Research Coordinators

Call for applications 

ResearchCoordinators - ERAIFT

The UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges ResearchFundisfunding the UKRI GCRF Trade, Development and the Environment Hub, led by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). This research hub isbringingtogether over 50 organisations from 15 different countries to help maketradesustainable for people and the planet.

Together, thesepartnersfromindustry, tradeagencies, research, governments and civil society willstudy all stages of varioussupplychains, revealingdamaging links and potentialways to make lasting change. ERAIFT willbeinvolved in researchlooking at the trade in wildmeat. Across the projecttrade in variouscommoditieswillbeinvestigated in Brazil, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Republic of Congo, and Tanzania.

The PostgraduateRegionalSchool for Integrated Management and Planning of Forests and Tropical Territories (ERAIFT) is a RegionalSchool, under the auspices of UNESCO (Category 2 Center). The originality of the Schoolisitsintersectoral and interdisciplinary, participatory, global and integratedapproach, a systemicapproach. This is the educational and conceptual basis of ERAIFT.

WCS uses science to discover and understand the natural world. This knowledgehelps us engage and inspire decision-makers, communities, and millions of supporters to take action with us to protect the wildlife and wild places we all care about.WCS scientistsstudywhatwildlifespeciesneed to thrive. Withthisknowledgeweinvest in abatingthreats to wildlifewithintheirmost important strongholds and the corridors thatconnectthem. Wetarget large, iconic, wide-rangingspeciesbecause of theirintrinsic value and becausethey are vital to ecosystemhealth. By savingthem, weprotect all otherbiodiversitythatsheltersundertheir conservation canopy. Over the pastcentury, WCS has established long-term conservation presence in the last wild places across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, builtstrong and trustingpartnerships, and acquired a depth of knowledgethatensures effective conservation action. Weprotectthese last wild places becausethey are intact, biodiverse, mostresilient to climate change, and bastions for large, iconicwildlifespecies.

WCS operates the largest and longest standing field conservation program in Africa. Our projectsspan the naturaldiversitythatisAfrica—from the rich tropical forests of NouabaléNdokideep in the Central Congo Basin to the remote and ruggedsavannahs of Ruaha in southernTanzania. Weworkfrom the vertical slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda to the stunning land and seascapes of AntongilBay in Madagascar. WCS protectssome of the continent'smostecologically intact wild places likeNiassa in Mozambique, whileconductinggroundbreakingresearch on some of the continent’smosticonicspecies, includingforestelephants and Grauer’sgorillas. WCS iscommitted to conservingAfrica’swildlifethroughpowerfulpartnershipsdesigned to benefit people and nature, and has selected the best places to achieve long-term conservation success.

The projectis city-focused due to the wide-ranging impacts of urbanconsumption on ecosystems, and wildlife in particular. WCS and ERAIFT are interested in what people eat in cities, wherethisfoodcomesfrom, and how sustainablecurrentconsumptionis in the long-term. Wewant to understand trends, i.e. how things are changing in Congo, and the effectsthismay have in the future. 

In the framework of a major UK governmentfundedresearchproject, ERAIFT has funding to establish an urbanwildmeatresearch unit. This is a 3 yearproject. ERAIFT willberecruitingtworesearchcoordinators to oversee quantitative and qualitative aspects of researchrelating to the wildmeattrade in Kinshasa, withactivitiesalsoanticipated in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire. This list of researchthemesis indicative and willlikelyevolveduring the implementation of the research. Building on and in collaboration withresearchconducted over manyyears by the Wildlife Conservation Society. One or two positions available, eithertwo part-time or one full-time.

The workinglanguage of the GCRF Trade Hub is English.

Qualitative assessments

• Understand drivers of demand for wildmeat in urban areas, includingprofiling of consumers and their motives
• Profile wild meattradeactors, their motives and tradedynamics
• Understand political, economic and physicalbarriers to alternative animal protein production
• Assessing the political and institutional barriers to lawen for cement efficiency

Quantitative

• Track economic indicators of change in wild meat and substitute trade dynamics
• Determine the availability and origin of alternative animal proteins in urban and peri-urban areas (beef, chicken, fishetc)
• Evaluate the impact of demand reduction interventions

Tasks

• The research coordinators will not be expected to do all of the investigations themselves, they will have oversight of students, consultants and other experts from within the broader GCRF hub.

Level of investment can be negotiated between a full-time and a part-time position. Salary negotiable.

The successful candidate will report to the Trade Hub Senior Research Coordinator, Theodore Trefon.

Professional profile

• Proven social science background is required, i.e. sociology, anthropology, economics, psychology, marketing, human geography
• Interest in understanding the wild me at trade and consumption
• Cultural sensitivity in terms of research methods
• Minimum Master’s degree, preferably PhD
• Experience in research coordination, either of large-scale social surveys or qualitative interviews, focus groups, participant observation
• We are looking to recruit one research with a strong background in qualitative research, and one in large-scale quantitative surveys to work together on the different research topics.
• Value chain analysis
• Track-record of publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals in relevant fields
• Language abilities – fluency in English and French preferable, and solid working knowledge of Lingala.  

Expectations

• Physically present at ERAIFT in the new wild me at research group
• Coordination of research teams
• Quality control over data collection
• Responsible for the report writing based on data provided by support staff
• Liaising with a post doc working jointly between ERAIFT and the University of Oxford
• Will be hired by ERAIFT (either as staff or consultants) and will conform to all ERAIFT policies and regulations

Reporting

• Will report to two senior research coordinators based at ERAIFT and WCS

Outputs

• Report writing
• Publication of results in peer-reviewed journals

Selection process
1) written exercises
2) interviews

Six months consultancy

Availability – candidates should be available for work in January 2020
Application deadline - 30 December 2019
Submit CV, cover letter, one letter of recommendation and one example of a publication in a SINGLE pdf file to theodore.trefon@africamuseum.be with Jean Pierre Mate in cc jpmatemweru@gmail.com.