The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a non-profit organization that develops agricultural solutions to address Africa’s most urgent concerns, including hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. We work with a variety of partners throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to improve lives, improve food and nutrition security, boost employment, and protect natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of the CGIAR, a worldwide agricultural research alliance working toward a food-secure future. To learn more about IITA, please visit http://www.iita.org/.
The chosen applicant will plan, implement, and manage the banana breeding program, as well as coordinate a breeding network focused on East and Central African banana market segments. The chosen applicant will collaborate closely with local partner organizations, including CGIAR and NARES institutions, as well as other partners, to develop a cross-breeding and assessment program focused on generating improved varieties that farmers can quickly adopt. This post reports to the Banana Breeding Program Lead.
Position Responsibilities
- Breeding Strategy: Developing ways to achieve certain objectives, such as boosting yield, stress tolerance, or nutritional content.
- Implement a breeding plan to create elite breeding material and a product advancement approach to find new varieties for specific market segments and product profiles.
- Support demand-led breeding by revising market segment definitions and product profiles, as well as seed system operations in the area.
- Germplasm Development: Collaborate with NARS and partners to identify and create suitable germplasm for the breeding program.
- Coordination: Develop a multilocation product performance testing plan, analyze data, and align with target market segments, TPEs, or agro-ecologies.
- Breeding Process and Operations Optimization: Ensure that breeding operations and standard operating procedures are cost-effective and meet agreed-upon quality and performance KPIs.
- Collaboration and Partnerships: Form strong alliances with national public breeding programs to jointly identify important germplasm, product requirements, and complementary breeding goals.
Educational Qualifications
- The applicant should have a PhD in plant breeding, genetics, or a related discipline.
Core Competencies
- At least 5 years of expertise in plant breeding.Experience with quantitative genetics concepts, genomics, and cutting-edge breeding methods is desirable.Working in the tropics will be regarded as advantageous.Experience with polyploids and perennials is beneficial.Strong networking and facilitation abilities, with an emphasis on helping and inspiring others to achieve.
- Proven ability to operate in multicultural and varied settings.
- Excellent interpersonal, analytical, and organisational skills.
- Successful experience and dedication to inclusive research design and execution.
- Demonstrates resource mobilization experience.
- Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
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Mode of Application:
To apply for a position, candidates must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three professional referees. One of the referees must be the applicant’s current or previous organization’s head or direct supervisor. The Head of People and Culture should receive the application. Please fill out our online application form using this link: https://apply.workable.com/iita/#jobs
Closing Date: October 23, 2024.