IRRI Education Hiring for Officer – Agriculture Research and Development at Vāranāsi Full Time

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing environment for future generations. IRRI is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational institute, founded in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with support from the Philippine government. The institute, headquartered in Los Baños, Philippines, has offices in 17 rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa, and over 1,000 staff.

Working with in-country partners, IRRI develops advanced rice varieties that yield more grain and better withstand pests and disease as well as flooding, drought, and other harmful effects of climate change.

Job Purpose

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with the support of the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has established IRRI-South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It is a regional facility that supports research collaboration, training, and service provision to institutions, scientists, farmers, and other stakeholders from India and other South Asian and African nations. The state-of-the-art rice research Centre catalysis South-South collaboration, strengthens research and capacity development of rice-growing countries in the South Asia and Africa regions, and contributes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Recently the government of India has accorded approval for ISARC phase 2 through and MOU with IRRI to implement next phase activities up to 2027 to help boost farmers’ incomes by enhancing and supporting rice productivity, reducing the cost of production, value addition, diversification, and enhancement of farmers’ skills. Besides, ISARC in-house all the IRRI Programs operating in South Asia and providing them research and
capacity building support.

The incumbent will extend support in the soil, grain and plant analytical work in the laboratory. S/he will help the team in conducting on-station and on-farm trials, and organize data collection, compilation and help team in data analysis and writing reports/manuscript. The position will be based at ISARC, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

This position will be based at the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and will only be filled in by permanent citizens of India.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Support in the routine lab and field operation
• Carry out on-station/on-farm trials and other field activities under various objectives.
• Prepare (samples, solutions, standards, and/or chemicals) and perform sample handling, inspection and documentation
• Prepare materials needed for laboratory analysis (e.g. reagents, buffers, media preparation, stock solution) following standard protocols
• Assist in the methodology development and validation
• Coordinate with partners, government agencies and other stakeholders for implementation of activities at various sites
• Supervise field data collection from various sites, uploading data on appropriate database and ensure timely data collection and
  maintain quality
• Plant and soil samples analysis as per the objective- destructive and non-destructive analyses
• Operate and perform daily preventive maintenance on assigned equipment and conduct good housekeeping on assigned work area
• Ensure ready supply of reagents, stock solutions and laboratory consumables
• Support requisition and inventory of laboratory supplies
• Coordinate with internal/external key research partner(s) including various project teams, NARES partners, government agencies, SAUs, farmer groups and other public-private organizations for timely implementation of activities
• Build and sustain engagement with project teams to ensure smooth execution of lab and field activities and work plan
• Conduct and monitor lab and field activities and provide timely support to project team and partners
• Manage and maintain lab equipment’s
• Assist in data analysis and interpretation for developing reports, research literature and publication
• Prepare materials and lay-out and ensure proper maintenance of the experiment operations, as required by the institute and government protocols including maintenance of storage and preparation of supplies, property and material inventory, cleanliness, orderliness and safety, preparation of commonly used fertilizers and chemicals as well as waste disposal
• Collect data and ensure correct encoding on the assigned database
• Maintain repository of data of on-farm/on-station and lab experiments

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture/Horticulture/ Agricultural Engineering with a minimum of 3 years relevant work experience or Master degree in soil science/Agronomy with experience in analysis of soil and plant and field trails.

Skills Required

Mandatory

• Has laboratory experience on Plant, Soil and Water analysis
• Has hands-on experience in basic instrumentation
• Experiences in the field of agricultural production/farming systems/ agronomy.
• Computer (MS office: Word and Excel)
• Oral and written communication
• Organizational and interpersonal
• Ability to work in team as important player
• Ability to manage multiple priorities
• Database management
• Data analysis and result interpretation

Preferred

• Knowledge in the quality assurance
• Experience of working in an international work environment

In addition to the Base Salary indicated above, IRRI also offers the below listed allowances:

• Dearness Allowance: 113% of basic salary
• House Rent Allowance: 40% of base salary
• Transport allowance for NRS L4: INR 4000/-
• Educational Allowance: INR 1000/- per month per child up to two children, as applicable
• Leave Traveling Allowance: Equivalent to one month of basic pay per calendar year
• Provident Fund: 12% of basic pay and dearness allowance

IRRI offers a highly extensive employee benefits package inclusive of globally-covered medical insurance, retirement plan, life and accident insurance and other allowances. Join our team and be part of our story!

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Job Reference: HQ01417