Team Lead and Researcher - Gender, Environment and Justice
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Deadline: 16 August 2026
Contract details: Fixed term (two years, with possibility of extension depending on funding availability and performance). The position as Team Lead is a time-limited add-on to the main position as Researcher.
Full time
ABOUT SEI ASIA
SEI Asia, a centre of Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) based in Bangkok, 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 ROLE
SEI Asia is seeking a dynamic, strategic Team Lead and Researcher to shape the next phase of its current Gender, Environment and Justice team. As a Team Lead in SEI Asia, you will spend the main portion of your time leading and contributing to externally funded research and engagement projects, while also being the first line manager of a group of thematically aligned researchers. This is a rare opportunity to lead one of SEI Asia's core research teams and contribute to a strong, evolving portfolio at the intersection of gender, environment, justice, and climate adaptation.
The team's current areas of work include gender-transformative climate adaptation, nature-based solutions in aquaculture, inclusive climate finance, just transitions, migration and human mobility, water governance, rights-based approaches, and equity in environmental governance. Its distinctive contribution lies in bringing critical social science perspectives to environment and development challenges, and in translating rigorous, theoretically informed research into practical approaches for policy, programming and engagement.
The successful candidate will join an established team with an active portfolio of around eight research and engagement projects of varying sizes. They will take over leading roles in existing projects, and at the same time help shape and grow the team's future direction, including by developing new partnerships, building a strong funding pipeline, and developing areas of work that strengthen SEI Asia's profile in gender, environment, justice, and climate adaptation. The role combines intellectual leadership, portfolio development, fundraising, policy engagement, and people management.
SEI Asia has recently undergone a re-organization, and the new organization structure starts on 1 August. Within this structure, the Team Lead will supervise and support a team of 8-10 people, working closely with the Head of Societal Transformations to ensure strategic coherence, high-quality delivery, staff development and a healthy team culture. You will be one of two Team Leads, together with the Team Lead for Sustainable Finance, reporting to the Head of Societal Transformations, who in turn reports to the Centre Director.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
* Lead the strategic development of the Gender, Environment and Justice team, providing intellectual leadership informed by critical approaches to gender, environment, justice, and climate adaptation.
* Lead and contribute to research and advisory work on gender-transformative and inclusive approaches to climate finance and adaptation, taking an active role in research design, analysis, stakeholder engagement, and output development.
* Ensure the delivery, research quality, and strategic coherence of the team's existing portfolio, while developing new areas of work and partnerships through externally funded projects.
* Lead and support fundraising and regional portfolio development for the team, including identifying opportunities, building partnerships, coordinating proposals, and building a strong funding pipeline for the team's future portfolio.
* Guide project planning, resource allocation, and forward planning for team members, including workload, billability, recruitment, retention, as well as leave and short-term absence planning, in close dialogue with the Head of Division.
* Represent the team's thematic area across research, policy, and decision-making spaces, and build relationships with research partners, donors, policymakers, civil society organizations, regional networks, and other relevant stakeholders.
* Strengthen collaboration within the team and across SEI Asia teams, SEI centres, and global initiatives.
* Provide day-to-day supervision to team members, including regular check-ins, support for wellbeing, performance and professional development, annual performance and development dialogues, and monitoring of the team's work environment in coordination with the Head of Division.
FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE
The successful candidate should have:
* A PhD, or equivalent research experience, in a relevant social science field (such as development studies, human geography, political ecology, gender studies), with a minimum of eight years of relevant professional experience in research, research leadership and/or the bridging of research to policy and practice.
* Strong expertise in social science and mixed method approaches informed by critical perspectives to environment and development issues, particularly feminist, justice-oriented and/or rights-based approaches to climate adaptation, inclusive climate finance, and sustainable development.
* A strong track record of peer-reviewed publications and high-quality policy, practice, or public-facing outputs.
* A successful track record in fundraising or resource mobilization, including proposal development, partnership building, and engagement with funders.
* Experience leading interdisciplinary teams, projects, or programs.
* Excellent written and spoken English.
* Line management experience, including experience with performance management, motivating a team, and developing and implementing strategic plans.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
* Experience working in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia and/or the Mekong Region.
* Established regional networks relevant to gender, environment, justice, climate adaptation, inclusive climate finance and related fields.
* Experience managing multi-country or multi-partner research and policy engagement projects.
* Experience working with bilateral and multilateral donors, research funders, development agencies, philanthropic foundations, and/or climate finance actors.
* Experience engaging with private sector actors on sustainability, equity, human rights, climate adaptation finance, or environmental governance.
* Experience with participatory, feminist, action-oriented, transdisciplinary, or policy-engaged research methods.
* Working proficiency in an Asian language.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
With a team comprising over 20 nationalities, SEI welcomes global applicants. All employee contracts are local contracts under Thai labour law. SEI Asia offers a competitive salary based on local benchmarking, family health insurance, 30 annual vacation days excluding Thai public holidays, and home leave tickets every 24 months.
For this post, we welcome mid- and senior-level candidates to apply. You should have at least eight years of professional experience and line management experience to apply.
SEI is an equal opportunity employer and we consider all applicants on the basis of qualifications and competencies regardless of race, national origin, religious beliefs, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and marital status.
HOW TO APPLY:
Submit application online at https://web103.reachmee.com/ext/I012/1211/job?site=6&lang=UK&validator=4687e906bb0fd747e99188e22d01bed9&job_id=451 by 16 August 2026, 23:59 Stockholm local time. Applications should include a cover letter (no more than two pages) and a CV (no more than four pages), written in English. Inquiries about the position: sara.vigil@sei.org; recruitment process: asiarecruitment@sei.org