Field Research Technician – Nursery and Seed Production at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Specific duties:

• Prepare and manage nurseries including seed preparation, preparation of field maps, oversee planting, pollination and data collection as instructed by the breeder, oversee harvest, processing of seed
• Coordinate genotyping sampling and shipment
• Prepare and manage seed multiplication activities as guided by the breeder
• Learn and operate the Breeding Management System (BMS) or the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) in order to manage routine operations, data upload, data curation and cleaning and preliminary analysis
• Manage seed inventory and storage
• Implement timely digital data capture using the relevant tools and software as identified by AVISA management
• Develop and map out process flows for AVISA crop nursery operations
• Assist partners based on their needs and in coordination with the supervisor
• Perform any other duties as agreed with the supervisor

Required background, skills and attitudes:

• BSc or MSc in Plant Breeding, Agricultural Sciences or biotechnology
• Minimum two (2) years experience in managing agricultural field activities or research projects
• Good writing records, computing software and other IT materials
• Familiarity with legumes and/or cereal crops and related research operations (pollination, data collection from trials and nurseries, running breeding and operational software, experience with genotyping sampling etc.) will be an advantage.
• 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
• Excellent communication and reporting skills to line manager and colleagues on station
• The selected candidate must exhibit the following competencies: Communication, Critical Thinking, Teamwork and Client Orientation