The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the internationally recruited position of Senior Maize Breeder.
 
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa\u2019s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Please visit http://www.iita.org/ for more information on IITA.
 
IITA focuses on breeding of six very important crops in SSA: cassava, yam, banana/plantain, maize, soybean, and cowpea. These breeding programs have been reviewed using the Breeding Program Assessment Tool (BPAT) (https://plantbreedingassessment.org/ ) and have had extensive interactions with the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB) platform. As a result, crop specific and cross cutting (institutional) improvement plans have been developed along with product profiles and market segmentation analyses. Implementing these plans will be a central part of the Accelerating Breeding Initiative of the OneCGIAR with active involvement and close collaboration with other Initiatives within the Genetic Innovation Science Area and bilateral projects. 
 
The successful candidate will design, execute, and manage the maize breeding program, while also coordinating a breeding network targeting the West African maize prioritized market segments. The successful candidate will work closely with local partner organizations, including CGIAR and NARES institutions, as well as other partners, to establish a crossing and evaluation program aimed at delivering superior varieties that support rapid adoption by farmers. This position reports to Maize Breeding Head.

Position Responsibilities
\u00b7      Breeding Strategy: Formulating breeding strategies aimed at achieving specific goals, such as increasing yield, improving stress tolerance, or enhancing nutritional content.
\u00b7      Product Design and Development: Implement an effective breeding strategy to develop elite breeding material and a product advancement process to identify new candidate varieties for targeted market segments and product profiles.
\u00b7      Demand-led Breeding: Support and contribute to revision of market segment definition and product profile development and seed system activities in the region.
\u00b7      Germplasm Development: Working with NARS and selected partners, identify, obtain and develop appropriate germplasm to sustain the breeding program.
\u00b7      Coordination: Coordinate the development of a stage gate multilocation product performance testing strategy, data analysis and advancement process, which is aligned with target market segments, TPEs or Agro-ecologies.
\u00b7      Optimization of Breeding Processes and Operations: Ensure cost effective breeding operations, and standard operating procedures that deliver agreed quality and performance indicators.
\u00b7      Collaboration and Partnerships: 
o  Develop strong partnerships with national public breeding programs to collaboratively identify critical germplasm, product needs and define complementary breeding objectives.
o  Enable and actively support the regional crop network to collaboratively plan and implement breeding activities that optimize the development of individual and shared network germplasm products and builds capacity to share knowledge, best practices, training etc.
\u00b7      Capacity Building: Provide training and mentorship to breeding staff, partners and scholars on breeding techniques, methodologies, data analysis and scientific communication.
\u00b7      Resource Mobilisation: Contribute to or lead the development of research proposals and other fundraising activities.
\u00b7      Publication: Lead or contribute to publication of research results in international, refereed journals.
\u00b7      Reporting: Produce monthly and annual reports.
Requirements    📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐  
  ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖! 

\u00b7      The candidate should have a PhD in plant breeding, genetics, or a related field.

Core Competencies 
\u00b7      At least 10 years of experience in plant breeding.
\u00b7      Evidence of significant management skills including change management and management of successful breeding teams.
\u00b7      Experience applying quantitative genetics principles, genomics and latest breeding technologies is desired.
\u00b7      Experience working in West Africa will be considered favourably.
\u00b7      Strong networking and facilitating skills with focus on enabling and empowering others to succeed.
\u00b7      Demonstrated ability to work in multicultural and diverse environments.
\u00b7      Excellent interpersonal, analytical and organizational skills.
\u00b7      Successful experience and commitment to inclusive research design and implementation.
\u00b7      Evidence of experience in resource mobilization. 
\u00b7      Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Benefits
The contract will be for an initial period of three years. IITA offers an internationally competitive remuneration package paid in U.S. Dollars. 
 
Applications: Applications must include a cover letter which should address how the candidate\u2019s background/experience relates to the specific duties of the position applied for, curriculum vitae, and names and addresses of three professional referees (which must include either the Head of the applicant\u2019s current or previous organization or applicant\u2019s direct Supervisor/Superior at his/her present or former place of work). The application should be addressed to the Head of People and Culture. Please complete our online application form using this link: https://apply.workable.com/iita/#jobs
 
Closing Date: 28th July 2024

IITA is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse workforce, particularly welcoming applications from women. 
             
While all applications will be acknowledged, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.  






    📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗜𝗢𝗠, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀!  🌐   





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    📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐