Job Description
THE ORGANIZATION
The Alliance of Bioversity International ( www.bioversityinternational.org) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) ( www.ciat.cgiar.org) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crisis 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.
About the position
The Multifunctional Landscapes team are seeking to engage 2 Masters students to assist in field monitoring, data collection, analysis and reporting of our 270 nutrient validation trials across 5 Counties of Kenya. This is in addition to 4 ERW trials in 2 Counties.
Main responsibilities
1. Engage in the establishment and implementation of on-farm nutrient recommendation validation trials in Siaya, Bungoma, Nandi, Machakos and Embu Counties, ensuring adherence to agreed experimental designs, protocols, and field implementation procedures.
2. Assist in field monitoring and agronomic data collection during the 2026 short-rains season, including crop establishment, management operations, crop growth and development, yield and yield components, and relevant farmer-management information.
3. Engage in soil, plant and other relevant sampling at defined stages of the validation and ERW trials, including proper sample collection, labelling, handling, documentation and coordination for laboratory analysis.
4. Conduct routine trial quality assurance and protocol compliance checks, including verification of treatment application, plot integrity, completeness of field records and identification/documentation of deviations from established protocols.
5. Backstop ward-level extension staff and field teams in providing participating farmers with appropriate agronomic guidance and ensuring consistent implementation and monitoring of trial treatments.
6. Assist in farmer engagement and documentation of farmer observations, including
implementation challenges, practicality of treatments and other contextual information relevant to interpretation and potential scaling of nutrient recommendations.
7. Assist in data management and quality control, including digitization, cleaning, validation, organization and maintenance of field, soil, plant and laboratory datasets and associated metadata.
8. Conduct statistical and agronomic analysis of trial data to assess crop response, nutrient-use efficiency, treatment performance and relevant soil responses.
9. Prepare technical documentation and communication products, including field/trial summaries, technical reports, blogs and presentations communicating both the emerging and final findings.
10. Develop a journal-quality manuscript draft synthesizing findings from the nutrient validation, in collaboration with other project team.
Requirements
Education and Requirements
• A Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Agronomy, Crop science or a closely related agricultural discipline.
• Must be enrolled in a Master’s degree programme, preferably in the second year of study, and must not have defended their thesis research proposal at the time of application.
• Must be willing and able to integrate data generated through the project into their Master’s thesis research and contribute to peer-reviewed scientific publications, in accordance with the academic requirements of their respective university.
Competencies
• Attention to detail.
• Results-oriented.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.
• Proactivity and autonomy.
• Planning and time management
Benefits
Terms of employment
This is a nationally recruited position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The contract will be for up to Three (3) Months.
The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that
diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission.
Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applications
Applicants are invited to visit https://www.bioversityinternational.org/jobs/ to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference (RFP301439) – INTERN – MULTIFUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPE NUTRIENT VALIDATION TRIALS as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name and first name for ease of sorting.
Note: 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.
Applications closing date: 23rd October 2026