Postdoctoral Plant Breeder

The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a Postdoctoral Plant Breeder to support sweetpotato population and cultivar development work in West Africa.

The Center: CIP is a not-for-profit international agricultural research for development institution with a focus on potato, sweet potato, and Andean Root and Tuber Crops. Its vision is to enhance the use of roots and tubers crops to improve the livelihoods of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved nutrition and well-being, and gender equality for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru with staff and activities in over 20 locations across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a network of 15 research centers that are mostly located in the developing world and supported by more than 50 donor members.

The Position: This applied research position will be based at the Sweetpotato Support Platform for West Africa (SSP-WA), located in Kumasi, Ghana. The work of the SSP-WA focuses on sweetpotato population improvement for adaptation to key challenges of West African environments, and key quality and postharvest attributes (including less sweet sweetpotato types) required for fresh consumption and nutritious processed products. The SSP-WA works closely with Ghanaian and other national program partners in the region to support development and dissemination of new varieties. CIP’s work at the SSP-WA is currently conducted under 2 projects: the Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA), and the Genomic Tools for Sweetpotato (GT4SP) Improvement project.

Duties & Accountabilities:

· Assist in the implementation of sweetpotato population improvement for West Africa using conventional and genomic approaches that seek to systematically exploit heterosis in clonally propagated crops.

· Breed for end-user attributes, including nutritional and processing quality, in a background of adapted germplasm for West Africa

· Assist with the development of an electronic data capture and database system to facilitate sweetpotato improvement;

· Work collaboratively with team members to design and execute conventional and marker-assisted breeding experiments;

· Assist with virus clean-up and exchange of sweetpotato germplasm from the SSP-WA

· Assist with the organization and facilitation of stakeholder meetings and trainings of sweetpotato breeders;

· Assist in resource mobilization/grant proposals preparation;

· Work under the supervision of the breeder/project leader, in collaboration with national programs and other partners in West Africa to conduct breeding trials on-station and on-farm in Ghana, and collect, analyze and interpret research trial data, and write reports and scientific articles.

Selection Criteria:

· PhD in Plant breeding, genetics, molecular breeding or related field with at least two years experience in field research;

· Expertise in experimental design, database development and data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting

· Aptitude for team work, and excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with knowledge of French desirable;

· Familiarity with breeding of clonally propagated crops, experience with sweetpotato will be an advantage;

· Experience with participatory breeding and or gender approaches in plant breeding is desirable;

· Willing to travel extensively within Ghana and the region.

Conditions: The employment contract will be for 2 years with the possibility of renewal subject to performance assessment and availability of funding. Salary will be internationally competitive, commensurate with experience. CIP prides itself on its collegial and supportive working environment, which allows space for personal and professional growth.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants should apply online through our CIP’s Job Opportunities website (http://cipotato.org/open-vacancies/), including a cover letter, a full C.V with the names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable of the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience. Screening of applications will begin on 21 November, 2016 and will continue until the post is filled. All applications will be acknowledged; however only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Learn more about CIP by accessing our web site at http://www.cipotato.org.

CIP is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.