THE ORGANIZATION

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.

About the program – SPIA

The Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) is an independent entity within CGIAR, with a mandate from the CGIAR System Council to generate evidence on the impacts of the CGIAR system. SPIA is responsible for providing rigorous, evidence-based, and independent strategic advice on efficient and effective impact assessment methods and practices.

About the position

We are seeking a highly motivated bioinformatics specialist to join the SPIA team, hosted by The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), to be based in Cali, Colombia. The ideal candidate should be an expert in genotyping and has experience working with different genotyping methods and platforms, as well as analyzing and interpreting the results of crop genotyping for varietal identification.

He/she will work with crop genotyping data received from different countries to develop an analysis workflow, develop guidelines for future studies, secure storage and sharing of the genotyping data, as well as support publications of joint scientific outputs. The Research Specialist – Bioinformatics will join a global network of SPIA team members working to support SPIA’s portfolio of country-level studies (https://iaes.cgiar.org/spia/team).

Main responsibilities

• Oversee analysis of genotyping data received from lab service providers for Uganda (sweet potato, beans, cassava, banana, maize, groundnut), Vietnam (rice and tilapia), Bangladesh (rice).
• Liaise with NARS and CGIAR geneticists, and service providers (e.g. Diversity Arrays) to clarify questions about reference material, interpretation of results.
• Support completion of DNA fingerprinting guidelines (with SPIA colleagues and World Bank team).
• Collaborate with NARS (Uganda) in publication of joint scientific outputs
• Advise on data collection protocols, field to lab sample handling, reference material collection for all new genotyping exercises going to the field.
• Prepare system for data storage and sharing.
• Negotiate with Excellence in Breeding initiative on use of common portal for new genotyping jobs.
• Provide technical guidance to the design of contracts for new consortia taking on country level work (i.e. transition process to outsourcing in four existing countries; on-boarding four new countries – India, Nigeria, Egypt, Colombia).
• Advising contracted consortia in ongoing basis, provide technical backstopping.
• Creating meaningful scientific linkages, a cross country teams to facilitate learning and facilitate cross-cutting research.

Requirements

• PhD degree in plant genetics/bioinformatics.
• Knowledge of features of current modern genotyping methods
• Demonstrated ability to use data from a range of genotyping methods and platforms, including DArT, GBS, KASP, AgriPlex etc
• At least one publication in a peer-reviewed journal featuring analysis of genotyping data.
• At least two years’ experience of supporting research teams with analysis and interpretation of the results of crop genotyping.
• Ability to explain technical bioinformatics concepts to a non-technical audience.
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams (economists, plant breeders, geneticists)
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken, including scientific communication and report writing.
• Proven experience successfully managing globally distributed teams from different disciplines and backgrounds.
• Commitment to Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT’s mission and core values.u202F

Terms of employment

This is an internationally recruited position based in Palmira, (Colombia). The initial contract will be for up to two (2) years, subject to a probation period of six (6) months and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. This position is at BG08 level, in a scale of 14 levels, with level 14 being the highest.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salaries and excellent benefits. We are an equal opportunity employer, and strive for gender, diversity, and inclusion in our staff, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit  https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number RFP103328 Research Specialist

Applications closing date: 20^th November 2023

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://alliancebioversityciat.org