A centre of Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) 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 ICCAP programme
The project Inclusive Climate Finance for Vulnerable Communities in the Asia Pacific (ICCAP), led by SEI Asia in Bangkok, and funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), works with financial service providers and public sector actors to co-design, test and scale viable, responsive and equitable financial instruments, business models and delivery systems to finance adaptation solutions for climate-vulnerable communities across the Asia-Pacific region, in partnership with those communities. Within the project, the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) team has a key role in meaningfully integrating GESI across all project activities and outputs. The team promotes gender-balanced and socially diverse participation in project processes and events, and embeds intersectional analysis across research, policy engagement and implementation. A central focus is on addressing the needs, aspirations and constraints of climate-vulnerable and marginalized groups, including of low-income women, Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities. Through these efforts, the project helps to advance inclusive climate finance that builds resilience, strengthens adaptive capacity, and reduces vulnerabilities across Asia-Pacific.
The role
The Research Fellow will be integral to the project as part of the Gender, Environment, and Justice research cluster (GenJust), collaborating closely with the Project Director, the GESI lead, and the entire project team. The Research Fellow will lead GESI capacity development on inclusive climate finance and co-design and coordinate a Gender-Transformative Pilot.
Capacity development builds the capabilities of ICCAP consortium teams and boundary partners (financial institutions, regulators, civil society organizations and local actors) to design and deliver gender-inclusive climate finance through trainings, peer exchange and on-the-job support. The project’s Gender-Transformative Pilot is a small, real-world trial co-designed with partners and communities to tackle the root causes of financial exclusion. The role requires exceptional analytical, research, implementation and writing skills to produce a suite of publication-ready outputs (toolkits, policy briefs and peer-reviewed articles) and to translate evidence into operational change with financial actors. The role requires substantial field presence and travel across the project’s implementation countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR and Nepal) to lead trainings, field research and implementation of the Gender-Transformative Pilot. Experience working in the six mentioned countries, including knowledge of local languages, is an asset.
Main responsibilities:
- Co-design and run the Gender-Transformative Pilot: co-design the approach with local partners and communities, agree a focused set of activities (e.g. tailored financial education), manage the local implementing partners and oversee delivery, and document and share what works for adoption at scale.
- Lead capacity development for consortium teams and boundary partners (financial service providers, public partners, civil society organizations): design and deliver trainings, peer exchange and on-the-job support, and follow up on uptake.
- Plan and lead fieldwork and associated activities in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR and Nepal, ensuring ethics, data quality and clear trip documentation. Travel regularly (about 20–30% of the time) for trainings, pilot support and data collection.
- Turn evidence into practical tools and guidance that help partners design and deliver gender inclusive climate finance.
- Produce high-quality written outputs including toolkits, guidance notes, policy briefs and journal articles.
- Lead and support proposal development to secure resources for the team.
- Act as an ambassador for SEI and ICCAP, by increasing the visibility and uptake of results in policy and finance forums and establishing strong research networks.
Accountability:
- Deliver agreed outputs to time, quality and budget, including capacity building activities, the Gender-Transformative Pilot, practical tools/guides, and written publications.
- Coordinate across the project: work smoothly with the Programme Director and work package leads; uphold ethics, safeguarding and data-protection standards across research, training and pilot activities.
- Increase the visibility and use of results; share evidence in policy and research forums and maintain professional, respectful engagement with partners and colleagues.
Who you are
An experienced researcher-practitioner who combines strong conceptual grounding in gender, justice and climate adaptation with hands-on work in inclusive or green finance. You are experienced and confident in designing, implementing, documenting and communicating the findings of research-to-action and implementation projects. You are used to working in teams and are able to effectively delegate tasks to others. You are an inclusive facilitator who can work confidently with financial service providers, regulators and community partners, and you write crisply for policy and academic audiences. You communicate clearly internally, keeping an open dialogue with your supervisor as well as the wider team. You are comfortable representing SEI externally and cultivating strategic networks that advance inclusive climate finance.
- Doctoral degree (preferred) with a minimum of five years’ relevant experience; or a Master’s with a minimum of eight years’ experience in an area relevant to the position.
- Familiarity with cutting-edge gender responsive and transformative approaches.
- Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering capacity development for diverse stakeholders, using adult-learning and feminist approaches.
- Published first-author, peer-reviewed publications and practitioner toolkits or guidance.
- Demonstrated interest and preferably ability to translate research into recommendations for action in policy and practice.
- Professional background in inclusive climate or green finance with practical experience in microfinance.
- Five-plus years’ hands-on experience planning and leading fieldwork across multiple countries.
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently.
- Proven experience in project budgeting and financial management.
- Experienced and with a solid track record in fundraising, including leading or co-leading competitive proposals.
- Fluency in spoken and written English.
Desirable qualifications:
- Regional experience in Asia-Pacific is an advantage, particularly Southeast and/or South Asia; existing networks in one or more ICCAP countries are a plus.
- Working knowledge of an Asian language, preferably a local language from countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR or Nepal.
- Proven research to policy and action skills, and project management experience to design and oversee the Gender-Transformative Pilot.
- Competence in one or more data analysis software tools (e.g. NVivo, Delve, STATA, SPSS).
Personal skills required in the position:
- Outstanding facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to convene diverse stakeholders and keep discussions focused, inclusive and practical.
- Editorial sharpness and clarity of writing; able to turn complex analysis into crisp guidance, training materials and policy messages.
- Strong field leadership and situational judgement, including calm problem-solving, and real-time adaptation.
- Excellent planning and coordination, with disciplined follow-through across parallel workstreams.
- Applied analytical mindset and learning orientation; comfortable iterating based on gender-disaggregated data, qualitative insights and feedback from partners and communities.
- Strong diplomacy and relationship-building skills; able to negotiate trade-offs, manage expectations and maintain trust across consortium and boundary partners.
- Intercultural competence and humility, with high sensitivity to power dynamics, gender norms and local contexts.
- Integrity and accountability in research ethics and data protection.
- Self-direction and reliability, with openness to feedback and constructive peer review.
- Readiness for regular travel and hands-on engagement in the field.
- Demonstrates SEI values in daily work (high-calibre outputs, respect and trust) and gives and receives feedback constructively.
With a team comprising over 21 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 mid-level candidates 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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