Assistant Research Officer – Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Jobs

IWMI, a CGIAR Research Center, is seeking a versatile early-career research professional to join our team in Pretoria, South Africa, as an Assistant Research Officer – Gender Equality and Social Inclusion.

The role involves working on projects in the Southern African Region. You will contribute to research from perspectives like gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), policy, environment (water, circular economy, climate change), inclusive governance, and political economy at various scales. Specifically, 50% of your time will support the project leader and team in coordinating and implementing the Water Research Commission (WRC) project: Strengthening community participation in municipal water services for improved water management in South Africa’s rural and low-income urban areas. The other 50% will focus on providing research support to IWMI’s Water and Soil Accelerator program.

You will also assist project leaders with specific research tasks, such as literature reviews, data analysis, and coordinating activities with partners and stakeholders. Additionally, you will contribute to projects like the Water-Energy for Food Program and provide technical support within South Africa’s partnership portfolio. The role includes organizing inclusive science-policy-practice dialogues and workshops at local, provincial, national, and regional levels.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide research support in areas like policy, institutions, inclusive water governance, rural livelihoods, and GESI. This includes fieldwork, qualitative data collection, data processing and analysis, report writing, and science communication to help deliver project outcomes.
• Coordinate project activities across case study sites to advance community participation in water services and inclusive business models for sustainable pathways in municipalities.
• Assist WRC and Water and Soil Accelerator teams in planning, conducting, analyzing, and reporting on qualitative and household survey data from rural and urban municipalities, as well as project countries, to provide socio-economic insights.
• Support qualitative data analysis using tools like NVivo and quantitative analysis with software like SPSS. Prepare outputs for project sites to generate disaggregated data on agriculture, water, and food systems.
• Help organize and facilitate capacity building, training, and interactions in project sites. Build relationships with governments, civil society, and diverse stakeholders.
• Train local staff from partner organizations during research activities when needed. Support semi-annual meetings, dialogues, and workshops for results validation.
• Assist in preparing project reports and publications on time, using communication materials tailored to different audiences and partners.
• Contribute to IWMI’s visibility by preparing blogs and articles for local newspapers and participating in knowledge forums.
• Arrange logistics for research site visits by IWMI and international partners.

Requirements

Educational Qualifications & Experience

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree or Advanced Diploma in development studies or a related social science field, or in applied areas like environmental management, agriculture, water resources management, or safety/risk management. The focus should be relevant to governance, inclusion, or natural resource management, with specialization in social science approaches (e.g., gender, anthropology, governance, public policy, institutional analysis) in water and agriculture sectors.
• At least 1 year of practical experience in conducting field research in social sciences or social sciences applied to natural resource management.
• A minimum of 1 year experience in development and/or research project management in GESI, policy, inclusive water governance, or natural resource management.
• Experience in rural development and/or research.

Desirable:

• Experience in field-based project implementation and monitoring.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential:

• Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative research methods in social sciences, especially in water/climate change/food security policy, community-based approaches, gender, institutions, governance in water/natural resources, WASH, or agricultural water management.
• Strong interest in GESI, policy, and inclusive water governance.
• Understanding of water governance and management at the municipal level in South Africa.
• Ability to travel regularly to research sites in South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi to support activities and work with the IWMI South Africa team.
• Knowledge of diversity, inclusion, discrimination, and gender issues in South Africa.
• Commitment to organizational values and professional integrity.
• Good working knowledge of GESI.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, plus one or more South African languages.

Desirable:

• Knowledge and experience with SPSS and other social science data analysis tools.

Closing Date: November 02, 2025