Responsibilities of the fellow:

Design, implement and document/ publish scientific PhD research.

• Develop a PhD-research proposal to be accepted by the Wageningen School of Social Sciences, that covers various aspects of innovation portfolio management (e.g., from metrics and decision-making criteria to organizational impact culture change).
• Develop and conduct a personal Training and Supervision Plan.
•  Conduct research on the topic described in close collaboration with the CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi).
• Lead the design, testing and validation of approaches and/or tools that can advance effective innovation portfolio management for societal outcomes and impact.
• Write scientific articles about the findings and publish them in scientific journals.
• Present PhD research findings at seminars and conferences.

Other duties

• Collaborate and exchange with other PhD students in the science of scaling domain.
• Contribute to Ukama Ustawi activities that align with PhD research.
• Collaborate with the CGIAR Scaling Readiness team on topics that align with the PhD research.
• Provide periodical reflections and recommendations to Ukama Ustawi Work Package 6 team.
• Contribute to strategic communication efforts on the PhD research.

Requirements & qualifications:

• A university degree (MSc) in a relevant scientific field that includes considerable social/ innovation science substance.
• Strong interest in agricultural research for development, innovation and development impact.
• An understanding/appreciation of the socio-economic and political dynamics of agricultural innovation and development in low- and middle-income or specifically SSA countries.
• Ability to ‘think out of the box’ and proactively propose creative research ideas (e.g., translating concepts and tools used in other sectors).
• Experience in independently designing, implementing and documenting scientific research.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and network skills.
• Good knowledge of English language, in listening, speaking and writing.
• Ability to use advanced data collection and analysis tools, methods and software (e.g., machine learning, R, ODK).
• Strong digital skills, including proficiency in presentation, project management and collaboration tools.
• Experience in low- or middle-income countries in agricultural/ development settings.
• Experience in facilitating events in a multi-cultural environment.
• Teamwork – ability to lead work in an agile and fast-paced environment.