Research Associate at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Duties:
Successful candidate will among other things perform the following:
 
* Establish and manage field and screen house experiments on yam breeding and genetics both on and out-station.
* Manage technicians and other support staff in yam breeding unit.
* In coordination with Yam Breeder prepare weekly plan for all field workers and Technicians.
* Collect, organise and manage data entry from yam breeding experiments for statistical processing
* In coordination with Yam Breeder and Biometrician, process and analyse data from yam breeding experiments and prepare
technical reports
* Organise, monitor and report on national (Nigeria) and regional (West and Central Africa) collaborative yam trials with partners
* Manage the propagation, characterization and dissemination of improved yam germplasm in response to requests.
* Maintain regular communication with clients and partners of the unit
* In coordination with Communication Unit and Yam Breeder, prepare training material on Yam.
* Train students and relevant staff of partner agencies in yam breeding methodologies

Qualification and Experience
* Master's degree in Crop/Plant Breeding, plus at least five years of certified experience in on farm research activities with any crop.
* Possess working experience/exposure in international organisations and interdisciplinary agricultural research.
* Be familiar with agricultural and farming systems in West and Central Africa.
* Have working experience with participatory approaches. Yam experience will be an asset.
* Have administrative experience and be able to demonstrate team management skills.
* Be able to demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
* Be proficient in the use of computers database management software, statistical analysis software, internet-based tools and other electronic communication tools.
* Be fluent in oral and written English; with some working knowledge of French.
 
This position is based in IITA Ibadan, Nigeria and involves substantial domestic and international travel outside duty station.