Post-Doctoral Scientist-Molecular Genetics

Vacancy Number: PD/BECA/ MOLECULAR GENETICS/12/11
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: 2-year contract renewable

Total salary & benefit package circa USD 65000 (tax free*)

ILRI offers a competitive international remuneration and benefits package which includes: s medical insurance s life insurance s and allowances for: children’s education; housing and baggage; home leave travel s annual leave entitlement of 30 days per annum plus 11 paid public holidays

General: The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with other offices located in other regions of Africa (Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria) as well as in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) and East Asia (China).

ILRI also manages the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub, a new centre for excellence in modern plant and animal biology in Africa. BecA is an initiative developed within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)/ African Union African Biosciences initiative. It consists of a Hub based on the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya and a network of regional nodes and other affiliated laboratories and organizations throughout the region. The BecA Hub facilities are world class, including a range of molecular, plant transformation, and genomics laboratories and equipment (e.g. 454 sequencing, Biosafety level 3 laboratory, plant growth facilities). The Hub hosts and conducts research in crop, microbe and livestock areas where new developments in science offer promise to address previously intractable problems constraining Africa’s development.  Capacity building is a major goal of all activities. The scope covers agriculture and food security and their intersections with human health and nutrition, and the sustainable use of Africa’s natural resources.  Further information is available at http://hub.africabiosciences.org/

The Position: This is an international appointment reporting to a senior scientist. This position is a two year term appointment with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding, and is based at ILRI’s Headquarters in Nairobi.

Key responsibilities

• Designing, executing and analysing advanced molecular based experiments;
• Contributing to laboratory based genetic diversity studies using molecular markers;
• Contributing to development of additional molecular markers in goats;
• Supporting the use of molecular markers for breeding programs;
• Contributing to capacity strengthening;
• Supervising junior staff, students and visiting scientists;
• Contributing to resource mobilization.

Requirements

• A PhD degree obtained not more than five years ago in the field of molecular biology or molecular genetics or other related fields;
• Experience with molecular biology, including cloning, sequence analysis, experiential analysis PCR/qPCR, DNA and RNA;
• Experience in statistical data and genotyping analysis;
• Experience working in an advanced biotechnology research group;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to perform in a multicultural research environment and as part of a multidisciplinary team;
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Experience in the following areas will be considered an asset:

• Experience in genome sequencing and analysis;
• Capacity strengthening;
• Interest in international agricultural research and development;
• Ability to work as part of multidisciplinary teams;
• Proficiency in spoken and written English;
• Solid working knowledge of various bioinformatics packages used for genome data analysis.

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 Human Resources Director by registering at this link:  http://www.myjobsinkenya.com/?s=view_recr_profile&i=100018. Only applications that are received via this link will be considered and only short listed candidates will be contacted. The position title and reference number PD/BECA/ MOLECULAR GENETICS/12/11 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.

To find out more about ILRI and the BecA Hub, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org andhttp://hub.africabiosciences.org.

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates from African countries, particularly women, are encouraged to apply.