ICRISAT seeks applications from dynamic and highly innovative personalities for the Associate Scientist – Plant Breeding & Data Analytics position for IRRI. To work with the multi-disciplinary team comprising scientists from various disciplines to enhance the host plant resistance in rice. The position is required to work on plant breeding and data analytics under the One Rice breeding strategy of IRRI and provide support for managing the One IRRI network. This position will be based at IRRI-SA Hub, ICRISAT Campus, Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.

ICRISAT is headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. ICRISAT conducts research on its mandate crops of chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in the arid and semi-arid tropics. The Institute focuses its work on the drylands and in protecting the environment. Tropical dryland areas are usually seen as resource-poor and perennially beset by shocks such as drought, thereby trapping dryland communities in poverty and hunger and making them dependent on external aid. Please visit – www.icrisat.org

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead, guide, and support research teams from NARES partners in breeding program design, multi-location testing, experimental design, data analysis, and data management.
• Assist in managing the One IRRI network, including conducting screening of advanced breeding lines in early market segments, particularly in directed seeded conditions.
• Advocate for appropriate statistical design and analysis tools and data management platforms, enabling researchers to independently manage and analyze their data. Ensure adherence to best practices and policies for data collection, transmission, and analysis.
• Align research outcomes with IRRI’s vision, mission, values, target goals, policies, and procedures.
• Collaborate closely with research teams and partners to provide guidance and support in breeding trial design, data management, data analysis, and interpretation.
• Provide high-quality and timely support to the IRRI South Asia team in experimental design and analysis, focusing on regional rice breeding programs.
• Provide strategic and technical support to the IRRI-SA Hub for precise phenotyping, data management, analysis, and interpretation.
• Contribute to high-quality research on direct-seeded rice, including identifying donors, QTLs, introgression, and finished products for release.
• Stay up-to-date with plant breeding, genomics, and data analytics advancements, incorporating relevant techniques into research projects.
• Prepare and deliver comprehensive research findings, reports, and recommendations to internal stakeholders and scientific communities.
• Support grant proposal writing and funding acquisition efforts for plant breeding and data analytics research initiatives.
• Mentor and train junior team members in plant breeding techniques and data analysis methodologies.
• Coordinate with the IRRI breeding analytics team and contribute to the Excellence in Breeding shared analytics service, including negotiating terms of reference and providing input to shape the service.
• Assist in implementing other plant breeding projects at the IRRI-SA Hub, particularly in Direct Seeded Rice.
• Develop and write a new proposal focused on direct-seeded rice for India.
• Author and publish articles in peer-reviewed journals and ensure timely submission of reports to donors.

Perform any other duties as assigned by the supervisor from time to time.

Requirement:

• Ph.D. in plant breeding, quantitative genetics, biometrics, or related fields, with at least 3 years of relevant experience.
• Strong understanding and a keen interest in applying modern quantitative genetics and biometrics tools in plant breeding, including genomic-assisted breeding tools and linear mixed models.
• Proficiency in statistical modelling and data analysis using R.
• Willingness and ability to work collaboratively and respectfully in a diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary environment.
• Excellent English communication and reporting skills, with the ability to effectively present complex concepts and results to non-specialist audiences.
• Demonstrated track record of publishing research findings in reputable peer-reviewed journals.
• Flexibility for extensive national and international travel as required for the position.
• The selected candidate must demonstrate the following competencies: critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making, client orientation, negotiation and conflict resolution, communication, and teamwork.

Desirable:

• Strong experience in data analysis and interpretation, coupled with a deep understanding of plant breeding principles.
• Proficiency in writing and managing grants related to plant breeding and data analytics.
• Demonstrated respectable publication record substantiated by research papers in reputable peer-reviewed journals.
• Aptitude and ability to work collegially and collaboratively in diverse, multicultural environments.

General:

This is a contractual role for a period of 12 months (1 year).

How to apply:

Applicants should apply on or before 19 Sep 2023, with their latest Resume, and the names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable about their professional qualifications and work experience. All applications will be acknowledged; however only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer