Postdoctoral Fellow - Maize at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Ref Number: DDG-R4D/PDF/M/04/16
Location: Ibadan
Job type: Contract (2 Years)

Position Responsibilities
The primary Responsibilities of the Postdoctoral Position will include:

• Conduct marker-assisted recurrent selection to increase the concentration of pro-vitamin A and other cartotenoids.
• Involve in the development and testing of new pro-vitamin A enriched maize varieties and hybrids with defensive and adaptive traits.
• Assist in organizing and conducting pro-vitamin A enriched maize hybrid and variety regional trials in IITA’s testing sites and in multiple locations in collaboration with partners.
• Compile, process, analyze, and write regional trial reports.
• Run analyses of data recorded in multiple locations using appropriate software package, prepare reports and draft manuscripts for publication in scientific journals.
• Lead production of breeder seeds of parents of hybrids and synthetic varieties to supply to partners for further multiplication and deployment.
• Involve in organizing of training for stakeholders engaged in PVA maize seed production under the Building Nutritious Food Basket project.
• Work with HarvestPlus and CIP-Nigeria team in promotional activities on PVA maize.
• Work HarvestPlus and CIP-Nigeria team producers of PVA with processors.
• Assist in the preparation of project proposals for funding.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the supervisor as required.

Educational Qualifications

• The candidate should have obtained a PhD in Plant Breeding with considerable field experience and working knowledge of molecular tools as well as analyses of QTL and association studies.

Core Competencies

• Experience in planning and conducting field trials using appropriate designs as well as collecting and analyzing experimental data with relevant statistical software required.
• A proven track record in publishing research results in peer-reviewed journals.
• Fluency in English and knowledge of a second language such as French would be an advantage.
• Good inter-personal skills and ability to work with multi-disciplinary and multicultural teams.

General Information

• Initial appointment is for a period of two-years with a possible extension to the third year.
• IITA offers a competitive remuneration package paid in US dollars.