Senior Research Officer at icipe - African Insect Science for Food and Health

Overall Purpose of the Job

The Senior Research Officer I will manage research activities within the group. He/she will assist in overseeing and designing advanced experiments. He/she will work directly with the Principal Investigator and play a leading
role in developing a research programme to advance the use of microbial symbionts for the control of vector borne diseases.

This includes overseeing workflow and productivity of laboratory personnel and providing training to them on specific techniques as necessary. In particular, the Senior Research Officer I is expected to have well developed molecular biology / symbiosis / bioinformatics skills. He/she will be responsible for data analysis, preparation of manuscripts, and presentation of research findings through various  forums.

The Senior Research Officer I must demonstrate the ability to analyse and present data in a professional format and to independently prepare manuscripts, reports, applications for approvals (research, import / export) as well as
contribute to grant writing.

Specific Duties

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Manage research activities undertaken by other group members, specifically technicians.
• Oversee, design and execute advanced experiments.
• Work with the Data Management, Modelling and Geo-Information Unit to develop an experimental data repository and template data entry spreadsheets.
• Train laboratory personnel on specific techniques (molecular biology and bioinformatics) as well as to develop and maintain SOPs for these specific techniques.
  Maintain and where necessary coordinate the distribution of biological resources (e.g., DNA sequence databases, strains, bacteria etc.)
• File applications for approvals (research, import/export).
• Write, edit, correct, and review manuscripts, reviews, proposals, and any other scientific document in his/her field.

Requirements/Qualifications

• MSc. in Molecular Biology/Bioinformatics ideally combined with Symbiosis and Entomology or related field.
• Experience in molecular biology /bioinformatics/symbiosis from either a research organisation or a university.
• At least 3 years’ experience working in a research laboratory.
• Previous experience working with symbiotic microbes is an added advantage.

Core Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, experience working with and interacting effectively with a variety of multidisciplinary teams (entomologists, microbiologists, agronomists), and demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines and international institutions and technical agencies.
• High proficiency in data mining and application of microbiomes data to pest and disease management.
• Experience in bioinformatics and use of bioinformatic pipelines to analyse/harness high throughput data on transcriptomics and metagenomics.
• Fluency in both written and spoken English.

Other Desirable Attributes.

• Experience in conception, design, and execution of research on symbionts / microbiomes associated with arthropods.
• Proven track record of contributing to the management of complex projects (generation of donor reports etc).