Ref. No: DDG-R4D/SM/T/02/23

Background: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the internationally recruited position of Soil Microbiologist.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s 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.

The Soil Microbiologist will lead activities for a project focused on testing and evaluating biostimulants and biostimulant products towards developing and deploying biological products for use in Africa. In addition, the incumbent will be extensively involved in activities in the One CGIAR Initiatives, Nature-Positive Solutions and the Agroecology Initiative.

This position reports to Director of East Africa Hub (EAH) and RAFS Director at IITA.

Position Responsibilities

The Soil Microbiologist will be required to:

• Provide leadership for research on developing new biological products and testing & screening of biostimulant external inputs, including quality assessment of products/potential products in terms of quality control and quality assurance.
• Establish and maintain an interdisciplinary research platform for biostimulants research towards a better understanding of crop-soil/environment interactions for production systems involving agronomy, soil fertility and plant nutrition.
• Pursue and extend effective partnerships and collaborative relationships with national researchers (NARES, universities, etc.), CGIAR and other partners in crosscutting research, and with researchers at advanced international research institutes.
• Provide a facilitatory environment for the mentorship and training of post-graduate students and staff in the area of biostimulants and soil-microbiome-plant interactions in particular.
• Report in a timely fashion, coordinate data collection & analysis.
• Publish results in peer reviewed IF journals and books or book chapters to promote the IITA work.
• Effectively manage financial and technical project aspects, in addition to managing and coordinating staff at multiple locations across sites.
• Contribute to resource mobilization through cooperative development project proposals.
• Perform any other job-related duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Educational Qualifications

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in soil microbiology or a related area with complementary working experience on biostimulants.

Core Competencies

• At least seven years of experience in conducting research on biostimulants.
• Demonstrated a deep sense of knowledge of the mechanistic modes of action and biology of microbes, specifically at the soil-microbiome-plant interaction level.
• Experience in working closely with, or for, regulatory bodies, government agencies, and organizations on biological product testing, registration, and marketing, preferably in Africa.
• Successful management of staff, finances, and technical aspects of sizeable projects will be considered positively.
• Knowledge of business modelling, scale up and establishment of digital platforms for biological products would be a bonus.
• Proven skills and experience in soil microbiology research both in the field and the laboratory.
• Ability to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Good scientific publication record.

Duty Station: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

General information:

The contract will be for an initial period of three years. IITA offers and internationally competitive remuneration package paid in US Dollars.

Applications:

Applications must include covering letter, which should address how the candidate’s background/experience relates to the specific duties of the position applied for, curriculum vitae, names and addresses of three professional referees (which must include either the Head of the applicant’s current or previous organization or applicant’s direct Supervisor/Superior at his/her present or former place of work). The application should be addressed to the Head of Human Resources.
Please complete our online application form using this link: http://www.iita.org/careers

Closing Date: 8th April 2023

IITA is an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from women candidates.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.