Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Centre for Development Management
Consulting and Learning Facility
VACANCY: POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW:
“Agricultural Resilience through Climate Services” project in Malawi

BACKGROUND
Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) and Centre for Development Management (CDM) are inviting applications from qualified candidates to apply for a postdoctoral research fellowship tenable immediately at CDM.

The “Agricultural Resilience though Climate Services” (ARCS) project is a 5-year NORAD-funded multi-partner project (2023-2027) which aims to enhance the resilience and food and nutritional security among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia and Malawi in the face of climate change by improving access to customized climate information services (CIS) that may help smallholder farmers adjust their agricultural decisions. The project includes researchers from multiple disciplines, including economics, political science, climate science, and development studies. CMI is responsible for conducting an impact evaluation (as a randomised controlled trial) to assess the impacts of a comprehensive climate services program that will be implemented in communities at the local level.

The consortium is led by NORCAP (Norwegian Capacity), which is part of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The objective of the impact evaluation is to assess the impact of multiple versions of a CIS intervention. The interventions will include 1) training on how to interpret and use CIS, 2) delivery of sub-seasonal forecasts and associated agricultural advice, either through text messages or in-person delivery, 3) activities to aid in the dissemination of CIS throughout communities, and 4) provision of weather devices such as soil moisture meters and rain gauges, and 5) possibly index insurance.

The interventions will be provided by the project’s implementation partner and its local partners in Malawi in close collaboration with national and local agricultural extension services.

To measure the impact of the interventions, we plan to conduct three rounds of household surveys in the study villages (treatment and control villages). Villages will be located in selected locations in Ntchisi, Mzimba, and Machinga districts, and we expect to sample approximately 21 households from each of 200 villages across these districts, resulting in a total sample size of roughly 4,000 households. The first round of data collection (baseline) is expected to start in June 2025, with subsequent waves in June 2026 and June 2028 (all tentative dates).

CMI and CDM are now seeking to recruit a postdoctoral researcher to work on the ARCS project for 2.5-3 years, depending on the cost.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The post-doctoral research fellow will:

• Contribute to all aspects of all three rounds of the ARCS data collection effort that CDM Consulting will lead. This includes, but is not limited to, designing the survey instrument and programming it into an appropriate survey software, participating in the enumerator training and pretesting, helping lead the implementation of the data collection, and contributing to data cleaning and quality control.
• Assist in the design of the sampling and randomisation protocol.
• Assist in the design of the CIS interventions.
• Oversee the implementation of the RCT in the project communities. This includes coordinating with implementation partners and other stakeholders and visiting project communities during implementation to ensure that the randomisation protocol is adhered
• Report and help address any RCT implementation challenges.
• Communicate frequently with the Pl to discuss the work plan, progress, challenges, findings, outputs, and/or anything related to the project.
• Speak and coordinate with project stakeholders, including the DF, DF’s partners, DCCMS, local extension workers, and other relevant Malawian government entities.
• Contribute to data analysis.
• Contribute to writing academic and non-academic outputs, such as peer-reviewed publications, project reports, presentations, and policy briefs.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• a PhD in economics, agricultural economics, development studies, climate science, or any closely related field,
• advanced quantitative methodological knowledge and/or experience, especially in econometrics and randomised controlled trials,
• a record of (or a potential for) publishing in high-quality journals,
• excellent writing and communication skills,
• a thematic focus on development, ideally with experience working on climate adaptation and risk among smallholder farmers,
• field research experience or willingness to do field research,
• Additionally, having experience with GIS software and/or experience working with qualitative or mixed methods would be an advantage.

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND SKILLS:

• Self-leadership: High level of independence and self-leadership.
• Curious and bold: Curious about other disciplines, open-minded and willing to push boundaries.
• Respectful: Respectful and willing to understand the contributions of other disciplines.
• Collaborative: willingness to collaborate and establish mutual understanding and trust.
• Inclusive and empathetic: see, listen to and value colleagues and partners for who they are.
• Support colleagues and embrace differences.
• High level of independence and self-leadership.
• Curious about other disciplines, open-minded and willing to push boundaries.
• Respectful: Respectful and willing to understand the contributions of other disciplines.
• Collaborative: willingness to collaborate and establish mutual understanding and trust.
• Inclusive and empathetic: see, listen to and value colleagues and partners for who they are.
• Support colleagues and embrace differences.

Applications should include a letter of motivation and CV (in EU format), by Friday, 4th July, 2025, to the following emails: igondwe@cdmconsultmw.com, copy marphiri1996@yahoo.com and joneinar.flatnes@cmi.no