Scientist-Bioinformatics at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

The Position

The position will involve research and capacity building activities geared towards enhancing the understanding of the origin and dynamics of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus. The Incumbent will be involved in training and mentorship of postgraduate students from the Afrique One-ASPIRE (African Science Partnership for Intervention Research Excellence) consortium on bioinformatics. Afrique One-ASPIRE is a consortium developing research within the One Health framework, targeting zoonotic and emerging diseases and taking into account human, animal and environmental components to identify integrated solutions for elimination.

Responsibilities

• Combine computational biology/functional genomics information with genetic approaches to understand origin and dynamics of ASF
• Ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams to manage and ensure quality control of genomics and other metadata
• Design, establish and manage databases to store and share sequencing data
• Lead the development of pipelines for genome assembly, annotation and other computational analyses
• Contribute to the Hub bioinformatics infrastructure upgrade
• Contribute to capacity building activities
• Supervision and mentorship of junior staff, students and visiting scientists
• Technical support to scientists both at the Hub and institutions in the region
• Contribute to resource mobilization
• Remain at the cutting-edge on technical and biological advancements by participating in professional meetings, career development activities and by encouraging others to bring information into agricultural research and development activities.

Requirements

• PhD degree obtained not more than five years ago in computational biology/functional genomics, molecular biology, genetics or related scientific field
• Three - five years’ work experience in a bioinformatics position
• Demonstrated competency to effectively prioritize projects, manage multiple project deadlines and allocate resources accordingly
•  Ability to work both independently and contribute significantly as a team member.
• Knowledge of genetics, biotechnology and their applications to agricultural research
• Experience in managing and using relational databases
• Experience in the design and statistical analysis of experimental data
• Familiarity with commonly used bioinformatics databases, and bioinformatics tools (samtools, IGV, ANNOVAR, GATK) and file formats (BED, VCR, FASTQ, BAM) preferred
• Proficiency in the use of bioinformatics tools (e.g. IGV, GATK, BLAST, SAMtools, etc.), file formats (e.g. FASTQ, BED, BAM, VCR), and publicly available genomics databases (e.g. GEO, ExAC, ESP, ClinVar, GenBank, Ensemble, KEGG, HGMD, OMIM).
• Experience in management of capacity building activities both individual and institutional
• Strong programming skills in either R or Python
• Demonstrate experience working and developing in a Linux environment
• Knowledge in SQL and scripting languages (PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby)
• Experience working in an advanced biotechnology research group
• Knowledge of genome sequencing strategies
• Solid working knowledge of various bioinformatics packages used for genome data analysis
• Strong technical science writing skills as demonstrated by publications in at least 4 peer-reviewed journals and other publications
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to perform in a multicultural research environment and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Interest in international agricultural research and development
• Proficiency in spoken and written English
• Knowledge of French is an added advantage.

Post location: The position is based at ILRI’s Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Position level: The position level is 4C.

Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.

Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes 15% Pension, Medical insurance, Life insurance and allowances for: Education, Housing, Relocation, Home leave, Annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.

How to apply: Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development by clicking on the "Apply Now" tab above in the link provided before 24 December 2016. The position title and reference number:  SB/ BecA /11/2016 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.