Latest Jobs at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

• The Senior Agronomist will be responsible for strategy development, technical oversight, scientific coordination, and reporting for all agronomy aspects of the Regional Hub’s core activities with a leading role for six of the Hub’s 20 Functions and contributions to others.
• Rapid and efficient monitoring of delivery of agronomic gain.
• Appropriate deployment of bio-fertilizers.
• Bundling necessary services.
• Farmer-led experimentation.
• Certification scheme for agronomy recommendations.
• Policy development and implementation and decision-making processes.
• The Senior Agronomist will be an internationally recruited professional with diverse experience in managing large, multidisciplinary projects across diverse cropping systems and countries in Africa. As a contributor to the Hub’s scientific strategy and coordinator of agronomic activities, the role requires a good understanding of technical and scientific aspects to ensure scientific and technical best practices are maintained. These technical skills need to be balanced with a strong appreciation of the requirements for the successful scaling of agronomic solutions to millions of farmers through both public and private delivery channels.
• As a project manager, it is essential for the individual to possess strong administrative skills, collaborative teamwork abilities, and the capacity to develop and enhance the skills of team members across the Consortium. The successful candidate will report to the Director of the Regional Hub and work closely with other technical and delivery specialists across the Consortium. 

Position Responsibilities  

• Lead development of technical capability across the Hub including inventory of agronomic solutions, guidelines and tools to enable rapid and deep response to priority demands from target countries for implementation of agronomic solutions at scale.
• Work with the senior data scientist to develop and update digital soil nutrient and soil health resources, and maximize their adoption and effective use at scale by target countries.
• Lead the scientific engagement with national and regional partners across West Africa and the Sahel with a particular focus on ISFM (Integrated Soil Fertility Management) framework and 4R Nutrient Stewardship (right source, right rate, right time, right place) including new soil survey programs.
• Work with the Senior Data Scientist to coordinate the expansion and improvement of site-specific nutrient management recommendation models to cover all priority cropping systems and countries across West Africa and the Sahel.
• Contribute to the development of agronomy/soil science capacity building programs with national partners.
• Lead the technical engagement of the Regional Hub with the demand-driven delivery programs in target countries. Contribute to the development or adoption of country-specific solutions tailoring to the local context and needs.
• Lead the continuous integration of new agronomic and/ or soil health solutions into the inventory of the regional hub. 
• Work with the Hub team, IITA MELIA team and relevant project partners on KPI’s and quality assurance of priority processes and solutions. 
• Coordinate with the MELIA lead on monitoring agronomic gain across all projects and reporting aggregate impact from Hub-associated activities.
• Provide technical input as required by scaling experts working on bundling of solutions, and training experts working on a certification scheme for agronomy advisors.

Key Skills 

•  An agile and strategic thinker with a mission-driven approach and an entrepreneurial spirit.
•  Ability to engage diverse partners and stakeholders across disciplines, sectors and geographies.
•  Demonstrated ability to thrive under complexity and uncertainty and take calculated risk.
•  Understanding of the regional agribusiness context and experience working with small-scale farmers at scale in West Africa and the Sahel.
•  Active listening to allow the presentation of complex subjects into simple terms tailored to different audiences.
•  Ability to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and interdisciplinary dialogue between technical experts (chemists, engineers, economists, etc) and farmers and policymakers. 
•  Demonstrated capacity to promote farmer centric design to ensure solutions to soil health issues and efficient use of fertilizers are context specific, easy to implement and cost effective.

Requirements

•  Demonstrated capacity to promote farmer centric design to ensure solutions to soil health issues and efficient use of fertilizers are context specific, easy to implement and cost effective.

Educational Qualifications  

• The candidate should have a PhD in soil science, agronomy, or a related field with a strategic understanding of recent advances in agronomically relevant data science including geospatial data that enable deploying site-specific solutions and experience of delivering advisory to tens of thousands of farmers in public, non-profit or private sectors. 

Core Competencies  

• Demonstrated experience in practical and theoretical agronomy of major field crops in Africa.
• At least 10 years of experience in soil science or agronomy with a minimum of 5 years in team management roles including coordination of complex partnerships and management of successful field campaign teams.
• Experience working with partners from academia, NGOs, CGIAR centers, national agricultural research centers and private sector in the context of smallholder farming systems in Africa.
• Demonstrated ability to work in multicultural and diverse environments.
• Excellent interpersonal, analytical and organizational skills with evidence of good relationships with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multidisciplinary and multisector of teams of experts.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and French.
• Strong computation skills including geospatial analyses and modelling will be an added advantage.

go to method of application »

DUTIES:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature on gender roles and dynamics in yam production in Nigeria.
• Analyze and synthesize findings from research papers, reports, and other relevant sources regarding the socio-cultural factors around staking and non-staking practices.
• Identify specific relevant areas of focus.
• Prepare literature reviews with colleagues, STS, and the supervising IITA gender expert and economist.
• Engage selected stakeholders, farmers, and participants, ensuring representation of diverse perspectives, including men and women yam farmers from different production systems.
• Organize and conduct FGDs, KIIs, and IIs in selected rural communities using appropriate methodologies and tools, collaborating with community mobilizers.
• Collect data covering key topics related to yam production, including socio-cultural challenges, opportunities, and gender-specific issues.
• Conduct workshop-FGDs using the citizen science approach.
• Perform data entry and analysis of qualitative data through coding to identify key themes and insights, and carry out economic calculations based on survey and field trial results.
• Prepare and present detailed reports on the findings from FGDs, KIIs, and experimental trials.
• Establish, monitor, and coordinate farmer-managed experimental trials from a socio-cultural perspective, comparing staked yam and non-staked yam cultivation.
• Collaborate with community members and stakeholders throughout the research process.
• Document the research process, including methodologies, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Supervisor.

Requirements

QUALIFICATION:

• HND/Bsc in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Rural development or any other related course of study.
• The ideal candidate must have a minimum of two (2) years’ experience in conducting quantitative research, including FGDs and KIIs performing a similar role in a well-structured environment.
• Fluency in English language and in one or more Nigerian languages as spoken in yam-growing areas is an added advantage.

COMPETENCIES:

The ideal candidate must:

• Have a transdisciplinary focus ready to learn and work outside and with people outside the candidate main discipline.
• Have strong understanding of gender issues in agriculture and basic knowledge of yam production.
• Have experience in agricultural research or related fieldwork.
• Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Have ability to work independently and as a part of a team.
• Have successful engagement and participation of diverse stakeholders in FGDs, KIIs and IIs.
• Be well-organized and execute FGDs and KIIs, providing valuable insights into yam production and gender dynamics.
• Ensure Timely submission of research updates and final high-quality reports, documenting the research process and findings.

go to method of application »

DUTIES:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature on gender roles and dynamics in yam production in Nigeria.
• Analyze and synthesize findings from research papers, reports, and other relevant sources regarding the socio-cultural factors around staking and non-staking practices.
• Identify specific relevant areas of focus.
• Prepare literature reviews with colleagues, STS, and the supervising IITA gender expert and economist.
• Engage selected stakeholders, farmers, and participants, ensuring representation of diverse perspectives, including men and women yam farmers from different production systems.
• Organize and conduct FGDs, KIIs, and IIs in selected rural communities using appropriate methodologies and tools, collaborating with community mobilizers.
• Collect data covering key topics related to yam production, including socio-cultural challenges, opportunities, and gender-specific issues.
• Conduct workshop-FGDs using the citizen science approach.
• Perform data entry and analysis of qualitative data through coding to identify key themes and insights, and carry out economic calculations based on survey and field trial results.
• Prepare and present detailed reports on the findings from FGDs, KIIs, and experimental trials.
• Establish, monitor, and coordinate farmer-managed experimental trials from a socio-cultural perspective, comparing staked yam and non-staked yam cultivation.
• Collaborate with community members and stakeholders throughout the research process.
• Document the research process, including methodologies, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Supervisor.

Requirements

QUALIFICATION:

• HND/Bsc in Anthropology, Agricultural Extension, Social Gender Sciences, or any other related course of study.
• The ideal candidate must have a minimum of two (2) years’ experience in conducting quantitative research, including FGDs and KIIs performing a similar role in a well-structured environment.
• Fluency in English language and in one or more Nigerian languages as spoken in yam-growing areas is an added advantage.

COMPETENCIES:

The ideal candidate must:

• Have a transdisciplinary focus ready to learn and work outside and with people outside the candidate main discipline.
• Have strong understanding of gender issues in agriculture and basic knowledge of yam production.
• Have experience in agricultural research or related fieldwork.
• Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Have ability to work independently and as a part of a team.
• Have successful engagement and participation of diverse stakeholders in FGDs, KIIs and IIs.
• Be well-organized and execute FGDs and KIIs, providing valuable insights into yam production and gender dynamics.
• Ensure Timely submission of research updates and final high-quality reports, documenting the research process and findings.