The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Fresh Job Recruitment

Ref: IITA-HR-NRS2018-0034
Location: Abuja
Recruitment Type: National (6-year renewable contract)

About the Program

• The WINNN program: WINNN is an eight-year (September 2011—March 2019) program funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) to improve maternal and child nutrition in five states of northern Nigeria namely Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, and Yobe.
• WINNN is designed to support the piloting of a set of evidence-based nutrition-specific interventions; micro-nutrient supplementation, community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM), infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counselling, and to support institutionalization of the interventions within routine healthcare.

Job Descriptions

• The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking to recruit an agronomist/seed system specialist Project Associate (PA) to implement ‘Nutrition Sensitive Kitchen Garden Interventions with Orange-fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) and Other Vegetables under ‘Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) Program’.  This PA will be based in Jigawa State, with occasional training and supervision duties in Yobe State.  
• She/he will work under the supervision of the CIP Country Manager (WINNN-Kitchen Garden Coordinator) and co-report to the WINNN Deputy Chief of Party.  

The Project

• The overall goal of this orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) led garden product project is to improve food and nutrition security and livelihoods for women and children, especially improved diet diversity in two of the five WINNN states implementing during the cost extension period. 
• The project seeks to catalyze broad support for OFSP and its use in strategic initiatives including Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) program (first cohort), mothers/care givers of recovered Severe and Acute Malnourished (SAM) clients in small scale food processing, school feeding, and wheat import substitution in commercial food processing in this region.

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

• Develop communication strategy and plan for the project;
• Develop and design IEC materials to different targeted audience of the project;
• Work with local media to create awareness on the nutritional benefits of homestead kitchen gardens;
• Produce video teaching aid on the selected crop planting and processing for beneficiaries’ use;
• Work with Agricultural and IYCF counsellors to facilitate training of beneficiaries on the production and processing of the selected nutritious foods in the kitchen gardens;
• Train the WINNN project IYCF support group members and recovered SAM mothers/care givers to use OFSP and other selected nutritious crops to process bioavailable nutritious foods for improved nutrition and livelihoods;
• Create awareness, sensitize and educate communities and the beneficiary groups on OFSP and nutritious foods in the two selected states;
• Create demand, identify and link markets for OFSP in the two selected states for improved livelihoods of the beneficiaries;
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications

• B.Sc/HND in Mass Communication or related field with minimum of three (3) years’ experience performing same or related role.

Competencies:

• Proficient in English language.
• Strong inter-personal/cultural & communication skill.

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

Click here for more information (PDF)

go to method of application »

Ref: DDG-R4D/PDF/CMB/ING/08/18
Location: Ibadan, Oyo

Background

• IITA seeks a highly motivated individual to work on cassava breeding using genomic selection within the Next Generation Cassava Breeding project. The primary activities include phenotypic and genotypic characterization of germplasm populations, describing genetic architecture of breeding traits and implementation of genomic selection and marker-assisted selection. Other opportunities are exploration of a large repository of genomic and phenotype cassava data (www.cassavabase.org) produced in the first phase of the project.
• The Next Generation Cassava Breeding (www.nextgencassava.org) project aims to significantly increase the rate of genetic gain in cassava breeding and unlock the full potential of cassava, a staple crop central to food security and livelihoods across Africa. The project implements genomic selection to accelerate breeding cycles to develop high yielding, climate resilient, higher pest and disease resistant varieties that meet farmer and consumer demands.
• As part of the NEXTGEN project, the postdoctoral fellow will get broad exposure and work closely with a global genomics and breeding community, including Cornell University, National Root Crops Research Institute in Nigeria, the National Crops Resources Research Institute in Uganda, Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Boyce Thompson Institute, and USDA-ARS.

Position Responsibilities
The Postdoctoral Fellow will undertake the following tasks:

• Develop improved cassava lines by working at the interphase between field breeding, genomic selection and marker assisted selection.
• Implement multi-environment field trials to evaluate performance of new populations and make advancement decisions to support the breeding pipeline.
• Carry out routine single and multi-environment mixed-model analysis of field trial data.
• Carry out population genetic analyses to describe germplasm collections using genome-wide SNP markers.
• Participate in capacity development activities within IITA and with partners.
• Supervise and manage national staff and graduate students as needed.
• Participate in resource mobilization with cassava research teams.
• Publish research findings in peer reviewed journals.
• Stay current on relevant technical advances.

Educational Qualifications

• The candidate should have a Ph.D in Plant or Animal Breeding or Agronomy.

Core Competencies:

• Strong background in breeding, quantitative genetics, statistics, and molecular technologies.
• Highly self-motivated, detail-oriented, and innovative.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Good project management skills.
• Demonstrated experience with statistical programming in R.
• Strong record of innovation and process improvement in breeding.
• Strong understanding of management and utilization

Remuneration
The contract will be for an initial period of two years with possibility of renewal based on performance and availability of funding. IITA offers internationally competitive remuneration package paid in U.S. Dollars.

Click here for more information (PDF)

go to method of application »

Ref: DDG-R4D/PDF/CB/ING/08/18
Location: Ibadan, Oyo.

Job Summary

• IITA seeks a highly motivated individual to work on cassava breeding using genomic selection within the Next Generation Cassava Breeding project. The primary activities include phenotypic and genotypic characterization of germplasm populations, describing genetic architecture of breeding traits and implementation of genomic selection and marker-assisted selection. Other opportunities are exploration of a large repository of genomic and phenotype cassava data (www.cassavabase.org) produced in the first phase of the project.
• The Next Generation Cassava Breeding (www.nextgencassava.org) project aims to significantly increase the rate of genetic gain in cassava breeding and unlock the full potential of cassava, a staple crop central to food security and livelihoods across Africa.
• The project implements Genomic Selection to accelerate breeding cycles to develop high yielding, climate resilient, higher pest and disease resistant varieties that meet farmer and consumer demands.
• As part of the NEXTGEN project, the postdoctoral fellow will get broad exposure and work closely with a global genomics and breeding community, including Cornell University, National Root Crops Research Institute in Nigeria, the National Crops Resources Research Institute in Uganda, Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Boyce Thompson Institute, and USDA-ARS.

Position Responsibilities
The Postdoctoral Fellow will undertake the following tasks:

• Develop improved cassava lines by working at the interface between field breeding, genomic selection and marker assisted selection.
• Implement multi-environment field trials to evaluate performance of new populations and make advancement decisions to support the breeding pipeline.
• Carry out routine single and multi-environment mixed-model analysis of field trial data.
• Carry out population genetic analyses to describe germplasm collections using genome-wide SNP markers.
• Develop and validate new phenotyping platforms for cassava breeding (e.g. NIR).
• Publish research findings in peer reviewed journals.
• Stay current on relevant technical advances.

Other Responsibilities

• This position will involve extensive travels within Nigeria and Africa to co-coordinate a cassava breeding community of practice within the national programs of DR Congo, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi and Cote d’Ivoire.
• Provide technical backstopping in data analytical developments and process improvement for national partner programs in Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania.
• Participate in resource mobilization with cassava research teams.

Educational Qualifications

• The candidate should have a Ph. D in Plant or Animal Breeding or Agronomy.

Core Competencies:

• Strong background in breeding, quantitative genetics, statistics, and molecular technologies.
• Highly self-motivated, detail-oriented, and innovative.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Good project management skills.
• Demonstrated experience with statistical programming in R.
• Strong record of innovation and process improvement in breeding.
• Strong understanding of management and utilization of large data sets.
• Experience working in a multicultural environment.
• Ability to communicate in both English and French is desirable.

General Information

• The contract will be for an initial period of two years with possibility of renewal based on performance and availability of funding. IITA offers internationally competitive remuneration package paid in U.S. Dollars.
• 
  Click here for more information (PDF)