Banana Breeding Lead job at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

Background information about the job or company (e.g., role context, company overview)

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the internationally recruited position of Banana Breeding Lead.

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. Please visit http://www.iita.org/ for more information on IITA.

The Banana Breeding Lead will provide strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight of banana breeding activities primarily in East and West Africa, with additional responsibilities in Central and Southern Africa, ensuring full alignment with IITA's strategy and operational plans. Additionally, the role involves setting breeding priorities in collaboration with key stakeholders; strengthening and improving breeding populations; advancing candidate varieties through multi-stage testing; supporting variety release and breeder seed production; and contributing to regional breeding networks, modernization initiatives, and resource mobilization efforts.

Overall, the incumbent will lead a team responsible for developing and delivering highly productive, climate-resilient, and nutritionally enhanced banana varieties that align with farmer needs and market preferences.

Responsibilities or duties

Leadership: Lead and coordinate interdisciplinary research initiatives to advance and drive impact in banana and plantain crop improvement across IITA's focus countries

Product Design and Development: Implement an effective breeding strategy to develop elite breeding material and a product advancement process to identify new candidate varieties for targeted market segments and product profiles

Modernization: Lead the modernization of banana and plantain crop improvement at IITA, with support from the Breeding Innovation Services (EiB) team and the Bayer Crop Science team

Alignment: Ensure that the banana strategy is fully aligned with the Breeding for Tomorrow (B4T) framework, reflecting its priorities, objectives, and long-term vision

Quality of Research: Foster high-quality breeding research by strengthening and integrating molecular and metabolomic tools, as well as bioassays, to accelerate selection efficiency.

Germplasm Development: Working with NARS and selected partners, obtain, identify and develop appropriate germplasm to sustain the breeding program. Also, support and initiate germplasm distribution to collaborating partners for varietal evaluation

Coordination: Coordinate the development of stage gate multilocation product performance testing strategy, data analysis and advancement process, which is aligned with target market segments, TPEs or Agro-ecologies

Optimization of Breeding Processes and Operations: Ensure cost effective breeding operations, and standard operating procedures that deliver agreed quality and performance indicators

Infrastructural Development: Contribute to infrastructural development of: (i) the plantain breeding program at the IITA, Ibadan (ii) the Mchare Breeding program at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and technology, Arusha, Tanzania and (iii) the Matoke Breeding Program in Sendusu, Uganda

Integration: Foster the integration of the IITA highland breeding program in Sendusu-Namulonge with the banana breeding program of NARO, Kawanda, Uganda

Collaboration and Partnerships:

• Develop strong partnerships with national public breeding programs to collaboratively identify critical germplasm, product needs and define complementary breeding objectives
• Work in partnership with scientists from other disciplines and interact with industry partners and end users (farmers, extension agents, traders, consumers, etc.) from different organizations to design well defined and clearly prioritized Target Product Profiles in the Target Population of Environments.
• Enable and actively support the regional crop network to collaboratively plan and implement breeding activities that optimize the development of individual and shared network germplasm products and builds capacity to share knowledge, best practices, training etc

Enterprise Breeding Systems (EBS) and Breeding Analytics: Use Musa base for management of pedigree, nurseries, yield and disease trials, experimental data and seed inventory along with Bioflow to analyze the raw data

Capacity Building: Provide training and mentorship to breeding staff, partners and scholars on breeding techniques, methodologies, data analysis and scientific communication

Resource Mobilisation: Lead and or contribute to the development of research proposals and other fundraising activities

Publication: Lead or contribute to publication of research results in international, peer reviewed journals (Thompson-indexed journals with impact factor)

Reporting: Develop and deliver high-quality monthly and annual reports that track progress, analyze outcomes, and document achievements against set targets

Any other duties assigned by the supervisor

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills)

Educational Qualifications

• The candidate should have a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Genetics or any other related field.

Core Competencies

• At least 10 years of experience in plant breeding programs
• Evidence of significant management skills including change management and management of successful breeding teams
• Ability to work well in a diverse multicultural environment
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
• Proven track record in resource mobilization
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to build consensus/function as part of a team
• Problem solving and decision-making skills
• Resilience under pressure along with sound risk judgment
• Experience of managing staff and budgets

Any other provided details (e.g., benefits, work environment, team info, or additional notes)

Benefits

Duty Station: Sendusu, Uganda

General information: The contract will be for an initial period of three years. IITA offers an internationally competitive remuneration package paid in US Dollars.

IITA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse workforce, particularly welcoming applications from women.

While all applications will be acknowledged, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

• Lead and coordinate interdisciplinary research initiatives to advance and drive impact in banana and plantain crop improvement across IITA's focus countries
• Implement an effective breeding strategy to develop elite breeding material and a product advancement process to identify new candidate varieties for targeted market segments and product profiles
• Lead the modernization of banana and plantain crop improvement at IITA, with support from the Breeding Innovation Services (EiB) team and the Bayer Crop Science team
• Ensure that the banana strategy is fully aligned with the Breeding for Tomorrow (B4T) framework, reflecting its priorities, objectives, and long-term vision
• Foster high-quality breeding research by strengthening and integrating molecular and metabolomic tools, as well as bioassays, to accelerate selection efficiency.
• Working with NARS and selected partners, obtain, identify and develop appropriate germplasm to sustain the breeding program. Also, support and initiate germplasm distribution to collaborating partners for varietal evaluation
• Coordinate the development of stage gate multilocation product performance testing strategy, data analysis and advancement process, which is aligned with target market segments, TPEs or Agro-ecologies
• Ensure cost effective breeding operations, and standard operating procedures that deliver agreed quality and performance indicators
• Contribute to infrastructural development of: (i) the plantain breeding program at the IITA, Ibadan (ii) the Mchare Breeding program at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and technology, Arusha, Tanzania and (iii) the Matoke Breeding Program in Sendusu, Uganda
• Foster the integration of the IITA highland breeding program in Sendusu-Namulonge with the banana breeding program of NARO, Kawanda, Uganda
• Develop strong partnerships with national public breeding programs to collaboratively identify critical germplasm, product needs and define complementary breeding objectives
• Work in partnership with scientists from other disciplines and interact with industry partners and end users (farmers, extension agents, traders, consumers, etc.) from different organizations to design well defined and clearly prioritized Target Product Profiles in the Target Population of Environments.
• Enable and actively support the regional crop network to collaboratively plan and implement breeding activities that optimize the development of individual and shared network germplasm products and builds capacity to share knowledge, best practices, training etc
• Use Musa base for management of pedigree, nurseries, yield and disease trials, experimental data and seed inventory along with Bioflow to analyze the raw data
• Provide training and mentorship to breeding staff, partners and scholars on breeding techniques, methodologies, data analysis and scientific communication
• Lead and or contribute to the development of research proposals and other fundraising activities
• Lead or contribute to publication of research results in international, peer reviewed journals (Thompson-indexed journals with impact factor)
• Develop and deliver high-quality monthly and annual reports that track progress, analyze outcomes, and document achievements against set targets
• Any other duties assigned by the supervisor

• Significant management skills including change management and management of successful breeding teams
• Ability to work well in a diverse multicultural environment
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
• Proven track record in resource mobilization
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to build consensus/function as part of a team
• Problem solving and decision-making skills
• Resilience under pressure along with sound risk judgment
• Experience of managing staff and budgets

• Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Genetics or any other related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in plant breeding programs