About SEI Asia
Based in Bangkok, SEI Asia has a diverse team of multinational experts who integrate scientific research with participatory approaches to co-develop and share knowledge, build partnerships, and influence policy for resilient development. SEI Asia’s work focuses on gender and social equity, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, water insecurity and integrated water resources management, transitional agriculture, renewable energy and urbanization.
SEI Asia is an affiliate of Chulalongkorn University (CU), Thailand. SEI and CU have an agreement to foster innovative scientific research combined with effective policy engagement on development and environmental challenges in Asia. The key areas of collaboration are intellectual engagement for joint research applications and fund mobilization, lectures and seminars for CU students, post-graduate supervision and examination, and CU–SEI employee links.
About the program
Under the Asia office of Stockholm Environment Institute in Bangkok, the Centre for Finance for Sustainability Bangkok (CFSB) works with the private sector and financial hubs, policymakers, and civil society in the Asia-Pacific region. Its purpose is to enable the financial sector in the region to align more closely with the global goals of the Paris Agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Following its launch in 2022, the CFSB hosts a set of projects on climate adaptation finance as well as the platform on finance for development and official development assistance called Aid Atlas.
CFSB is now launching a large-scale project called Inclusive Climate Finance for Communities in the Asia Pacific (ICCAP). The main stakeholders of the ICCAP project are private sector financial service providers (FSPs) and public sector actors who will work in partnership to build viable, responsive and equitable financial instruments, models and systems to finance adaptation solutions for climate-vulnerable communities in countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, CSFB also works closely with the SEI Finance for Sustainable Development Program to conducts research and activities to generate insights on the drivers and barriers to sustainable economic activities in low- and lower-middle-income countries at the global level.
The role
The Research Fellow will drive the research, development and deployment of bankable climate adaptation solutions and corresponding financing mechanisms at the community level in the Asia-Pacific region. Relevant adaptation solutions may include as examples, but are not limited to, climate smart agriculture solutions (e.g., crop diversification, precision agriculture, climate-resilient seed varieties), water management solutions (e.g., efficient irrigation, solar hydro-pumps, desalination), and renewable energy solutions (e.g., solar, biogas, energy efficient systems). They will be part of the CFSB and work in a participatory, stakeholder-centred, co-development environment with the following groups of stakeholders: national and sub-national policymakers; private and public institutional investors; financial service providers; green technology providers; small and medium enterprises; rural enterprises; civil society organizations; and climate at-risk and vulnerable groups and communities, including the poor, women, youth, migrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ , minority groups, and Indigenous Peoples.
The role will focus on:
- Conducting preparatory and complementary research, and collaborating with diverse stakeholders to co-design and co-develop innovative bankable solutions through a living labs co-creation approach, including the finance analyses, contextualized to the adaptation needs and priorities of vulnerable groups and communities in the Asia-Pacific region
- Working with SEI’s finance experts, support financial service providers, institutional public and private investors, stakeholders from the financial community (including investment facility managers), and green technology providers to design, develop and deploy corresponding innovative financial solutions
- Articulating and advocating for the role of finance in enhancing adaptive capacities, building resilience, and reducing vulnerabilities to climate impacts in Asia and the Pacific.
The Research Fellow will contribute to CFSB’s interdisciplinary collaborations across SEI and partner organizations, as well as external events and engagements. They will support SEI’s financial sustainability by ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality outputs within project budgets. The position reports directly to the CFSB Director.
Key duties and responsibilities:
- Lead and support on conducting cutting-edge applied research, including financial analyses, on bankable innovative and inclusive climate adaptation solutions, and the corresponding finance mechanisms, at the local scale
- Participate, facilitate and contribute to the multi-stakeholder co-design processes and co-deployment of bankable adaptation solutions at the project implementation level, through participatory approaches with the stakeholder groups identified above
- Contribute to the development of accessible and user-friendly databases of bankable adaptation solutions and incentive mechanisms at the local scale
- Support tracking of improvements in the adaptive capacities, resilience and vulnerabilities of these groups and communities through fit-for-purpose monitoring and impact assessment
- Identify, assess and refine adaptation investment projects emerging from co-design processes for their investment readiness and alignment with investment eligibility This includes support with pipeline development and packaging of feasible solutions into investment prospectuses and financeable propositions
- Engage with potential local investees (e.g., FSPs, SMEs, cooperatives, technology providers) to assess capacity needs and contribute to designing technical assistance or de-risking support mechanisms that the regional investment facility could offer
- Document emerging insights and best practices on the role of finance in climate change adaptation
- Aligned with SEI’s strategy, SEI Asia’s Climate Guidelines for Climate Resilient Development, and the CFSB strategy:
- Contribute text in publications or project reports and participate in peer review and other forms of publications, as well as contribute to proposal development aligned with SEI and CFSB strategies.
- Develop professional relationships and networks within and external to SEI and with existing and potential partners and stakeholders aligned with SEI and CFSB strategies.
- Initiate, contribute to and support fundraising activities to a variety of funders, including private funders, foundations, public funding across regions (e.g., IKI programme, UKPACT) international organizations and agencies (e.g., regional commissions and UN agencies such as FAO, UNOPS, UNEP, UNDP), macroregional bodies (e.g., EU Horizon).
- Contribute to the communication of SEI’s work with partners and stakeholders.
Areas of accountability:
- Support the development of thematic areas relevant to their expertise within the organization.
- Identify opportunities to connect own work with the work of others across SEI, in Asia and globally.
- Ensure completion of assigned tasks within assigned budgets and timeframes.
- May take on supervision of Research Associates (RA), Senior RA, and/or Interns at Master’s and PhD level.
- Ensure professional behaviour and respectful engagement with colleagues inside and outside SEI.
Who you are
We are looking for a researcher with a strong interest and proven track record in the design, development and deployment of bankable climate adaptation solutions, and of the corresponding finance instruments, at the local scale through inclusive, stakeholder-centred participatory approaches with the real-world stakeholders identified in the opening of the advert.
Essential qualifications and knowledge:
- A PhD degree in a field relevant to the position and a minimum of three years or a Master’s degree with a minimum of six years of working experience.
- Demonstrated experience in research, and the co-design, and co-deployment with the stakeholder groups listed above, of inclusive, responsive and locally grounded bankable adaptation solutions at the implementation scale.
- Excellent understanding of the economics of adaptation at the implementation scale, including ability to conduct financial feasibility and analysis of co-designed adaptation solutions such as cost-benefit analyses (CBA), break-even, affordability and willingness to pay, EFA (economic and financial analyses, and viability gap analyses, as well as practical knowledge of de-risking mechanisms to increase financial viability.
- Experience in working with investment vehicles or blended finance mechanisms, with knowledge of investor engagement, pipeline development, and investment-readiness – preferably in multi-country or regional settings.
- Excellent track record in contributing to the development of financing mechanisms and financial solutions for locally led adaptation.
- Demonstrable track record of fundraising from a variety of bodies, such as a track record of successful applications to private funders, foundations, public funding across regions (e.g., IKI programme, UKPACT, NORAD, SIDA), international agencies (e.g., UN agencies such as FAO, UNOPS, UNEP, UNDP), macroregional bodies (e.g., EU Horizon)
- Proven experience in using mixed method research tools and methodologies.
- Proven publication record, including academic publications and/or non-academic briefs and reports.
- Experienced in participation in interdisciplinary projects.
Desirable qualifications:
- Understanding of international finance flows for adaptation and the macroeconomic and political conditions that affect them.
- Familiarity with project management systems and tools within a research support setting.
- Regional experience in Asia and the Pacific, particularly Southeast and/or South Asia, or specifically Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR, Nepal.
- Working knowledge of an Asian language among those spoken in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR, Nepal.
Personal skills required:
- Strong commitments to the ethos and the values of the SEI.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Excellent ability to work on multiple projects in a client-based environment where clients are internal.
- Excellent in teamwork and collaboration.
- Excellent planning, organizational, and time management skills.
- Excellent analytical, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.
- Having a positive influence on the attitudes of individuals and team
- Capable of providing and receiving feedback constructively and respectfully.
With a team comprising over 17 nationalities, SEI welcomes global applicants for all posts, and provides an Internationally competitive level NGO salary and benefits package, with all employee contracts under Thai labour laws. For this post we expect candidates of Middle levels to apply.
SEI is an equal opportunity employer and we consider all applicants on the basis of qualifications and competencies regardless but not limited to race, national origin, religious beliefs, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and marital status. We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organization and applicants from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
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