About the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is a broad alliance of civil society actors advocating for food sovereignty and agroecology. AFSA brings together smallholder farmers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, faith-based institutions, and environmentalists to influence policies and promote African-led solutions for sustainable agriculture. To ensure high-quality research coordination, AFSA seeks a part-time research officer to facilitate participatory action research projects.
Research work at AFSA
In its strategic plan (2025-2029), AFSA has established a knowledge generation pillar. This pillar aims to develop a collaborative framework that enhances research capacity, integrates diverse perspectives, and effectively disseminates impactful research findings to advance AFSA’s strategic goals. AFSA intends to define clear research priorities aligned with its thematic areas, including seed, climate, land, healthy soils, and nutrition and diets through this pillar. This will include fostering partnerships with academic and other research institutions and local communities while building research capacity through training. AFSA will prioritize rigorous and inclusive research, engaging policymakers, activists, civil society, farmers, and Indigenous communities through participatory methods and interdisciplinary approaches, ensuring proper documentation and archiving of findings. To maximise impact, AFSA will emphasize knowledge dissemination through high-quality publications, digital platforms, and knowledge-sharing events like workshops and conferences. These efforts will strengthen research capacity, broaden the accessibility of knowledge, and produce impactful research that informs policy and advances sustainable agricultural practices across Africa. Recently, AFSA initiated collaboration with research institutions to design and implement a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project in 6 countries.
About the PAR project
AFSA launched Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects in Uganda, Kenya, Togo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Malawi this year. The projects aim to actively engage constituents in diagnosing their challenges, identifying knowledge gaps, and co-developing a research agenda that aligns with their needs and interests.
In collaboration with experts from various agroecology disciplines, research committees—comprising representatives from key stakeholder groups—will design a roadmap and oversee the research process. This approach will initiate actions that will be tested through prototypes, repeating the cycle until effective best practices are identified, validated, and approved for scaling.
Purpose of the role
AFSA seeks a research officer to coordinate the PAR projects in multiple countries. This position will strengthen AFSA’s evidence-based advocacy work for better policies.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee the agroecology PAR projects to ensure methodological rigour and alignment with AFSA’s mission and theory of change.
- Train AFSA project implementing partners in the participatory action research (PAR) process and other research approaches.
- Conduct policy analyses, case study documentation, synthesis of PAR reports, and meta-analyses.
- Prepare and publish journal articles, policy briefs, briefing papers, position papers, and research reports on AFSA’s website and other relevant online sites.
- Advise AFSA on converting PAR findings into actionable programs and policy proposals.
- Establish and manage a repository of knowledge products for AFSA from the PAR project.
Required qualifications and experience
- An MSc in agriculture, agroecology, sustainable agriculture, environmental, biological, life sciences, or related fields.
- Knowledge of agroecology, sustainable agriculture, and research methodology with a bias toward PAR.
- Recent publications (articles, reports, books, or chapters) in agroecology, food sovereignty, or sustainable agriculture.
- Strong experience in research idea generation, agenda-setting, data analysis, and reporting in participatory research and agroecology.
- Strong facilitation and communication skills, with experience using Zoom, Teams, Google Docs, and other online collaboration tools.
- Experience in training and capacity building.
- Ability to work remotely with consistent internet access.
Duration: The job is a one-year contract but may be renewed depending on the availability of funds.
Work environment and conditions: The officer will work remotely/virtually and part-time with occasional international travel.
Why join AFSA?
Joining AFSA offers a unique opportunity to work with a leading pan-African network dedicated to food sovereignty and agroecology. This role provides a platform to shape agroecology research and policy actively, contributing to impactful change across Africa. Additionally, AFSA offers competitive part-time compensation, making it an excellent opportunity for professionals seeking to engage in meaningful research while maintaining flexibility.
How to apply
Submit your application using the online form below. The form will also ask you to attach a CV and motivational letter explaining how your skills and experience match the terms of reference and why you would like to be considered for this position. Apply before April 30 at 5 pm EAT. If you have any questions, write to admin@afsafrica.org before the above deadline. Shortlisted candidates will be notified by May 15, 2025.
Application Form: https://forms.gle/ntEnGtN7QFWVSAc3A
💡 AFSA is an equal-opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from young women and underrepresented groups!
