinator with the preparation of reports and monitoring of all programme obligations to funders;
• Production of draft quarterly, half-yearly and annual reports.
The Post-Doctoral Fellow is expected to be hands-on, self-motivating and target-oriented individual requiring minimum supervision. She/he must also be capable of leading and motivating research teams and individual researchers.
Requirements
Candidates for this position must:
• Have recently (within the last 5 years) graduated with a PhD in the Social Sciences with a focus on environmental governance, decentralised local governance or closely related field;
• Be familiar with the challenges of social-science research in Africa;
• Be familiar with the trends in the global social sciences/humanities;
• Have some experience or interest in programme monitoring and evaluation
• Have experience in the organisation of research and research meetings of various types;
• Be fully conversant with current Information technology and possess knowledge of the use of ICT tools in research;
• Be fluent in French and English
• Have excellent writing skills.
How to Apply
All applicants wishing to be considered for this position are required to supply the following documents:
• A cover letter expressing your interest;
• A one-page essay on your research interests and how they may relate to RFGI;
• 2 samples of your published work;
• A detailed CV describing your professional experience;
• Three reference letters, two of which must be academic references.
Both the application and the reference letters should be sent by email by 31st May 2012 to:
The Executive Secretary
CODESRIA
Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop X Canal IV
P.O. Box 3304 CP 18524
Dakar, SENEGAL
