International Center for Tropical Agriculture (www.ciat.cgiar.org) works to increase prosperity and improve human nutrition in the tropics through research based solutions in agriculture and environment. CIAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org), a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future. Headquartered near Cali, Colombia, CIAT has regional offices in Vietnam (Asia) and Kenya (Africa), with staff posted in other developing countries as well.

To meet growing demands for research-for-development solutions at a greater scale and within a period that is commensurate with rapidly changing global challenges, The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and Bioversity International (Bioversity) are establishing an Alliance. Both organizations are members of the CGIAR System Organization, the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network.

Bioversity is a global research-for-development organization whose vision is that agricultural biodiversity nourishes people and sustains the planet. Bioversity delivers scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural and tree biodiversity to attain sustainable global food and nutrition security.

The Position

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) provides a highly nutritious food, containing protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and micronutrients. As such, beans strongly reinforce food and nutrition security among poor consumers. The CIAT bean program bean researchers have a long and successful history of developing varieties by working closely with a wide array of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, North America and Europe. Currently, CIAT scientists continue to work on resistance to biotic factors, and with increasing emphasis on tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as low phosphorus, aluminum toxicity, heat and drought. With the aim of further enhancing the nutritional value of beans, CIAT scientists are also engaged in a major effort to raise the content of two critical micronutrients, iron and zinc. Interspecific crosses play an important role in this effort.

CIAT is looking for an innovative breeder for the bean improvement program. The position would be located at CIAT’s facilities in Palmira, Colombia but results will have application across the Tropics with particular emphasis in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Responsibilities:

• Enhance bean breeding efforts by raising capacity and output and coordinate the program teams’ activities.
• Implement novel breeding strategies to accelerate genetic gain.
• Link with public and private sector research collaborators at the national, regional and global level.
• Establish productive working relationships with CIAT colleagues, e.g., in breeding, molecular biology, plant pathology, entomology, plant nutrition, and nutrition to develop new concepts in bean breeding and perfect efficient screening methodologies for key plant traits.
• To supervise and motivate support personal to ensure opportune completion of tasks.
• Represent CIAT at meetings of all levels, providing updated information or presentations on project activities.
• To develop proposals with colleagues and partners for resource mobilization.

Requirements and Qualifications

• PhD in plant breeding; experience with bean or other breeding of other legumes would be an advantage but is not essential.
• Strong background in plant breeding and applications of molecular tools where relevant to enhancing the efficiency of bean improvement research.
• A demonstrated ability to elaborate high quality publications meeting international standards.
• Good knowledge of statistical analysis.
• Familiarity with bean crop improvement.
• Familiarity with breeding for abiotic stress tolerance.
• Strong English language communication skills, both written and oral.
• Spanish language skill is desirable but not essential.

Leadership and Role Competencies

• Results Orientation: focused on quality of scientific results. With practical application
• Innovation: Willingness to learn new research approaches integrating traditional and novel tools.
• Change Leadership: transforming and aligning a team to drive for improvement in new and challenging directions; energizing a whole team to want to change in the same direction.
• Collaboration and Influence: working effectively with, and influencing those outside of your functional area for positive impact on performance. Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary and multi-cultural team across institutions.
• People and Organizational Development: developing the long- term capabilities of others and the team as a whole, and finding satisfaction in influencing or even transforming someone’s life or career.

Terms of employment

This internationally recruited position will be based at CIAT Headquarters in Palmira, Colombia, reporting directly to the Bean Program Leader. The initial contract will be for up to two (2) years, subject to a probation period of six (6) months, and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.
CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits. CIAT is an equal opportunity employer, and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality.

Applications

Applicants are invited to send a cover letter illustrating their suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications, competencies, skills together with a detailed curriculum vitae, including names and addresses of three referees knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience. All correspondence should be addressed to the CIAT Human Resources Office to Tomás Solís (t.solis@cgiar.org) and subject should clearly indicate “Application: Bean Program Breeder”.

Closing date for applications: Until a suitable candidate is identified.
We invite you to learn more about us at: http://www.ciat.cgiar.org