• Collaborate closely with PxD researchers and partner organizations to create and launch projects aligned with PxD’s areas of interest, with a focus on climate. Conduct needs assessments and execute scoping activities for informed project launches.
• Supervise from start to finish the implementation of research and programmatic activities, collaborating with PxD-affiliated researchers and partners encompassing research design, data collection and management, and analysis.
• Support the development, submission, and management of Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols, renewals, and amendments for research projects, ensuring ethical compliance.
• Guide teams in the use of evidence-based approaches for research and program implementation, maintaining PxD’s standards for technical appropriateness and rigor.
• Develop and manage research work plans, stakeholder communications, and implementation monitoring systems for PxD’s research projects.
• Directly supervise and mentor project staff (Research Associates, Project Associates, Field Staff, Interns) on technical research activities, like power calculations and quantitative analysis.
• Oversee documentation of research activities, results, and decision rationale.
• Learn about and stay current with cutting-edge global climate change mitigation research, evidence, and methodologies related to agrifood systems.
• Manage partner relations and collaborate with external stakeholders to ensure the smooth implementation of research field operations.
• Contribute to internal and external communications, disseminating research findings through briefs, blogs, reports, and presentations, with an emphasis on climate.
• Contribute to PxD’s institutional knowledge management and internal learning efforts, specifically in the realm of climate change research.
• Play a role in general management tasks essential for the organization’s functionality and success – including budgeting, hiring, and strategic planning.

• Experience managing programs or research projects in the Indian context, especially within the agriculture sector.
• Demonstrated experience building scaling pathways for a program.
• Understanding and application of research ethics for human subjects in the social sciences.
• Understanding of the impact of climate change on smallholder agriculture
• Fluency in Gujarati or Bengali and/or Hindi language.

About PxD’s climate work

PxD works with partners to support smallholder farmers to increase their resilience to climate shocks and improve productivity and income. Our initiatives help farmers have better information so they can make better production and investment decisions that increase their resilience. Priorities for our climate adaptation activities include: 

• Accelerate the distribution and adoption of proven climate-resilient seeds for staple crops like rice, wheat, maize, and chickpea - developed for tolerance to drought or flood - at scale in partnership with government partners and others.
• Develop rapid identification, tracking, and alert systems for pest and crop disease outbreaks (one of the top climate-related challenges cited by farmers) using recent advances in technology to crowdsource, aggregate, and disseminate information to avoid crop losses.
• Identify hyper-local forecast providers and incorporate weather forecasts into PxD advisory services. Specifically, monsoon prediction to inform crop choice, medium-range forecasts to inform the timing of agricultural practices, and short-range forecasts to help farmers optimize agricultural activities.