Plantain Pathologist at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Position Responsibilities

The Plantain Pathologist will:

• In conjunction with banana breeding efforts in East Africa, organize and plan banana and plantain pathology activities in West Africa.
• Interact with banana pathology in East Africa by defining common SOPs and defining a common vision for Musa Breeding.
• Where available, apply precise high-throughput tools for early screening of breeding and prebreeding populations to BBTV, Sigatoka, Nematodes, and Weevils. 
• Design and implement field, screen house, and laboratory experiments on plantain pests and diseases.
• Maintain cultures of pathogens and pests and produce inoculum for screening plantain breeding materials.
• Implement digital data capture, upload, and organize data onto MusaBase.
• Manage junior staff in all plant pathology activities and contribute to orient new staff.
• Maintain laboratory equipment, materials, and reagents and assist with procurement.
• Participate in workshops and present advances in plantain pathology to raise the visibility of the program.
• Write reports and peer-reviewed publications related to pathology activities.
• Manage linkages with various research development partners in Nigeria and West Africa.
• Perform any other job-related duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Educational Qualifications

• The candidate should have a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology or related fields.
• Experience in banana pathology is an advantage.

Core Competencies

• Pathology experience in plantain and/or banana breeding with at least three pathogens.
• Pathology experience in the field and with bioassays in the laboratory and/or screenhouse.
• Expertise in writing publications.
• Expertise in linking pathology to agronomy, soil health and/or farming systems, and exposure to other crops than bananas.
• Experience with molecular techniques in disease diagnostics.
• Work experience in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment would be a great asset.