Research Supervisor at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

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 for a food secure future.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Research Supervisor

Location: Ibadan, Oyo
Employment Type: Contract
Duration: 6 months renewable

Duties

• Generate calibration data for rapid, non-destructive estimation of dry matter and starch content using IoT devices developed under the NESTLER project.
• Develop statistical models to relate laboratory measurements with instrument measurements preferable using machine-learning approaches.
• Deploy IoT devices in breeding trials, cassava processors and farms to scale the technology and generate field-based validation data.
• Support implementation of pilot experiments involving deployment of weather and soil sensing stations at strategic locations in IITA cassava field trials in Nigeria. Specific activities related to this are:
•  Sensing Station Setup to measure key environmental parameters relevant to cassava cultivation (rainfall, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and soil moisture content).
• Automate data collection through use of mobile network to enable a time-series dataset for analysis.
• Integrating farm-level data from the research farms, such as planting methods, fertilizer usage, pest and disease management, and other relevant factors that may impact cassava yield.
• Data analysis and model development using statistical analysis techniques and machine learning algorithms to identify patterns, correlations, and interactions between the environmental variables and cassava yield.
• Model validation and iterative improvement to assess its accuracy and reliability.
• Contribute to other project activities including preparing reports, participation in project meetings, preparing communication materials.
• Perform any other job-related task as may be assigned by the Supervisors.

Requirements
Qualification:

• B.Sc / HND in Plant Breeding, Agronomy or any other related field with a minimum of three (3) years experience performing a similar role in a well-structured environment.

Competencies:
The ideal candidate must:

• Be experienced in the use of statistical analysis techniques and database software.
• Be experienced in data analysis and interpretation.
• Be experienced in report writing.

Benefits

• We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

Application Closing Date
13th June, 2024.