POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Digital Tools Research Associate
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership fora food secure future. Please visit https://www.iita.org/ for more information about IITA.
IITA is looking for a suitably qualified person to fill the vacancy of the Digital Tools Research Associate. Position Summary:
The PROSSIVA Digital Tools Research Associate (DRA) will work with the project team of the Programme for Seed System Innovation for Vegetatively propagated crops(VPCs)in Africa(PROSSIVA)from IITA-Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The primary research focus for the DRA will be Tanzania, but she/he will also be expected to contribute to PROSSIVA activities in the other project target countries, including Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The DRA will work primarily with the Cross-Cutting Component of the project but will also engage with other Component teams and with the various partner institutions involved in the project.
Duty Station: This is a Nationally Recruited Position, and the incumbent will be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Core Responsibilities:
- Provide expertise to the PROSSIVA project in digital tool development, ICT data handling and web page development.
- Design and run a webpage for PROSSIVA, as a part of the IITA website, and manage the uploading and presentation of PROSSIVA project information on the webpage.
- Set up a data Dashboard on the PROSSIVA webpage, summarizing progress and key achievements of the project in a graphical and visual manner.
- Link with the Seed Tracker ICT platform team of IITA-Ibadan to support the scaling of the Seed Tracker application, the enhancement of its features, and the application of its use to all VPC target crops.
- Work with regulatory partners in East Africa to enhance their use of Seed Tracker and increase their capacity to run the system independently.
- Provide recommendations on approaches for scaling the application of digital tools for pest/disease identification by regulatory agencies during seed certification.
- Review the potential for the application of digital tools for the determination of ‘true-to-typeness’ for VPC varieties being delivered through seed systems of target countries.
- Work with plant scientist colleagues to compare costs vs benefits in the use of digital tools for seed certification compared with otherapproachesfvisual assessment, molecular diagnostics)
- Provide recommendations for the development of novel digital tools, including digital marketing approaches, that will serve to enhance the efficiency of VPC seed systems in the target countries of PROSSIVA.
- Provide training, where required, to project members on how to share their data and how to make the most effective use of the project website and dashboard.
- Deliver quarterly reports summarizing progress, including metrics quantifying data delivery, ICT tool usage, and access to the project website and dashboard.
- Perform all other related duties that may be assigned from time to time by the supervisor.
Qualification, Experience and Key Skills
- Master’s degree in computer science or a closely related subject, preferably including course units and/or a practical project or dissertation work on the application of digital tools to agricultural or rural development.
- Minimum of three years of work and/or research experience following completion of a postgraduate degree
- Have excellent writing and oral communication skills in English for efficient communication with diverse project implementing partners and reporting.
- Practical knowledge of software applications for web development and app creation. At least some coding experience is essential. Some experience of machine learning is preferable. Be proficient in MS-Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
- Be well organized, able to multitask and work under pressure to meet deadlines with keen attention to detail.
- Have a positive attitude, strong team spirit and the ability to develop constructive research collaborations with individuals and institutions with a diverse set of backgrounds and geographies.
- The successful candidate should have experience of delivering high quality reports and some examples of successfully completed ICT products.
- A good understanding of opportunities for enhancing rural and/or agricultural development through the deployment of digital tools.
General information:
The initial contract for the position is for two years: renewable subject to performance and availability of funds. This is a nationally recruited position and IITA offers a competitive remuneration package.
Qualification, Experience and Key Skills
- Master’s degree in biological or agricultural science, preferably including course units and/or practical experience in crop protection, molecular diagnostics, and agricultural seed systems.
- Minimum of three years of work and/or research experience following completion of a postgraduate degree.
- Have excellent writing and oral communication skills in English for efficient communication with diverse project implementing partners and reporting.
- Be proficient in MS-Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and be familiar with teleconferencing applications (such as Zoom and MS Teams), and preferably also in software applications for statistical analysis, such as SAS, SPSS, or R.
- Be well organized, able to multitask and work under pressure to meet deadlines with keen attention to detail.
- Have a positive attitude, strong team spirit and the ability to develop constructive research collaborations with individuals and institutions with a diverse set of backgrounds and geographies.
- The successful candidate will preferably have experience of publishing in peer-reviewed scientific journal articles which are recognized by the Thomson indexing system (https://mjl.clarivate.com/search-results)
- A sound knowledge of agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa, preferably also with some experience of working with farmers.
General information:
The initial contract for the position is for two years: renewable subject to performance and availability of funds. This is a nationally recruited position and IITA offers a competitive remuneration package.
Read Also:
Applications:
Applications including curriculum vitae, copies of certificates, telephone number, email address, and names and addresses of two referees should be sent to the Country Representative, IITA-Tanzania, Plot No. 25, Mwenge – Coca-Cola Road, Mikocheni Industrial Area P.0. Box 34441, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania or by email to IITA-Tanzania@cgiar.org
Applicants are requested to please indicate the reference number for the position as indicated on the heading of the announcement in your application as well as on the subject of your email if sending by email. If sending by post or hand delivery, please indicate the reference number on your application as well as on the left-hand side of your envelope. Please note that any applications without the reference indicated will be automatically disqualified.
Closing date: Friday MAY 26th. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
