Careers & Calls

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is looking for one student assistant from preferably January 2021, to assist the CCAFS Program Management Unit at Wageningen University & Research.

CCAFS is a CGIAR Research Program, led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and hosted by Wageningen University & Research. CCAFS brings together the world’s best researchers in agricultural science, development research, climate science, and Earth System science, to identify and address the most important interactions, synergies and trade-offs between climate change, agriculture and food security (see more information on www.ccafs.cgiar.org).

We are looking for an all-round student assistant who will help us make CCAFS become an honest broker in the international climate debate and reach its goal of reducing poverty and malnutrition among millions of families in developing countries. The student will provide assistance to the Program Management Units’ activities and will include the following:

• Logistical assistance to local and international meetings, workshops, webinars, conferences, video and teleconferences
• Assist with Core Team and Independent Science Committee meetings and various tasks related to the two groups
• Prepare presentations in PowerPoint
• Calendar of events, planning and reporting
• Assist with information management
• Research tasks including literature searches, technical writing, and proofreading
• Occasional communications tasks
• Other tasks as needed

The ideal candidate will have the following competencies and experience:

• Excellent English language abilities, especially writing and editing
• Ability to work systematically and independently
• Detail-oriented
• Flexibility to change directions as needed and ability to manage several parallel tasks with tight deadlines

Prerequisites:

• Current enrolment in a Masters's program at a university in the Netherlands, with a preference for a first-year MSc student.
• An interest in climate change, agriculture and/or international development is an asset but not a prerequisite. We offer a unique opportunity to work with—and learn about managing and communicating—high-level international research in a challenging and engaging environment.

Terms of employment, working hours, salary

Starting date: 4 January 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter. Working hours on average are approx. 15-20 hours per week.

The contract period will be for 1 year. Employment as a student assistant is in accordance with the collective labor agreement of Wageningen University. The actual hourly wage depends on your seniority.

To be able to work as a student assistant in the Netherlands, the student needs to prove that he or she is registered at a Dutch university and has a residence and work permit in the Netherlands.

If you have any questions in relation to the position you may contact Wiebe Smit, Project Administrator (w.smit@cgiar.org).

Application

Applications must be in English, should include a cover letter of no more than 1 page, a CV of no more than 2 pages and a proof of enrolment for the academic year 2020-2021, and should be sent to w.smit@cgiar.org and ccafs@cgiar.org. The application deadline is midnight, 2 December and interviews will be conducted in the week from 7–11 December or 14–18 December. A written test may be part of the hiring procedure. Previous applicants need not apply.

DEADLINE: Applications must be received before midnight on 2 December 2020. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.