POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Postmaster Crop Water Productivity
Ref. Postmaster/031/RD/2011/10
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is looking for a talented graduate for a Postmaster position within its Sustainable Productivity Enhancement program. The postmaster program is initiated to provide work experience in an international research environment to talented students, which gives them comparative advantage at recruitment procedures for PhD or regular job positions. The position will be stationed at AfricaRice’s research facilities in Cotonou, Benin.
About AfricaRice:
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is an association of 24 African member states and one of the 15 international Centers supported by the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). The Center’s mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment.
Responsibilities:
The Postmaster and will work under the supervision of the Remote Sensing and GIS specialist. He/She will work on the adaption and calibration of the AquaCrop model of the FAO which allows modelling crop yield and water productivity. However, this models needs to be calibrated and validated for different ecosystems of rice production (upland, lowland and irrigated rice). The candidate is expected to work on:
- Calibration and validation of the AquaCrop model for rice in different ecosystems;
- Establishment of validation data sets from field experiments by AfricaRice and partners;
- Analysing the options for improving crop water productivity in rice production; and
- Exploring the possibilities for spatial analysis of yields and water productivity by linking AquaCrop to GIS software such as ArcGIS.
Essential Requirements:
The successful candidate should have:
- a MSc degree in Geography, Ecology or Agriculture with shown experience in crop productivity-water use relations;
- pro-active and original way of thinking, and
- communication skills in either English or French.
Desirable requirements:
- Experience with rice production systems in Africa;
- Experience in the use of GIS software like ArcGIS;
- Programming skills; and
- General computer skills, including MS Excel, ftp-software, etc.
Terms and Conditions: The postmaster contract for the position will be for a fixed two-year term.
Application procedure: Candidates should prepare and submit:
- a cover letter describing why she/he is suitable for the position by specifically addressing the essential and desirable requirements for this position as described before. Please include one reference (e.g. thesis supervisor) and the earliest date of availability (maximum size is 1 A4 page, times new roman, 11 pts).
- a curriculum vitae describing personal details, study details (diplomas, date of graduation, thesis research, grades, TOEFL), and possible work experience (max 1 A4).
- a step-wise research plan that addresses the topics described before (max 1 A4).
- AfricaRice is a bilingual research center (English/French) and documents can be prepared in either language.
To apply online for this position, please click on the following web link:
Applications will be considered up to November 30, 2011. The position is open to citizens of the 24 AfricaRice member states.
AfricaRice believes that staff diversity promotes excellence in its operations, and encourages applications from women and developing country professionals.
AfricaRice thanks all applicants but only the short listed candidates will be contacted.
To learn more about AfricaRice, please visit our website at
Postmaster Crop Water Productivity The Africa Rice Center
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