The position: The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) seeks to hire Crop Protection - Research Officer I to assist in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) project activities in Ethiopia for developing and implementing pest and diseases management strategies for safer vegetable production. The position will be based at WorldVeg Ethiopia country office – Addis Ababa.

General:

The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) is a non-profit, autonomous international agricultural research center with headquarters in Taiwan and five regional offices around the globe. WorldVeg conducts research and development programs that contribute to realize the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods. For more information, please visit our website: worldveg.org.

Main Responsibilities:

• Assists in designing experiments and implementing pest and disease management strategies as well as good agricultural practices for safe vegetable production;
• Develops experimental data collection protocols for evaluating different diseases and pests of various vegetable crops, collects data and prepares experiment reports;
• Contributes in the identification and characterization of existing and emerging diseases and pests of vegetable crops;
• Provides training and technical guidance to field officers of private and public project partners in the integrated pest management strategies;
• Collaborates and coordinates with other research assistants in safe vegetable production and good agricultural practices in vegetables;
• Contributes in the project progress reporting and publication and represent the project on workshops and related events;
• Performs any other duties assigned by the Liaison Officer – Ethiopia.

Minimum Requirements

Education:

• Master’s degree in crop protection or plant pathology/entomology.

Experience:

• Minimum of three years of post-graduate experience in plant protection research and development program.
• Proven experience in good agricultural practices (integrated pest management, protected cultivation, vegetable grafting, etc.).
• Proven experience in conducting on-station and on-farm trials to pilot IPM and GAP practices, good knowledge and management of experimental designs and data analysis.
• Experience in diagnosis and identification of vegetables diseases and pests.
• Proven experience in training of field workers.

Skills:

• Knowledge of major insect pests and diseases of vegetable crops and their management practices.
• Excellent computer skills in MS‐office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Team player with excellent communication skills in spoken and written English.
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to interact with partners and colleagues in a multi-cultural setting.

Duty Station:  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Position level:  HG 13

Minimum Base salary:                  

•  Birr 24,599 per month (Negotiable depending on salary history of the candidate)

Terms of appointment: This is a National Staff (NS) position, initial appointment is for one year with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and the availability of funding. WorldVeg offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits in line with ILRI salary applicable for its National Staff. WorldVeg is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. 

Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter, a detailed curriculum vitae including names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees and a letter providing a point by point response to the essential and desirable person specifications. The position and reference number: CRP/03/21 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com/ on or before 2 February 2021.