ILRI Post-Doctoral Scientist Job in Kenya (USD 35,000)

Vacancy Number: PD/BT02/07/11

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Duration: two years with the possibility of renewal

Base salary from USD 35,000 plus attractive international staff benefits package

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development.

ILRI is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with other offices located in other regions of Africa (Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria) as well as in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) and East Asia (China).

The position: ILRI seeks to recruit a Post-Doctoral Scientist to act as the primary driver of the next generation sequencing aspects of ILRI’s component of a project entitled “An Integrated Response System For Emerging Infectious Diseases in East Africa”.

This is a challenging and highly collaborative project which aims to bring current molecular and epidemiological approaches to the detection of pathogens –both known and unknown in field samples.

ILRI’s primary role is in establishing and exploiting a 2nd generation sequencing platform together with data analysis and sample biobanking. Collaborators from Kenya, UK, USA and elsewhere represent world leaders in these areas.

This is an opportunity for a dynamic and motivated post-doc capable of working in dispersed and complex teams, to make important contributions to the understanding of disease in Africa – particularly epidemic viral disease.

Key responsibilities

·       Designing and testing highly multiplexed assays for a range of sequences;

·       Establishing sampling and pooling protocols;

·       Overseeing the Project’s use of a Roche 454 (Titanium) sequencer;

·       Sequence data Quality Assurance/Quality Control.

Requirements

·       A PhD degree obtained no more than 5 years ago in molecular genetics;

·       Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to perform in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural research environment;

·       Fluency in spoken and written English;

·       Hands on experience of highly multiplexed PCR, e.g. for diagnostics and of working with complex, mixed and “dirty” biological samples;

·       Evidence of innovation and initiative;

·       Experience of “bench” plus informatics aspects of high throughput sequencing;

·       Experience of RNA virus genome analysis and phylogenetic/population analysis in prokaryotes or eukaryotes would be an important advantage;

·       Ability to work in diverse, multidisciplinary teams.

Post location: The position is based at ILRI’s Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya with travel to other countries where ILRI works.

Terms of appointment:

This is an Internationally Recruited Staff (IRS) position with initial appointment of two years with the possibility of renewal for one year, contingent upon individual performance and the availability of funding.

ILRI offers a competitive international remuneration package which includes: – medical insurance – life insurance – and allowances for: – housing – baggage – and children’s education.

Applications:

Applicants should send a cover letter explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and indicating earliest availability, curriculum vitae and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to email: recruit-ilri-Ken@cgiar.org by 27 July 2011.

The position title and reference number POST DOCTORAL SCIENTIST: PD/BT02/07/11 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email applications.

Due to the high volume of applications that we receive, we regret but only online applications will be considered and only short listed candidates will be contacted.

To find more about ILRI, visit our Website at www.ilri.org

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer

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