CIFOR-ICRAF

Research Technician – Sorghum Breeding

CIFOR-ICRAF  •  Makueni, KE (Onsite)  •  1 day ago
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Job Description


1 . Breeding operations support.


  • Support breeding activities by helping
    coordinate the movement of genetic material through successive breeding stages.

  • Assist with preparation, labeling,
    storage, and dispatch of materials for rapid-cycle advancement.

  • Maintain accurate records of breeding
    materials.

  • Support timely transfer of selected
    material between greenhouse, nursery, and breeding pipeline stages.


2.

Cross and seed
logistics.


  • Prepare and organize
    seed packets, crossing kits, envelopes, labels, and other materials required
    for breeding operations.

  • Assist with seed
    sorting, packaging, reconciliation, and dispatch for crossing and advancement
    activities.

  • Support tracking of
    parental lines, cross progenies, and advanced breeding materials to ensure
    identity and traceability.

  • Help maintain
    orderly seed stores and breeding operation supplies.


3.

Support rapid
early-generation cycling.


  • Assist in handling
    materials from rapid cycling crosses, including progenies from early-generation
    crosses and related advancement materials.

  • Ensure breeding
    materials are moved quickly and accurately between activities to minimize
    delays in the pipeline.

  • Support preparation
    of materials for recurrent crossing and advancement under the RCGS workflow.

  • Help maintain
    continuity of materials across breeding cycles and breeding generation
    transitions.


4.

Coordination of
trial kits.


  • Work with Trialing
    Research Associate in preparing trial kits, labels, materials, and documentation
    required for multi-location sparse testing.

  • Ensure that all
    items needed for field trials (seeds, plot QR code labels) are packed and
    dispatched correctly and on time.

  • Coordinate with
    field teams, breeders, and logistics staff to ensure smooth delivery of trial
    kits to partners.

  • Keep checklists and
    inventories for all kits and dispatched materials.


5.

Data recording and
documentation.


  • Record breeding
    operation details accurately, including dates of crossing, dispatch, and sparse
    testing location details such as trial planting harvesting and data return, and
    material movement.

  • Ensure all genetic
    materials and experiments are recorded in EBS.

  • Assist with basic
    data entry and file organization related to breeding operations.

  • Support
    documentation needed for quality assurance, traceability, and reporting.


6.

Collaboration with
scientists.


  • Work closely with
    the Plant Breeder and other scientists to implement operational aspects of
    RCGS.

  • Support the
    conversion of genomic selection decisions into practical breeding actions.

  • Coordinate with
    breeders to ensure selected materials are prepared and moved efficiently
    through the pipeline.

  • Provide operational
    feedback on bottlenecks, delays, losses, or material-handling issues.


Requirements


  • Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Crop
    Science, Seed Science, Plant Breeding, Agronomy, or a related field

  • Practical experience in seed handling,
    breeding nursery support, or agricultural research operations in a large plant
    breeding program.

  • Experience supporting breeding
    programs, crossing work, or germplasm logistics.

  • Familiarity with dryland crops such as
    sorghum, pearl millet, or finger millet.

  • Experience in seed labeling, inventory
    management, or breeding pipeline tracking.

  • Ability to work in a fast-paced
    research environment with multiple deadlines.

  • Willingness to support occasional
    travel to partner sites.
CIFOR-ICRAF

About CIFOR-ICRAF

CIFOR-ICRAF brings more than 75 years of experience in harnessing the power of trees, forests, and agroforestry landscapes to address the most pressing global challenges of our time – biodiversity loss, climate change, food security, livelihoods and inequity. It has partnerships in 64 countries, 159 funding partners and 192 active projects, alongside more than 2,200 completed projects across 92 nations. The organisation has an annual budget of USD 100 million, and a combined legacy investment of USD 2 billion in research and technology, policy and development. On average, CIFOR-ICRAF research is cited nearly 137 times a day and appears in global media more than 3,000 times per year. CIFOR and ICRAF merged in 2019 and are both international organizations and CGIAR Research Centres. Learn more at cifor-icraf.org.

Industry
Biotech & Life Sciences
Company Size
501-1,000 employees
Headquarters
Nairobi, KE
Year Founded
Unknown
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