Technical Support Coordinator

The Technical Support Coordinator shall be dedicated to addressing issues raised by users in term of usability related to data management and Breeding Management System tools and services, as well as  data analysis and interpretation. The Technical Support Coordinator shall provide feedback to user questions and requests in a very timely manner (preferably within the same working day but at a maximum within 2 working days), communicate with users via email or web-based means such as Skype, or visit them in their offices if they are in the same location. The Technical Support Coordinator should conduct visits to Integrated Breeding platform (IBP) users outside the Hub Institute when necessary.

ILRI works to enhance the roles livestock play in pathways out of poverty in developing countries. ILRI is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Consortium, a global research partnership of 15 centres working with many partners for a food-secure future. ILRI has two main campuses in East Africa and other hubs in West and southern Africa and South and Southeast Asia. www.ilri.org.

The Centre’s headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, and research is conducted in 31 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We are supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and receive funding from over 50 different donors.

CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centres that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org.

ILRI also manages the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub at ILRI, the 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 and Illumina next generation 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

 Responsibilities

• Acts as a point of contact for crop breeders within the region in providing technical backstopping in the use of the Integrated Breeding platform (IBP) Manager software and associated services (this includes data transfer as well as facilitating access to services such as genotyping);
• Provides support on data analysis methodology and result interpretation;
• Contributes, under the leadership of the Capacity Building Coordinator, to the training and support for a broader adoption and use of the IBP-Manager in the overall breeding programme of the Host Institute and in the region;
• Is proactive in the gathering and processing of user feedback and new feature requests specifically tailored to user needs, and reports these to the IBP Management Team (IBP MT);
• Contributes to the promotion of IBP and engagement in the social networks;
• Management and quality control of large amounts of data;
• Processing and analysing data using a wide range of tools;
• Implement and manage database(s) to store data;

• Participate in institutional training and seminars.

• Participate in institutional training and seminars.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in plant breeding, genetics, plant science or related fields with two years relevant post masters experience;
• Strong expertise in the use of analytical and bioinformatics tools and pipeline;
• Demonstrate experience in database and data management;
• An understanding of molecular marker technologies and experience of their application in crop improvement;
• Ability to work in a team environment in a multicultural setting;
• Strong organisational and communication skills;
• Affinity for international agricultural research and development.

Terms of appointment:

This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) positions based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus and is a 2 years contract period.

Job level and salary:

This position is job level 2D with a starting salary of KES 154,917 per month. This is exclusive of other benefits provided within ILRI’s National Recruited Staff Scheme

How to apply:

Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae. The position title and reference number: REF: TSC/BecA/02/14 on http://ilri.simplicant.com/ before 28^th February 2014. The position title and reference number should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.

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