Research Technician-Research Technician

 Research Technician

ICRISAT seeks applications from Malawian nationals for the post of Research Technician to execute breeding and crop improvement activities. This position is based in Malawi. This is a nationally recruited position.

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:

• Document demand for trial seed production as guided by the scientist and coordinate the seed production.
• Maintain seed inventory and supervise short term trial seed storage.
• Design and pack trials under the direction of the scientist.
• Coordinate shipment of trials to regional collaborators for timely planting (obtain import permits, phytosanitary certificates, shipment logistics together with procurement unit).
• Establish trials across the Malawi in the designated testing sites.
• Establish nurseries of different populations as directed by the scientist.
• Ensure trials and demonstrations are established on time (timely land prep, planting, fertilizer application) and planted according to the trial design.
• Ensure trials and demonstrations are well managed (weed control, pest and disease control) for quality data.
• Manage accurate and timely data collection at different stages of trials in the field and nurseries.
• Ensure accuracy of data entry and consolidation for analysis by the Scientist for informed decision making.
• Learn and operate the Breeding Management System (BMS) in order to manage routine operations, data upload, data curation, cleaning and preliminary analysis.
• Implement timely digital data capture using the relevant tools and software.
• Manage a team of casual labourers involved in planting, weeding, harvesting and trial processing, seed processing, seed inventory, trial packaging, trial distribution.
• Ensure the team of casuals receive the necessary training to be able to conduct their tasks.
• Ensure safety and hygiene standards are adhered to and well managed.
• Assist in preparation of master roll and submit to supervisor and accounts for payment processing.
• Assist in training of partners on need basis (data collection, standardized, use of digitization tools) and in coordination with the supervisor.
• Manage printing of packets, labels, tags and seed inventory.
• Participate in exhibitions, demonstrations, and field days.

  Requirements: 

• Diploma or Bachelor Science in Plant Breeding, Agricultural Sciences, or Applied Biology.
• Minimum of three (3) years experience in managing agricultural field activities or research projects
• Good record-keeping and report-writing skills.
• Familiarity with grain legumes and/or cereal crops and related research operations (making crosses, data collection from trials and nurseries, running breeding and operational software) will be an added advantage
• Ability to drive (manual gear) and travel independently across Malawi to plant and monitor trials/Demos
• Ability to manage labor, estimate labor demand, provide supervision and training to field staff to manage breeding research activities
• Ability to work independently with minimal day-to-day supervision and proactively solve problems
• Reporting skill gaps to the supervisor and scientist on station.

General:

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

How to apply:

Applicants should apply on or before 30 March 2025, 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