Senior scientist, Lead Plant Breeder

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit an experienced Lead Plant Breeder with solid practical experience in public and/or private sector setting. The position shall lead and manage a range of activities under the newly established Integrated Genotyping Service and Support (IGSS) at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub.

ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals’ alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases. www.ilri.org

ILRI is a not-for-profit institution with a staff of about 700 and in 2016, an operating budget of about USD 83 million. A member of the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa and in South, Southeast and East Asia. www.cgiar.org

ILRI also manages the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub, a shared research and biosciences platform. BecA is an initiative developed within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)/African Union African Biosciences initiative. It consists of a Hub based on the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya and a network of regional nodes and other affiliated laboratories and organizations throughout the region. The BecA Hub is a modern, state of the art biosciences facility, a suite of shared platforms established for research, capacity building and research related services in support of African and international agricultural scientists. The BecA Hub facilities are world class, with a range of advanced molecular biology, immunology, diagnostics, crop research, genomics laboratories and bioinformatics platform all equipped with an up-to-date suite of specialized bioscience equipment (e.g. Illumina MiSeq sequencer, ultra high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometer (UHPLC-MS), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and specialized facilities (e.g. Biosafety level 3 laboratory, plant growth facilities). The Hub hosts and conducts research in crop, microbe and livestock areas where new developments in science offer promise to address previously intractable problems constraining Africa’s development. Capacity building is a major goal of all activities. The scope covers agriculture and food security and their intersections with human health and nutrition, and the sustainable use of Africa’s natural resources. Further information is available athttp://hub.africabiosciences.org/

Responsibilities

• Work in collaboration with the DArT team (www.diversityarrays.com) to deliver on the IGSS project, which aims to increase the effectiveness of cultivar development in Africa by applying genomic data. These activities include efficient and effective driving of cultivar development through molecular breeding simulation, decision support tools, biometric and bioinformatics analyses using appropriate software packages (SAS, Genstat, R…)
• Partner and collaborate with African NARS breeders and other breeders (in the CGIAR system) to develop the IGSS service offering that responds to needs for efficiency and precision in cultivar development. Service offers include development of a product profile, implementation of the developed cultivar development pipeline for key traits across various crops, development of accurate phenotyping methodologies of a wide range of agronomic quantitative and qualitative traits across various crops, and application of double haploid and other rapid crop improvement technologies.
• Serve as a liaison between the genotyping and bioinformatics service provider (IGSS/DArT) and the plant breeding user community.
• Contribute to the application of genomics tools to support cultivar development or elite germplasm characterization with a focus on traits of importance in African agriculture.
• Contribute to building the capacity in African NARS focusing on strategies to modernize strong breeding programs.
• Participate in resource mobilization activities including donor relations and proposal development.

Requirements

• Ph.D. degree in plant breeding and/or related disciplines;
• At least 5-7 years post-doctoral experience;
• Significant background in quantitative and/or statistical genetics;
• Significant experience working as a plant breeder in a cultivar development program routinely using molecular marker data and modern IT tools;
• Strong interest in and commitment to African agricultural research and development;
• Ability to work well as part of multidisciplinary teams and to travel, including for training in Australia.

Post location: The position is based at ILRI’s Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Position level: The position level is 5A.

Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.

Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes 15% Pension, Medical insurance, Life insurance and allowances for: Education, Housing, Relocation, Home leave, Annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.

HOW TO APPLY:

How to apply: Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development. The position title and reference numberLPD/BecA/02/2016 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.

All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com by 2 April 2016.

We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

To find out more about ILRI visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer.