Scientist - Oilseeds Breeding
ICRISAT seeks applications from motivated and dynamic Indian nationals for the position of Scientist - Oilseeds Breeding. The incumbent will be responsible for managing groundnut and sesame breeding programs by engaging in design of crossing nurseries, generating breeding populations, screening for must-have traits, testing in target environments and product advancement. The selected candidate will use new crop breeding methods that include genomic tools for QA/QC, forward breeding and genomic selection, speed breeding, high throughput phenotyping tools leading and supporting strategic initiatives. The Scientist will be based at ICRISAT headquarters in Patancheru, Telangana. The position will report to the Principal Scientist, Groundnut Breeding.
This role is critical to advancing the organization s mission of improving agricultural productivity and sustainability in semi-arid regions across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa through advanced remote sensing applications in agriculture.
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 or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people, and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.
ICRISAT is headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. ICRISAT conducts research on its mandate crops of chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in the arid and semi-arid tropics. The Institute focuses its work on the drylands and in protecting the environment. Tropical dryland areas are usually seen as resource-poor and perennially beset by shocks such as drought, thereby trapping dryland communities in poverty and hunger and making them dependent on external aid. Please visit - www.icrisat.org
Responsibilities:
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Lead the groundnut and sesame breeding and testing activities
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Co-design and implement an effective collaborative breeding strategy to develop material populations of groundnut and sesame to deliver products for the Market Segments in Asia
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Ensure the cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency of the groundnut and sesame breeding programs
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Lead and contribute to the development of research proposals, fundraising activities by engaging with internal and external stakeholders.
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Collaborate and coordinate National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) to engage in multi-environment testing and conduct collaborative research
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Actively contribute to the Groundnut agenda and the development of strategic partnerships
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Develop strong strategic links with national government and funding agencies within country Enhance capacity building of partners in the region through demonstrations, degree and non-degree training
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Work with an interdisciplinary team of scientists, including molecular geneticists, physiologists, pathologists, entomologists, agronomists, socio-economists, seed systems specialists and technology transfer experts from ICRISAT both at Headquarter and with the teams in ESA and WCA regions.
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Ensures the execution of breeding experiments of groundnut and Sesame as per the agreed plans and schedules.
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Identifies and resolves quality issues in developing new products as per the agreed product profiles.
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Inculcate a culture of continuous improvement of self and team members.
Essential Qualifications:
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PhD in Agriculture (Genetics & Plant Breeding) or equivalent
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5 or more years of post-PhD experience in crop breeding field crops
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Demonstrated experience as an oilseeds breeder is highly desired.
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Working knowledge in R-package.
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Publications in peer-reviewed journals.
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Experience in applying quantitative genetics principles to breeding.
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Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural team and in working with a wide range of stakeholders and interest to work in interdisciplinary team.
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Ability to work independently and good communication skills.
General:
This is a contractual role for a period of 36 months (3 years), renewable based on the performance funding availability and the institute s continuing need for the position.
How to apply:
The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. Shortlisting will start from 30 July 2025. All Applicants should apply with their latest Resume, 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.
ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing diversity and maintaining a progressive and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether they have a disability.
