Job Details

The University of the Free State’s Restoring Biodiversity and Connection to Nature in the Southern African Mountains Research Chair invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to participate in an interdisciplinary project examining the economic impacts and social uptake of improved rangeland management practices. The project investigates how rangeland interventions and livestock value chain strategies affect livestock owners’ incomes and livelihoods, with an emphasis on pre- and post-intervention analysis.

The study seeks to generate policy-relevant evidence on sustainable land management, livestock value chains, rural livelihoods, and climate-resilient agriculture within communal and smallholder livestock systems in and around the Witsieshoek Indigenous and Communal Protected Areas (WCCA) of Phuthaditjhaba. This research forms part of a broader initiative led by the HANS HOHEISEN Charitable Trust in partnership with Meat Naturally and AFRO-MONTANE RESEARCH UNIT, aimed at reducing biodiversity loss and supporting the rewilding of the WCCA.

Achieving key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires livestock production systems that are environmentally sustainable and capable of supporting food and nutrition security, incomes, and animal welfare under climate change. Globally, livestock supports over 1.3 billion livelihoods and contributes around 40% of agricultural output, with particularly rapid growth in developing regions (World Economic Forum, 2019; FAO, 2023). Yet livestock keepers remain disproportionately poor; in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 85% are classified as poor, with even higher rates in remote mountainous areas (de Glanville et al., 2020). Livestock keepers in these areas battle rugged, infertile landscapes, infrastructure and accessibility constraints, harsh climatic events, and vegetation degradation that undermine productivity.

Phuthaditjhaba is a mountainous area marked by high poverty and food insecurity. Around 70% of Qwaqwa consists of nutrient-poor, non-arable mountain landscapes, limiting crop production. With minimal forest cover, livelihoods rely heavily on extensive grasslands that support livestock farming (Taylor, 2023), on which approximately 36% of households depend. However, rapid urbanisation and land use change threaten livestock viability: between 1989 and 2019, built-up areas expanded by 270% while farmland declined by about 30% (Onaolapo et al., 2022), leading to shrinking and increasingly congested pastures and heightened environmental risks associated with intensification.

Although urbanisation poses significant challenges, expanding markets offer opportunities to strengthen livestock-based livelihoods. Sustaining these livelihoods requires improved rangeland management alongside strategies to enhance livestock value chains. A project led by the HANS HOHEISEN Charitable Trust at the University of the Free State is implementing rangeland management interventions on degraded grasslands in the WCCA. However, robust evidence on how such interventions and market strategies affect livestock productivity, incomes, and livelihoods in Phuthaditjhaba remains limited.

Duties and responsibilities: 
•    Examine social uptake, perceptions, and behavioural responses to improved rangeland management practices. 
•    Design and implement impact evaluation frameworks comparing livelihoods and income outcomes before and after rangeland management interventions.
•    Design and implement impact evaluation frameworks comparing livelihoods and income outcomes before and after livestock market/value chain strategies.
•    Analyse household and community-level socioeconomic data, including income, productivity, and welfare indicators, for smallholder livestock farmers in WCCA and surrounding areas.
•    Contribute to original research. This will include analysing both qualitative interview/focus group data and quantitative survey data; helping lead deliberative stakeholder workshops; conducting literature reviews; and applying economic theories related to development economics, resource/environmental economics, poverty, and sustainable development. 
•    Undertake fieldwork in Phuthaditjhaba, Qwaqwa, and surrounding areas.
•    Apply appropriate econometric, quasi-experimental, and/or mixed-methods approaches.
•    Contribute to peer-reviewed high-impact journal articles, policy briefs, and stakeholder reports. 
•    The Fellow will be provided with undergraduate lecturing opportunities and will contribute to grant writing for experience.
•    Support postgraduate supervision (Honours/Masters/PhD) where relevant.
•    Engage with community stakeholders, policymakers, and implementing partners.
•    Participate in project-related seminars, workshops, and dissemination activities.

Inherent requirements:
•    A PhD in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics, Development Studies, or a closely related field (completed within the last five years).
•    Strong grounding in applied microeconomics, development economics, or environmental/resource economics.
•    Demonstrated experience with quantitative data analysis (e.g. Stata, R, Python) and/or mixed-methods research.
•    Evidence of peer-reviewed publications or manuscripts under review.
•    Ability to conduct field-based research in rural or communal settings.

Recommendations:
•    Experience working on rangeland management, livestock systems, natural resource governance, or climate adaptation.
•    Familiarity with impact evaluation methods (e.g. Difference-in-Differences, Propensity Score Matching (PSM), Instrumental Variable (IV), and  Panel Data estimations).
•    Experience engaging with community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) initiatives.
•    Knowledge of Southern African rural contexts.

Value of the fellowship:
•    A competitive postdoctoral fellowship package will be offered in line with institutional and funder guidelines
 

Application: 
To apply, please email the following documentation by 30 October 2026 to Dr Calvin Mudzingiri at mudzingiric@ufs.ac.za  
•    Motivation letter, including a 1- 2 page outline of relevant expertise and experience, and how it aligns with the project theme.
•    Full CV including a list of research publications, conference papers, and other scholarly outputs. 
•    Certified copies of full transcripts of academic records and of the doctoral degree certificate. 
•    A SAQA Certificate for qualifications obtained outside South Africa.
•    Certified copy of ID document (or copy of passport in the case of foreign applicants).
•    Contact details of two academic referees who have taught/supervised the candidate. 

Assumption of duties:
01 January 2027 as soon as possible.

Closing date:
30 October 2026 

Enquiries:
For enquiries, please feel free to contact Dr Calvin Mudzingiri at mudzingiric@ufs.ac.za  

The University processes personal information in line with its obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and any personal information provided to the University will be treated as confidential and processed in accordance with the rights provided to data subjects under POPIA.

The University reserves the right not to fill the post. The UFS will only consider applications of candidates who meet all the inherent requirements of the position. Applications that are incomplete will not be considered. Communication will be limited to shortlisted candidates only. Should you not be contacted within six weeks of the closing date for applications, you may assume that your application was unsuccessful.