Research Assistants Vacancies at The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is an international non-profit agricultural research-for-development (R4D) organization established in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and a member of the CGIAR Consortium.
Our R4D approach is anchored on the development needs of the tropics. We work with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. We have more than 100 internationally recruited scientists from about 35 countries and 900 nationally recruited staff based in various stations across Africa.

Applications are invited for the internationally recruited position of:

Job Title: Research Assistant

Ref No: IITA-HR-NRS2015-040
Location: Abuja
Recruitment Type: National (1-year renewable contract)

Position/Responsibilities
Successful candidate will among other things perform the following:

• Assists yam breeder in the implementation of crossing block, generation of seedling and tuber progenies, clonal selection and field experiments including nursery and trial planting material preparation and management;
• Assist harvesting of trials, process and storage of tubers;
• Distribute germplasm to partners and maintain record of distribution as needed;
• Collect data from field and screen house trials with appropriate data capturing tools, prepare field book with appropriate tools, stacks data and imports into Yam data management system; Input data into field data software as needed and assist with plot randomizations and trial preparation for all plots;
• Perform all other related duties as may be assigned by the supervisor;
• Plant pollination, screening and yield trial plots in screen house or field as needed;
• Make crosses/pollination, harvest, process and store true seeds from crossing block;
• Assists breeder in selecting best families and clones from different types of crosses, improves population, and maintain progenitors and breeding stocks;
• Manage field trials assist in trial material seed increase as needed;
• Supervise and train casual/temporary workers for screen house and field trials

• B.Sc Plant science/Biology preferable with specialization in plant breeding or genetics
• Minimum two (2) years’ experience in crop improvement research preferably with clonally propagated crops or yam

• Excellent knowledge of data management and statistical software programs.
• Excellent knowledge of data management and statistical software programs.
• Proactive, innovative and creative attitudes.
• Excellent social skills, collaborative style, and ability to multi-task effectively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English are required.
• Experience or good knowledge of working screen house, technical maintenance and crop management.
• Demonstrated success in working with multi-disciplinary teams and partnerships in research or project implementation.