Research Assistant II

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Research Assistant-II to support a team working on the development of a vaccine for controlling the cattle disease East Cost fever, caused by the parasite Theileria parva. The Research Assistant will focus on cellular immunology/cell-based assays, as well as monitoring clinical parameters in infected & vaccinated animals. He will be part of a group that includes very experienced Research Associates who can also provide supervision.

ILRI is a not-for-profit institution with a staff of about 700 and in 2014, an operating budget of about USD83 million. A member of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org) working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa and in South, Southeast and East Asia.

ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries to keep their animals alive and productive, to increase and sustain overall productivity, find profitable markets for their products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases. www.ilri.org

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain cell lines in tissue culture.
• Perform CTL assays, proliferation assays, ELISPOT assays, cell separations, FACS analysis.
• Bleeding of animals, isolation/purification of PBMC on Ficoll gradient.
• Prepare media and store reagents.
• Microscopy and in vitro monitoring of clinical parameters in animals (haematocrit, parasitemia, and white-blood cell count).
• Keep detailed records of experiments, organize data, trouble-shoot and assist in determining most suitable experimental methodologies to optimize results.
• Analyze data and present results at regular lab meetings.
• Use and maintain complex scientific equipment/machines, reagents used in the laboratories.

Requirements

• A BSc in Immunology or Cellular/Molecular biology or relevant field.
• 2 years relevant work experience.
• Good theoretical background in immunology.
• Experience with cell culture/ cellular based assays and microscopy.
• Knowledge and experience with basic molecular techniques such as PCR, agarose gel electrophoresis and real-time qPCR is an added advantage.
• Good hands-on knowledge of relevant experimental design and techniques.
• Experience performing animal trials and monitoring clinical laboratory parameters is an advantage.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Highly motivated and flexible team player.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including skills and ability to plan and work independently.

Terms of appointment: This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus. It is open to Kenyan nationals only. The position is on a 3-year contract renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding.

Job level and salary: This position is job level 2B with a starting salary of KES 81,520 per month. In addition to salary, ILRI offers medical insurance for staff and dependents, life insurance, pension at 12.5% employers contribution, annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays within ILRI’s National Recruited Staff Scheme.

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 through our recruitment portal: 

http://ilri.simplicant.com/ before 23 February 2015. The position title and reference number   RA/02/2015 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.

To find out more about ILRI, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org

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

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer