Principal Scientist Position at ICRISAT, Hyderabad: Apply by 15 January 2022

Designation/Position- Principal Scientist Position at ICRISAT

International Crops Research Institute For the Semi-Arid Tropics invites application for Senior Scientist Position at ICRISAT from eligible and interested candidates

About- ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics is home to over 2 billion people, with 650 million of these being the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower those living in the semi-arid tropics, especially smallholder farmers, to overcome poverty, hunger, malnutrition and a degraded environment through more efficient and profitable agriculture. Headquartered in Patancheru near Hyderabad, India ICRISAT has two regional hubs and five country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT, established in 1972, is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. Principal Scientist Position at ICRISAT

Research/Job Area- Biotechnology or related discipline of Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering (Agriculture / Biological Sciences)

Location- Hyderabad, India

The position will be based at ICRISAT’s headquarters in Patancheru, near Hyderabad, Telangana State, India. Hyderabad is the largest city and capital of the Telangana State; and also the de jure capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is India’s fourth largest city; and is a fascinating combination of the ancient and the modern India.

Eligibility/Qualification–

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following skills, knowledge, experience, and personal characteristics: 

  • Minimum Education: The candidate must have agricultural experience and should hold a PhD in Biotechnology or related discipline of Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering (Agriculture / Biological Sciences)
  • Experience: Min 10 years of Post-PhD experience is required in the area of Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering with high quality research outputs including an excellent record of publication in high impact journals with minimum 3-4 years as a Senior Scientist or an equivalent role.
  • Demonstrated ability to write proposals and resource mobilization in the area of Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering or similar areas.
  • Well connected with institutions, organization in the relevant areas of research.
  • Experience of leading multicultural, multi-disciplinary scientific teams and ability to work across diverse environments and cultures.
  • Excellent written and oral skills in English. Knowledge of other international languages, especially French, will be an advantage. 

Skills and Knowledge 

  • Demonstrated leadership abilities, commitment towards organizational goals and strong interpersonal skills.
  • A deep understanding of agricultural science in Biotechnology and allied sciences.
  • Specialized technical skills in Gene editing, Genetic Engineering, Crop Improvement, Molecular Biology, etc.
  • Proactive and achievement oriented.
  • Collaborate with all ICRISAT research units across all locations and various NARS and international research institutions in providing Biotechnology science support and provide reliable backstopping to multidisciplinary teams of researchers during the research cycle.
  • Contribute to research publications of scientists and research scholars, and documentation of in the Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering.
  • Track record of peer reviewed publications in agricultural research and allied sciences.
  • Proactive and independent problem solver, and an excellent team player.

Job/Position Description- 

Aspirational targets and development outcomes

ICRISAT has set four bold targets in the next ten years that will enormously benefit the well-being of the drylands’ poorest people:

  • Help halve rural poverty by increasing farm incomes through more productive, stable, diverse and profitable crops and crop products;
  • Help halve hunger by contributing innovations that increase yields by 30% on a wide scale and through policy advice that stabilizes food prices and availability;
  • Help halve childhood malnutrition by enhancing the nutrient content of staple food crops and helping the poor diversify their crops, delivering more nutritious and safer food; and
  • Increase the resilience of dryland farming through innovations that stabilize, safeguard, and enhance natural resource capital, biological and systems diversity, and land

ICRISAT, with an annual budget of over USD60 million, has a global workforce of over 3000 individuals in Asia and Africa.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Lead contributions to the organizational strategy by innovatively identifying, prioritizing, and managing key research issues of Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering.
  • Secure, sustain and manage the necessary human, financial, and material support, by reaching their assigned resource mobilization targets and play a lead role in ensuring that ICRISAT attains corporate annual resource mobilization targets.
  • Contribute regularly and significantly to top quality international scientific literature, and demonstrating impact of research and delivery activities.
  • Lead the development of a high performing and impactful global team of researchers.
  • Collaborate with national and international partners and stakeholders to achieve the required impact of the institute’s research agenda in the Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering operations.
  • Disseminate the strategic agenda and policy brief to international partners and stakeholders.
  • Engage with ICRISAT management, donors and partners to better position ICRISAT’s research portfolio internationally.
  • Design and ensure execution of ICRISAT’s research agenda related to Cell and Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering in adherence to the defined schedules and timeline, in compliance with the institute SOPs/policies.
  • Ensure timely utilization of the financial resources allocated for the implementation of the project activities.
  • Prioritizing and targeting constraints in grain legumes (Groundnut, Pigeonpea and Chickpea) and dryland cereals (Sorghum, Pearl Millet and Finger millet) for which no genetic traits are available in conventional plant breeding applications;
  • Developing biotechnological tools towards gene validations, genetic and genome engineering as well as translational research activities;
  • Genetic engineering and gene editing of grain legumes (groundnut, pigeonpea and chickpea and sorghum), and functional genomics approaches aimed at integrating useful traits including enhanced diseases and pest resistance, abiotic stress tolerance and nutritional enhancement;
  • Translational research activities including biosafety assessment of transgenic products, and building the capacities of stakeholders in different target countries of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to comply with the internationally and nationally laid out biosafety regulations and stewardship aspects in the public sector transgenic crops;
  • Integrate scientific innovations to design and build new biological functions and systems to generate robust breeding pipelines using existing as well as newer genome editing technologies with special focus on ICRISAT mandate crops;

How to Apply- 

If this position interests you, please follow the below instructions to apply.

Applicants should apply on or before January 15, 2022, with latest Curriculum Vitae, and the names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable about their professional qualifications and work experience. All applications will be acknowledged. However, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Please CLICK HERE to submit your application.

Last Date for Apply– 15 January 2022

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