International Centre For Tropical Agriculture Jobs 2017

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) – a member of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org) – develops technologies, innovative methods, and new knowledge that better enable farmers, especially smallholders, to make agriculture competitive and profitable as well as sustainable and resilient. CIAT conducts research for development in tropical regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia (www.ciat.cgiar.org).

Job Description

Job Title: Post- Doctoral Scientist: Bean Breeding

The Position:

The Post-Doctoral Scientist: Bean Breeding will be responsible for key objectives of the breeding program, including disease and pest resistance, tolerance to abiotic stress (especially heat and drought) and improved nutritional quality of iron and zinc concentration in grain for human health outcomes.

The breeder position to be located in Ghana, West Africa, will coordinate bean breeding and other related research activities in the region, but the results will have application across similar agro- ecologies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Main duties and responsibilities include:

 Identify the critical constraints to bean production in the region and develop new bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) germplasm with resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, together with NARS partners.
 Acquire and increase seed of bean germplasm received from CIAT-HQ and the regional breeding programs or NARS in eastern and southern Africa and distribute it in nurseries and regional trials to NARS partnersin West and Central Africa.
 Support the NARS breeding teams at all levels by enhancing their capacity and supporting them to contribute to PABRA outputs and outcomes at country level.
 In collaboration with NARS partners explore and identify the best suitable snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), white pea beans and tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolious) varieties for target environments in West and Central Africa.
 Establish productive and synergistic working relationships with NARS and CIAT colleagues in other PABRA networks to strengthen multidisciplinary research (plant pathology, entomology, plant nutrition, and biofortification) in germplasm development.
 Represent WECABREN at meetings of all levels, providing updated information or presentations on the network and related project activities and provide regular communication and reports for donors, NARS and other stakeholders

Required competencies, skills and experience:

 PhD in Plant Breeding. Experience with bean breeding would be an advantage but is not considered essential.
 Conventional plant breeding and applications of molecular tools where relevant to enhancing the efficiency of improvement research.
 Computer skills and ability in data management.
 Experimental design and statistical analysis, including multivariate statistical analysis.
 Strong communication skills – both written and oral, in English and French.