(RFP 301432) INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CALL: SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

THE ORGANIZATION

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crisis of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national, and multinational partners across Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia, and with public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

About the position

The digital inclusion team under the Artemis projects looking for a Senior Research Associate: UX/UI Design and User Research to lead user-centered design activities across the Artemis suite of digital products, including Ona, Artemis and Sikia. The role focuses on understanding user needs through research, translating insights into product requirements, and designing intuitive and effective user experiences. Working closely with product managers, developers, researchers, and partners, the successful candidate will conduct usability testing, support the development of design systems and promote Human-Centered Design (HCD) practices throughout the product development process. The overall goal is to enhance the adoption and impact of AI-powered digital tools that improve breeding program efficiency and innovation.

Key duties & responsibilities

• Plan and execute user research and UX/UI design activities for the Artemis suite of digital products, ensuring that product development is informed by user needs and evidence gathered from breeding programs across multiple regions.
• Planning and implementation of usability studies, field research activities, interface design and design system development to improve usability, accessibility and product adoption while supporting the successful implementation of AI-enabled digital solutions.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, software engineers, breeders, researchers, data scientists and field teams to identify user needs and translate them into product requirements and design solutions.
• Coordinate user research activities with breeding programs and external partners, including planning interviews, usability testing sessions and field studies.
• Provide technical guidance on Human-Centered Design methodologies and UX best practices to project teams, advising on research methods, design processes and usability improvements.
• Facilitate communication between users and development teams by synthesizing research findings into actionable recommendations that support product planning and delivery.
• Contribute to knowledge sharing, design documentation and continuous improvement of UX practices across the organization.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, User Experience Design, Product Design, Computer Science, Information Systems, Psychology, Design, or a related field.
• Enrollment in postgraduate studies or a postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline is desirable.
• Minimum 3–5 years of progressively responsible experience in UX research, UX/UI design or Human-Centered Design for digital products.
• Demonstrated experience planning and conducting user research using methods such as interviews, contextual inquiry, field observations, usability testing, diary studies and participatory design workshops.
• Experience designing user interfaces from low-fidelity wireframes through high-fidelity interactive prototypes.
• Experience developing and maintaining design systems and reusable UI component libraries.
• Strong analytical skills with demonstrated ability to synthesize complex user research into actionable design recommendations.
• Experience collaborating within multidisciplinary Agile software development teams.
• Experience supporting digital product deployment, user onboarding and continuous product improvement is desirable.
• Experience working with agricultural research, international development or research organizations is considered an advantage.
• Full professional proficiency in English and Swahili; knowledge of additional local languages is an advantage.
• Strong knowledge of Human-Centered Design (HCD) principles and UX research methodologies.
• Proficiency in Figma for interface design, interactive prototyping and design system management.
• Experience creating user journeys, personas, service blueprints and information architecture.
• Ability to conduct usability testing and analyze qualitative and quantitative user feedback.
• Knowledge of accessibility, responsive design and modern UX best practices.
• Ability to translate user needs into functional requirements and collaborate effectively with software developers.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies, Scrum processes and iterative product development.
• Strong communication, facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent documentation, presentation and reporting abilities.

Benefits

Terms of employment

This is a nationally recruited position based in Arusha, Tanzania. The initial contract will be for one year, subject to a probation period of three months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG07 level, with a minimum basic salary of TZS 3,929,704 in a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number RFP301432- Senior Research Associate as the position applied for. Cover letter and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting. The Alliance collects and process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Applications closing date: 14th October 2026

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://alliancebioversityciat.org