Deadline: 17 March 2023

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit an MSc graduate fellow to work on Genetic diversity and subsetting of Andropogon ganayus and Cynodon spp collections under the Feed and Forage Development (FFD) program at ILRI.

The FFD program aims to provide options to increase the quantity and quality of feed resources to improve livestock productivity in order to meet the growing demand for animal-source food, enhance profitability by reducing feed costs,  increase income, employment and livelihoods from feed/fodder value chains and reduce labour/drudgery (especially for women) and reduce the environmental impact of feed.

I. About the position

Under the supervision of Genebank and Forage diversity team of Feed and Forage Development Program, ILRI wants to recruit a graduate fellow to work on genetic diversity studies and sub setting of forage collections maintained in the ILRI Forage Genebank. The fellow will be based in Addis Ababa and will work on Andropogon ganayus and Cynodon spp collections. The fellow will be part of a multidisciplinary team working in the field Genebank at Ziwai and Bishoftu sites and the molecular laboratories at ILRI campus in Addis Ababa. The student will gain knowledge and skills on plant genetic diversity studies, molecular techniques, genetic data analysis and presentation of scientific research.

II. Responsibilities of the fellow:

• Conduct literature review on genetic resources conservation and diversity assessment of forage grasses.
• Collection of characterization data at Ziwai field Genebank.
• Collection of leaf samples, DNA extraction and submission to genotyping service.
• Analyze genotyping data and write a summary of the analysis for presentation and manuscript preparation.
• Presentation of proposal and progress reports.
• MSc thesis writing, and
• Draft an article for journal publication and poster for presentation.

III. Minimum requirements

The ideal candidate should:

• Possess a bachelor’s degree in plant science, animal Science, biological Sciences, or related field.
• Be registered for an MSc course in either plant science, plant breeding, animal science, biological science, plant biotechnology, molecular biology, genetics, or related fields.
• Have completed course work and is ready to start thesis project.
• Demonstrate experience working in molecular genetics, quantitative genetics or bioinformatics.
• Possess experience with R statistical software for genetic data analysis will be an added advantage.
• Have hands on experience in DNA extraction and analysis.
• Have good working knowledge of MS Office packages.
• Demonstrate experience in contributing to writing reports and journal publications.
• Ability to work independently, multi-task and meet tight deadlines.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English language.

IV. Terms of appointment

• ILRI will offer a competitive stipend to cover living expenses in the project location, medical insurance cover, university tuition costs and meet research expenses.
• The successful candidate will be supervised jointly by an ILRI scientist and university/academic supervisor/s.
• Duration: 6months.

V. How to apply?

• All applications MUST include the following (applications without the below documents will not be considered):

1. A cover letter expressing their interest in the fellowship position and what they can bring to the fellowship.
2. CV including names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience.
3. Academic qualification certificates/transcripts.

• Applications will be sent to the Head of Capacity Development, ILRI by clicking  HERE on or before 17th March 2023. The position title and reference number REF: GF/ILRI/FFD /01/2023 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.
• ILRI thanks all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

VI. About ILRI

ILRI is a One CGIAR research centre and is the only centre dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. ILRI is co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia and has regional or country offices in 14 other locations in Africa, South and South-East Asia. Drawn from some 40 nationalities, ILRI has a work force of about 630 staff globally and operates on an annual budget of about US$100M. The institute works through extensive partnership arrangements with research and development institutions in both the developed and developing parts of the world.

ILRI’s mission is to improve food and nutritional security and to reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe, and sustainable use of livestock — ensuring better lives through livestock. The institute’s research for development agenda covers a range of areas from laboratory-based biosciences to field-based research. Topics include animal productivity (health, genetics, and feeds), food safety and zoonoses, livestock and the environment and policies, institutions and livelihoods. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. For further details Please visit ILRI Website