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International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Banana Breeding Lead

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Uganda Full time Others
Posted: Jun 17, 2026 2 days ago Deadline: Jun 30, 2026 4 views

Job Description

 
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) – Banana Breeding Lead Job Description
About IITA
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to address Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with partners across sub-Saharan Africa, IITA improves livelihoods, enhances food and nutrition security, increases employment, and preserves natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food-secure future.
Role Summary
The Banana Breeding Lead provides strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight of banana breeding activities primarily in East and West Africa, with additional responsibilities in Central and Southern Africa. The role ensures alignment with IITA’s strategy and operational plans, advances breeding priorities, strengthens breeding populations, and supports the development of climate-resilient and nutritionally improved banana varieties.
Position Responsibilities
Leadership
  • Lead and coordinate interdisciplinary research initiatives in banana and plantain crop improvement across IITA focus countries
  • Drive impact-oriented breeding programs across regions
Product Design and Development
  • Implement effective breeding strategies to develop elite breeding material
  • Manage product advancement processes to identify new candidate varieties for targeted market segments
Modernization
  • Lead modernization of banana and plantain crop improvement programs
  • Collaborate with Breeding Innovation Services (EiB) and Bayer Crop Science teams
Strategic Alignment
  • Ensure alignment with the Breeding for Tomorrow (B4T) framework
  • Reflect long-term breeding priorities and objectives
Quality of Research
  • Strengthen molecular, metabolomic, and bioassay tools to improve selection efficiency
  • Promote high-quality scientific breeding research outputs
Germplasm Development
  • Source, identify, and develop appropriate germplasm with NARS and partners
  • Support germplasm distribution for varietal evaluation
Coordination
  • Lead stage-gate multilocation product testing strategies
  • Oversee data analysis, product advancement, and agro-ecological targeting
Breeding Operations Optimization
  • Ensure cost-effective breeding operations
  • Maintain SOPs and performance standards for breeding programs
Infrastructure Development
  • Contribute to breeding infrastructure in:
    • IITA plantain breeding program (Ibadan)
    • Mchare breeding program (Arusha, Tanzania)
    • Matoke breeding program (Sendusu, Uganda)
Integration
  • Integrate IITA highland breeding programs with NARO (Kawanda, Uganda)
  • Strengthen collaboration between research institutions
Collaboration & Partnerships
  • Develop partnerships with national breeding programs and stakeholders
  • Define target product profiles with farmers, traders, extension workers, and consumers
  • Support regional crop networks and shared germplasm development
  • Promote knowledge sharing and capacity building across partners
Breeding Systems & Analytics
  • Use MusaBase for pedigree, nursery, trial, and inventory management
  • Use Bioflow for breeding data analysis and decision-making
Capacity Building
  • Train and mentor breeding staff, partners, and scholars
  • Strengthen technical, analytical, and scientific communication skills
Resource Mobilisation
  • Contribute to proposal development and fundraising initiatives
  • Support research funding acquisition
Publication
  • Lead and contribute to peer-reviewed scientific publications
  • Publish in indexed journals with impact factor
Reporting
  • Prepare monthly and annual technical reports
  • Track progress, outcomes, and research impact
Other Duties
  • Perform additional tasks assigned by supervisor
Qualifications
Educational Requirements
  • PhD in Plant Breeding, Genetics, or related field
Core Competencies
  • 10+ years’ experience in plant breeding programs
  • Strong leadership and change management skills
  • Experience managing multidisciplinary teams
  • Ability to work in multicultural environments
  • Strong resource mobilization experience
  • Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
  • Strong teamwork and collaboration abilities
  • Problem-solving and decision-making capability
  • Ability to manage staff and budgets
  • Resilience and sound risk judgment
Duty Station
  • Sendusu, Uganda
Contract
  • Initial 3-year contract
  • Internationally competitive remuneration (US Dollars)


About Company

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

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Job Overview

  • Job Type: Full time
  • Experience Level: Intermediate
  • Education Level: Bachelors
  • Vacancies: 1
  • Category: Others
  • Location: Uganda
  • Application: External Website

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