The Position: The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Research Officer who will be a member of the Feed and Forages Bioscience Program in Addis Ababa.
General: ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases.
A member of the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa (Mali, Mozambique and Nigeria) and in South Asia (India and Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) and East Asia (China). www.ilri.org.
A member of the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa (Mali, Mozambique and Nigeria) and in South Asia (India and Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) and East Asia (China). www.ilri.org.
Key Responsibilities:
This position would be part of a team working with forage genetic resource characterisation and conservation. He/she will in particular contribute to a gene discovery initiative in Napier grass with the aim of evaluating agronomic performance and nutritional quality; evaluating the genomic characteristics of Napier grass and identifying genes associated with target traits and developing cultivation methods and a production system, focusing on Napier grass, for the delivery of target traits.
This is mainly a laboratory based position and specific activities will include:
- Contribute to the planning, organizing and execution of laboratory activities directed towards the screening of genetic resources for drought and high temperature resistant forages;
- Maintain an accurate record of research activities, including a chronological record of all experiments (title, aims and objectives, and details of procedures and data generated), in a laboratory notebook in a timely manner;
- Where necessary, introduce, develop and test new procedures and/or equipment to meet experimental needs and ensure that they are fit for purpose;
- Abide with all relevant regulations and maintain a clean and safe work environment in the laboratory (training other personnel in the best safety procedures may also be required on occasions);
- Prepare reports and present research results at meetings and conferences and contribute to the publication of results in peer-reviewed journals.
Minimum Requirement:
Education:
- At least MSc in Plant Molecular Biology or related area.
Experience:
- At least five years practical experience working in a molecular biology laboratory environment (preferentially Biological Safety Level 2 or above).
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)/ Ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis.
- Familiarity with DNA sequencing technologies.
Skills:
- Advanced knowledge of plant diversity and molecular biology
- Basic knowledge of laboratory instrumentation
- Attention to detail and logical approach to scientific problem solving
- Excellent knowledge of English language, both written and spoken
- Ability to work independently and within a team setting
- Experience with computer packages (word processing, spreadsheet, graphics and data management and ideally bioinformatics).
Duty Station: Addis Ababa
Grade: 3A
Minimum Base Salary: Birr 30,863 (Negotiable depending on experience, skill and salary history of the candidate)
Terms of appointment: This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position, initial appointment is fixed term for three years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and the availability of funding. The ILRI remuneration package for nationally recruited staff in Ethiopia includes very competitive salary and benefits such as life and medical insurance, offshore pension plan, etc.
The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Dining and sports facilities are located on site.
Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae. The position and reference number: REF: RO/08/2016should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com/ on or before 16 February 2016.
To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/
Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.
