Reference No: N19123
Duty station: Kathmandu (with frequent travel to undertake fieldwork in rural areas)

The main responsibilities of this position will be: 

• Conduct literature reviews on issues related to agricultural input markets and distribution, agriculture input value chainsparticularly seed and fertilizer and other socio-economics around agriculture input markets
• Collect and compile data from secondary sources. 
• Make substantial contributions to the development of structured questionnaires and other socioeconomic research instruments
• Make substantial contributions to the planning and conducting of household- and village-level surveys on issues related to seed and fertilizer component of the NSAF activities on issues related to agricultural input market development, and related policies. This includes supervision of field investigators in remote rural areas
• Assist ME&L activities of the project
• Conduct case studies and focus group discussions using qualitative research methods
• Data cleaning, descriptive and econometric data analysis, and report preparation 
• Make substantial contributions to academic publications and presentations
• To work closely with farmers in Nepal especially in USAID’s FTF districts where NSAF project activities are ongoing 

We are seeking candidates with the following qualification, skills and attitudes: 

• Minimum of Masters’ degree in Agricultural Economics (preferred) Economics, Development Economics, Agricultural/ Rural Development, Statistics or related field
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and strong analytical skills. Sound econometrics and statistical knowledge is required.Experience with statistical and econometric software packages (like stata, R), Microsoft office, and electronic communication tools is required
• At least 3 years of relevant working experience. Familiarity and experience with household surveys. Knowledge of issues related to agricultural market and rural/ agricultural development policy
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including gender sensitivity and ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams, as well as to develop strong and effective working relationships with research partners
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, including ability to present coherent and convincing analyses to different audiences, knowledge of Nepali language is a necessity
• Ability to travel and undertake fieldwork in rural contexts