The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a leading CGIAR Research Center, is on the lookout for a talented researcher to join our team in Accra, Ghana as a Researcher – Remote Sensing and Hydrological Modelling.
This is an internationally recruited position; therefore, individuals with relevant abilities from diverse locations around the world are encouraged to apply.
The Researcher will lead the remote sensing and hydrological modelling of water and climate systems (including land and food systems) to support IWMI’s research activities. This role will involve utilizing a variety of modelling approaches and tools, both public domain and proprietary. In addition, the incumbent will focus on building core modelling competencies in the West Africa region by conducting training, preparing guidance materials, and organizing peer-to-peer learning events for modelers. The researcher will also support the development and application of water data products and tools aimed at improving water resource management.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide core remote sensing and hydrological modelling expertise to implement research-for-development projects.
- Conduct research to enhance understanding of various issues related to water and climate systems and their interconnections with food, energy, and the environment.
- Under the Digital Innovation for Water Secure Africa (DIWASA) project, contribute modelling expertise to develop Water Accounts and utilize Earth Observation data for water availability and scarcity indicators.
- Conduct large-scale modelling of hydrologic systems to produce river discharge and related products for improving water management.
- Design and conduct research to address critical knowledge and policy gaps in integrated water resources management.
- Lead and contribute to proposal writing, development, and communication with donor agencies.
- Establish and maintain core modelling competencies (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 modelling water-energy-food-environment systems.
- Customize or adapt existing modelling and decision support tools to fulfil 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 modelling 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, environmental engineering management or a related field coupled with 03 years of relevant post-doctoral experience OR; a Master's degree in the aforementioned fields and a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
- Experience in modelling hydrological problems and water systems at large scale.
- At least 03 years of experience conducting water accounting assessments for multiple African river basins.
- Experience in climate change and climate impact assessment on water systems.
- Proven record of relevant peer-reviewed articles in high-end international journals, where the applicant is the first author.
- Experience in conducting hydrologic assessments using cloud-based architecture.
- Experience handling large datasets for modelling water systems, encompassing land, food, energy, and environment.
Desirable:
- Work experience in developing countries, particularly in the West Africa region.
- Experience in mentoring junior research staff members.
- Experience in project administration.
- Experience in proposal development and grant writing.
- Experience in stakeholder engagement with national agencies and transboundary river basin authorities.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:
Essential:
- A strong understanding and background in river basin hydrology, from local to large scale.
- Knowledge and competency in applying GIS and remote sensing techniques to climate and hydrological problems.
- Proficiency in using diverse large-scale hydrologic modelling tools that use earth observation data.
- Familiarity with hosting hydrologic data and utilizing open data cubes such as Digital Earth Africa, Google Earth Engine or AWS Open Data Registry.
- Proficiency in R and Python for model development, data analysis, and data visualization.
- Skilled in writing and maintaining code in Jupyter Notebooks and managing repositories on GitHub.
- 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 river basins in West Africa such as the Volta River Basin.
- Interest in socioeconomic and poverty implications of water development and management.
- Excellent oral and written language skills in French.
Benefits
This is an internationally 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. Internationally 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 November 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.
