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Senior Associate- Food Systems, Agriculture and Climate Resilience Management

Busara· Research, Advisory and Practice – Advisory
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Hybrid (Nairobi)Full-timePosted 6mo ago

About the role

Senior Associate role in Busara's FaRM team focusing on research and advisory projects related to food systems, smallholder agriculture, and climate resilience in the Global South; lead delivery of rigorous research and advisory engagements for donors, governments, NGOs, and private sector clients; manage client relationships, staff, and cross-team coordination.

Responsibilities

  • Own the client relationship across the full engagement lifecycle — from scoping and contracting through delivery and dissemination.
  • Lead senior-level conversations with donors, implementing partners, ministries, and private sector clients; anticipate needs, navigate complexity, and manage expectations proactively.
  • Translate client problems into well-defined research and advisory briefs; push back constructively when questions are ill-formed or scope is misaligned.
  • Develop proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks; contribute to business development within the food systems and climate resilience space.
  • Represent Busara at conferences, technical working groups, and client convenings — presenting findings with clarity and confidence to non-specialist and expert audiences alike.
  • Design and lead qualitative research components — including IDIs, FGDs, ethnographic observation, and participatory methods — with rigor and cultural sensitivity.
  • Synthesize qualitative evidence into coherent, actionable narratives; identify behavioral drivers and barriers embedded in complex social and institutional contexts.
  • Apply behavioral science frameworks (e.g., COM-B, dual process theory, social norms models) to agricultural and climate adaptation challenges.
  • Oversee mixed-methods research design, ensuring qualitative and quantitative workstreams are well-integrated and mutually reinforcing.
  • Maintain quality control across all research outputs — guides, transcripts, codebooks, analysis memos, and final reports.
  • Own project timelines, budgets, deliverables, and staffing plans; escalate risks early and manage scope proactively.
  • Directly manage and mentor Analysts and Project Leads embedded on your engagements; build their research and advisory skills through active coaching.
  • Coordinate across Busara's Data, Programming, and Operations teams to ensure smooth execution of field and remote research activities.
  • Contribute to onboarding and knowledge management so institutional learning is captured and usable.
  • Contribute to FaRM team strategy and knowledge development — including internal research, sector thought pieces, and methodology innovation.
  • Participate in hiring, onboarding, and performance management of junior team members.
  • Champion a culture of intellectual rigor, constructive feedback, and psychological safety within your project teams.

Qualifications

  • 5–8 years of experience in research, advisory, or program design roles with a meaningful focus on food systems, agriculture, or climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa or comparable contexts.
  • Deep expertise in qualitative research methods — IDIs, FGDs, thematic analysis, and synthesis with strong fieldwork experience in low-resource settings.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage senior client and partner relationships with confidence, clarity, and professional maturity.
  • Proven track record leading complex, multi-stakeholder projects from inception to delivery.
  • Strong analytical and synthesis skills, you can turn messy qualitative data into a crisp, defensible argument.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication in English; able to write for both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (Social Sciences, Development Studies, Agricultural Economics, Public Policy, or related).

Skills

Required:Qualitative research methodsClient & stakeholder managementProject managementCommunication
Nice to have:Behavioral science frameworks
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Busara

Changing the world, one behavior at a time

Busara is an independent entity committed to applied research with partners seeking to use behavioral science to address specific problems. Since 2015, the organization has been working to bring research on poverty alleviation closer to the people it seeks to serve, translating knowledge into better practice through behavioral science tools and methods.

behavioral scienceapplied researchpoverty alleviationGlobal South
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