Post- Doctoral Fellow – Plant Breeder

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture(ICBA) is an international, non-profit agricultural research center established in 1999 through the visionary leadership of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). ICBA is a unique applied agricultural research center in the world that is focused on marginal areas where an estimated 1.7 billion people live. It identifies, tests and introduces resource-efficient, climate-smart crops and technologies that are best suited to different regions affected by salinity, water scarcity and drought. Through its work, ICBA helps to improve food security and livelihoods for some of the poorest rural communities around the world. ICBA is an equal opportunity employer and appoints qualified staff regardless of race, creed, color, age, gender, religion or national origin. We demonstrate our commitment to each member of our team through a competitive benefits package designed to assist our employees to cover their needs and the needs of their immediate family members.

Job Summary

The Postdoc position requires to support the varietal development program of ICBA targeted for the marginal environments. The breeding programs would be diverse ranging from food (quinoa, Amaranth etc), feed (fodder sorghum or barley etc.) and fodder crops (forages). The position will have to handle the segregating generations, diverse breeding populations and conduct large scale adapted and multi-environment trials for proper genetic evaluation under abiotic stress environments. He/she will also have to work with a multidisciplinary team of molecular biologists, Plant physiologists, Agronomist, Soil Scientists etc to test and evaluate technical and economic feasibility of the ICBA research outputs. The position requires to work as team player and work proactively for data collection, analyses, reports and research publications.

Purpose

  • Contribute to ICBA varietal improvement program on food, feed and fodder crops to develop suitable genotypes for abiotic stress tolerance under marginal environments
  • Evaluate the best performing genotypes for their associated best management practices in consultation with other scientists and researchers to optimize the productivity under stress conditions.
  • Develop breeding populations of climate resilient crops like quinoa etc to develop novel genotypes and varieties through conventional as well as non-conventional approaches as per the product profiles.
  • Conduct multi-environmental trials of different crops to evaluate crop and varietal adaptation and GxE interaction.
Job Responsibilities
  • Develop product profiles for the different crops for food, feed and fodder for different target regions
  • Develop new breeding populations to generate novel breeding materials as per the product profiles.
  • Ascertain the threshold limits for different crops and genotypes for various abiotic stresses
  • Work closely with agronomist and soil scientists to develop the associated best management practices for the best performing genotypes / varieties of different target crops
  • Develop projects related to area of expertise and in line with ICBA mandate, and procure internal and external funding
  • Assist the stakeholders (farmers, researchers, extension officers and associated entrepreneurs) with technical backstopping
  • Derive results from compilation and synthesis of experimental data for the inferences and outputs to publish scientific reports and research papers in refereed journals
  • Assist in the preparation of ICBA publications, including the newsletter
  • Any other assignment given by supervisor in the interest of ICBA
Qualifications and Experience

Essential

  • PhD in Plant Breeding or related field from a recognized University
  • At least 3 years post-PhD experience in crop breeding
  • Good publications record in refereed journals
  • Fluency in written and spoken English
  • Ability to conduct research with minimal supervision
  • Experience working as a member of a multidisciplinary team
  • International work experience

Desirable

  • Working knowledge of statistics and database management
  • Additional language skills, Arabic is desirable
  • Supervisory experience
Post Date
1 April 2020
Status
Closed
Vacancy Type
Full-time
Closing Date
5 August 2020
Location
Dubai, UAE
Report To
Principal Scientist (Plant Breeding)
Job Number
ICBADP-DXB-2020-015
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