Jobs at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Ref.: IITA-HR-NRS2016-041
Location: Ibadan, Oyo

Responsibilities
Successful candidate will among other things perform the following duties:

• Assist in multiplication of virus-free cassava planting material using several different rapid multiplication methods;
• Assist in testing of treatments to improve multiplication rate and reduce cost of rapid multiplication systems in the laboratory and field;
• Assist in planting, maintenance, data collection, harvesting and post-harvest handling of roots and stems from variety trials on-station and on-farm;
• Assist with stem sales of pre-basic seed include keeping records of sales and facilitating payment and deposit of revenue from stem sales;
• Participate in training of technicians and partners on methods of cassava stem multiplication;
• Assist in supervising subordinate staff on field, laboratory and screenhouse activities;
• Assist in providing technical backstopping to cassava seed multipliers,
• Assist in collection and analyses of field and lab data including preparation of quality technical reports;
• Perform any other duty as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications

• HND/B.Sc Degree in Plant Breeding, Crop Production, Agricultural Extension, Plant Science, Biochemistry, or related disciplines with 2 years’ experience performing similar role.

Competencies
The ideal candidate must have:

• Very good knowledge of plant breeding and seed production of vegetative propagated crops
• Demonstrable supervisory experience (lab/field).
• At least three years of experience in a similar position with experience in propagation of clonally propagated crops (such as cassava), conducting field trials, working in the laboratory and screenhouse settings, managing experiments including data collection and analysis.
• Passion and commitment for academic excellence.
• Computer literacy, data organization and analysis skills
• Good capability and readiness to travel independently within Nigeria, and work in the fields.
• Good coping skills with heavy workloads extending beyond office hours and during weekends
• Ability to learn new skills, quickly adapt and apply new methods.
• Ability to interpret data and prepare good technical reports.
• Very good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work harmoniously in an interdisciplinary team with an international and intercultural background.

Remuneration
We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

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Ref No: IITA-HR-NRS2016-041
Location: Ibadan, Oyo
Recruitment Type: National (2-year renewable contract)

Responsibilities
Successful candidate will among other things perform the following duties:

• Assist in the inspection surveys for cassava pest and disease incidence in the seed multiplication plots in the fields and under screenhouse conditions;
• Assist in collection of samples for health assessment and indexing;
• Assist in testing of field grown and in vitro cassava for pathogens (mainly viruses and bacteria) using ELISA, PCR, LAMP and other diagnostic methods;
• Assist in the selection of healthy planting material for propagation;
• Involves in organizing and monitoring of cassava seed degeneration trial;
• Assist in providing technical backstopping to seed quality inspections;
• Assist in collection and analyzing of field and laboratory data including preparation of quality technical reports.

Qualifications

• BSc/HND in Plant Science, Crop production, Agricultural Extension, Biochemistry, Breeding/Agronomy, or related disciplines with 2 years’ experience performing similar role.

Competencies
The ideal candidate must have:

• Very good knowledge on plant pathology; theory and application of diagnostic methods (such as ELISA and PCR); vegetative propagation of crops; concepts of plant disease control; production of healthy planting material; and seed quality certification.
• Demonstrable supervisory experience (lab/field).
• Working experience (desired) on application of ELISA and PCR-based methods / propagation of clonally propagated crops (such as cassava) / conducting field surveys / managing experiments in the screenhouse or fields/indexing and seed quality testing.
• Passion and commitment for academic excellence.
• Computer literacy, data organization and analysis skills
• Good capability and readiness to travel independently within Nigeria, and work in the fields.
• Good coping skills heavy intermittent workloads extending beyond office hours and during weekends
• Ability to learn new skills, quickly adapt and apply new methods.
• Ability to interpret data and prepare good technical reports.
• Very good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work harmoniously in an interdisciplinary team with an international and intercultural background.

Remuneration
We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

go to method of application »

Requirements

• M.Sc. in Agronomy, Plant Breeding, Crop Production or related discipline
• Minimum of 12 years relevant experience performing similar role
• Agricultural economics of Agric Business Management experience will be an added advantage.