The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center is seeking an innovative & multi skilled researcher to join its office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a Regional Researcher - Water Systems Modeling.

This is a regionally recruited position; therefore, individuals with experience in the African region and relevant abilities, from diverse locations around the world are encouraged to apply.

The Regional Researcher - Water Systems Modeling will Lead modeling of water systems (including land, water, food, and energy systems) in support of IWMI research activities, utilizing diverse modeling approaches and tools – both in the public domain and proprietary, as available. In addition to that, the incumbent will build core modeling competency in the East Africa region by providing training, preparing guidance materials, and organizing peer-to-peer learning events for modelers. The person will also support the development and application of decision support systems.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide core expertise in water systems modeling for the implementation of research-for-development projects.
• Conduct research to enhance understanding of various issues related to water systems and their interconnections with food, energy, and the environment.
• Under the Digital Innovation for Water Secure Africa (DIWASA) project, contribute modeling expertise to develop Water Accounts and utilize Earth Observation data for water availability and scarcity indicators.
• Develop and apply models for constructing decision support systems (DSS).
• Integrate hydrologic models and water allocation models like WEAP or HEC-ReSIM for comprehensive water system modeling.
• Design and conduct research to address critical knowledge and policy gaps in integrated water resources management.
• Establish and maintain core modeling competence (suite of models, database, and applications) to support IWMI's research-for-development activities.
• Develop and apply methodologies to assess the impacts of climate change on water-food-energy-environment systems.
• Gather, interpret, and apply hydro-meteorological, socio-economic, and other relevant data for modeling water-energy-food-environment systems.
• Customize/adapt existing modeling and decision support tools to fulfill project requirements.
• Utilize and integrate geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing tools, methods, and datasets to model water resource availability and management.
• Merge field and remote sensing data to develop and execute models and tools depicting surface water and water budget for river basins.
• Collaborate within multidisciplinary teams to achieve project objectives, generate new research ideas, and develop proposals.
• Cultivate relationships with key IWMI partners and identify potential new partners in climate-smart water resources management and modeling of water systems in a changing climate.
• Facilitate internal and external collaboration among researchers, stakeholders, and project partners.
• Produce journal articles, blogs, policy briefs, research reports, and conference papers to disseminate research findings and insights.

Requirements

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

Essential,

• PhD in hydrology, water resources management, or a related field coupled with 3 years of relevant post-doctoral experience OR; a Master's degree in the aforementioned fields coupled with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
• Experience in modeling hydrological problems and water systems.
• At least 2 years of experience conducting water accounting assessments for multiple river basins across Africa.
• Proven record of relevant peer-reviewed articles in international journals, where the applicant is the first author.

Desirable,

• Work experience in developing countries, particularly in the Nile basin countries.
• Experience in mentoring junior research staff members.
• Proficiency in project administration.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

Essential,

• A strong understanding and background in river basin hydrology.
• Knowledge and competency in the application of GIS and remote sensing techniques to hydrological problems.
• Proficiency in using a diverse set of hydrologic, water balance, hydrodynamic, and water allocation modeling tools.
• Experience in conducting hydrologic assessments using cloud-based architecture.
• Familiarity with hosting hydrologic data and utilizing open data cubes such as Digital Earth Africa or AWS Open Data Registry.
• Experience handling large datasets for modeling water systems, encompassing land, food, energy, and environment.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills, with the ability to process large temporal and spatial datasets.
• Independent and critical scientific thinking.
• Excellent oral and written language skills in English, including effective listening and strong verbal and written communication abilities.
• Ability to effectively prioritize tasks and plan, organize, implement, and monitor work activities.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment, demonstrating sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Desirable,

• Knowledge of climate change and agricultural and water management issues in Africa and in transboundary river basins, including the Nile basin.
• Interest in socioeconomic and poverty implications of water development and management.

Benefits

This is a regionally recruited position with a competitive salary, an attractive retirement plan, comprehensive international health insurance, life insurance accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, and long-term disability coverage. Regionally recruited staff who are employed at a duty station outside of their home base/country of nationality will also receive relocation assistance, a housing allowance, home-leave plane tickets for self and eligible dependents and education assistance for eligible dependents. The duration of the contract will initially be for a period of three years.

HOW TO APPLY: Apply for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. We will be accepting applications through 24:00 (IST) on April 10, 2024 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis). Your application must include a CV, cover letter, and three (3) references, which may be contacted if you are shortlisted. Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.