Post-Doctoral Fellow - Banana Climate Resilience Evaluation

Job Description

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based
solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food
systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises
of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental
degradation.

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates
evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes
so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people in a
climate crisis.

The Alliance is
part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

Position Summary

Based at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT office at Kawanda, Kampala, Uganda, and under the
supervision of the Scientist, Banana Characterization and Evaluation, which
fall under the Banana Genetic Resources and Management Systems Program, and Biodiversity
for Food & Agriculture Lever, the
Post-Doctoral Fellow will specifically contribute to the
implementation of the Alliance’s climate change adaptation and drought
tolerance phenotyping and screening efforts in banana research in East Africa
in partnership with National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems
(NARES) and other research institutions from the One CG family to complement the teams in
Leuven (BE), Montpellier (FR) and Cali (CO).

The incumbent will assist in all the stages of banana field experimentation,
surveys and data management in the different agro-ecological zones of Uganda. With
the International Transit Center (ITC) (a home for the international banana
collection) being one of our key assets we are internationally considered as a
leading center for banana diversity research.

The position will be based at Alliance of
Bioversity and CIAT office at Kawanda, Uganda with travel to other research
sites and banana farming communities and regions within East Africa when
necessary.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

1. Field Phenotyping and Screening:

a) Conduct field phenotyping and screening
of bananas for climate change adaptation under the Scientist's supervision.

2. Field Experimentation and Evaluation:

a) Design and implement field experiments
to evaluate banana cultivars for climate change adaptation under the
Scientist's guidance.

3. Scientific Publications and Resource
Mobilization:

a) Contribute to and generate scientific
publications.

b) Draft proposals and concept notes to
support resource mobilization, guided by the Scientist.

4. External Partnerships and Collaboration:

a) Strengthen and support external
partnerships for the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT’s research on banana  improvement.

b) Collaborate with teams located in
Leuven, Montpellier, and Cali.

5. Progress Reporting and Quality
Assurance:

a) Advise and update the Scientist on the
progress of field research activities.

b) Identify issues in experiment
implementation and data quality.

6. Capacity Building:

a) Support, supervise, and train junior
technical and field staff in collaboration with the Scientist to ensure
high-quality research and achievement of objectives within available resources
and timelines.

7. Field Trial Management:

a) Guide
technicians and assistants in planting, agronomic management, and pest/disease
control of gender-responsive banana field trials as per trial protocols in
consultation with the Scientist.

b) Assist
in harvesting research materials and ensure proper post-harvest procedures to
maintain data quality.

8. Data Collection and Curation:

a) Oversee the collection, verification,
and curation of climatic and agronomic data, ensuring they are in a format
ready for processing and analysis.

9. Irrigation and Sampling:

a) Implement
irrigation schedules for drought tolerance screening crops in consultation with
the Scientist.

b) Collect field samples (soil, plant) and
related data for laboratory analysis when necessary.

10. Labor and Field Management:

a) Assist field technicians in planning,
managing, and supervising day-to-day labor requirements for smooth experiment
execution.

b) Perform daily field management
activities as needed.

11. Execute any other work-related duties
as assigned by the supervisor.

Key Deliverables:

• Rigorous and sound data production and
  analysis from the above experiments

• Regular reports to the Scientist, of
  progress on different activities in Uganda.

• Contribution to and generation of peer
  reviewed scientific manuscripts.

• Contribution to the preparation of research
  proposals and related fundraising activities

Requirements

• PhD in Plant Breeding, Crop Science, or
  Crop Improvement from a renowned university

• Previous working experience (at least 3
  years) carrying out phenotyping work (experience with the LICOR)

• Proficiency in data collection and analysis
  R based tools and platforms (exposure to Musabase, Genstat, and or
  Fieldbook will be an advantage).

• Experience / Knowledge in crop irrigation scheduling for drought
  experiments or ability to learn quickly

• Excellent command of the English language,
  both written and spoken.

• Ability to work independently and
  participate as a team member in accomplishment of duties.

• Ability to travel long distances and spend
  extended periods of time in the field.

• Commitment to the organization’s mission
  and core values.

• Precise, well-organized and structured work
  approach.

• Well-developed skills in personal
  organization, priority setting, problem-solving, and accuracy. • Flexibility,
  and ability to meet deadlines.

• Results-oriented and an eager-to-learn attitude.

• Strong
  interpersonal and communications skills and the ability to establish and
  maintain effective working relationships with people from different cultural
  and national backgrounds.

Benefits

Terms Of Employment

This is a locally recruited position, and all benefits are denominated and
paid in Ugandan Shillings. The Alliance of Bioversity CIAT remuneration package
includes a competitive salary, leave provisions and medical insurance. The
initial contract will be for a period of one (1) year, subject to a
probationary period of Six (6) months, and is renewable based on
performance and availability of funds.

This position is graded at BG08 level on a scale of
BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the
Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to
insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and
flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits; we believe that the diversity of our staff contributes to
excellence. The Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit https://www.bioversityinternational.org/jobs/ to get
full details of the position and to submit their applicationswhich
should include letter of application, CV and names/contacts of at least three professional
referees. Applications should MUST include reference number REF:RFP 500284- Post Doctoral Fellow- Banana Climate Resilience Evaluation- Ugandaas the
position applied for.

Cover letter and CV should be saved as
one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting. The Alliance collects and process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

The Alliance does
not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application,
interview meeting, processing, or training). The Alliance also
does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Please visit our careers page at: https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers

Closing
date for applications: 27thMay
2025