Openings -International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Closing Date 25th Sep/ 26th Sep 2023

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. Recently the government of India has accorded approval for ISARC phase 2 through MOU with IRRI to implement next phase activities up to 2027. It has three verticals: Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA), Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture (CESA), and Centre of Education, Innovation, and Research for Development (CEIRD)

Closing Date 25-Sep-2023

1. Research Technician II – GIS & Remote Sensing

Salary: 11500  – 23500  INR per month

Job Purpose
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s premier research organization dedicated to improving livelihoods and nutrition, abolishing poverty, hunger and malnutrition among those who depend on rice-based agri-food systems. In doing so, IRRI’s work protects the health of rice farmers and consumers, and the environmental sustainability of rice farming in a world challenged by climate change. The Sustainable Impact Platform delivers on key priorities of the IRRI Strategic Plan in the areas of Soil, Climate and Water, Adaptive Agronomy and Pest Ecology, Knowledge Tools, Livelihoods, Gender and Nutrition, Geospatial Science and Modeling, and Mechanization and Postharvest. This position will be based in the Digital Spatial Transformation of Landscapes Research Unit.

The main purpose of the Research Technician will be to support staff in input preparation of satellite images and timely monitoring of the field data collection and contribute to the development of rice fallow work, geospatial analytics, and field job. Under the supervision of the group scientist, this position will provide support in creating geospatial inputs, data integration, day-to-day geospatial activities, soil analytics, and other ISARC-based tasks. Our mission is to design, build and make available advanced research products that assist IRRI’s scientists characterize and target interventions for sustainable agriculture practices.

This position is based in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh and should be filled by the permanent resident of India

Roles and Responsibilities

• Support activities for, identifying and characterizing rice fallow systems and crop suitability mapping
• Able to handle multiple geospatial projects and assist scientists with timely deliverables.
• Support in design and implementation strategies for ground data collection, data analysis and post-validation of geospatial outputs
• Evaluate the research findings, and contribute to the writing of reports, and other communication material
• Support multiple experiments/surveys and research studies utilizing the Geographic Information System (GIS).
• Evaluate the quality of input data and integration of different kinds of spatial and non-spatial datasets; manage and maintain the database.
• Support in timely proximal data collection from in-house experiments plots using relevant devices (including drones) at regular intervals.
• Visit field sites for data collection.
• Support lab-based soil analytics
• Able to travel to the project and other required sites, whenever required
• Inform the immediate supervisor of the development of satellite image processing, analysis and GIS-based activities.
• Effectively communicate with immediate supervisors to ensure the delivery of research objectives.
• Work closely with project team members to ensure a full understanding of the scope, priorities, and deadlines of the activities.
• Organizational skills to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.
• Supporting data generation and storage • Supporting reports and method documentation
• Any other tasks as assigned by Supervisor/ Unit leader

Qualifications
Master’s Degree in Remote Sensing or Geo-informatics or Environmental Sciences with 0-1 years of relevant working experience or preferably dissertation work in the application of Remote Sensing and GIS in soil and/or agriculture.

Or

Bachelor’s degree in Geo-informatics or Environmental Sciences with 2 years of relevant work experience in application of Remote Sensing and GIS in agriculture

Skills Required
Mandatory

Experience in coupling spatial/remote sensing datasets with beginners level Good understanding of remote sensing technologies in agriculture & RS data analysis for crop monitoring, Hyperspectral remote sensing, data collection through spectroradiometer, Image processing, lab-based soil properties analytics, etc.

Fair proficiency in any of the remote sensing image processing, GIS software (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS), and data analysis tools (e.g., ENVI, ERDAS) fair understanding of agricultural practices, crop physiology, plant health, and relevant agricultural parameters.

Preferred

Basic knowledge of writing scripts using R / GEE Experience with working on multiple satellite images including Optical and Hyperspectral sensors

In addition to the base salary mentioned above, IRRI also offers the following allowances:

• House-Rent Allowance:IRRI provides a house rent allowance of 40% of base pay per month.
• Transport Allowance:A monthly transport allowance of INR 2,000
• Dearness Allowance:One Hundred and Thirteen percent (113%) of employee’s base pay.
• Leave Travel Allowance (LTA):One-month base pay per annum, on availing minimum 2 days of vacation leave
• Education Allowance: INR 1000/- per child per month (limited 2 children)

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.

Click here to Apply

Closing Date 26-Sep-2023

2. Scientist I – System Agronomist and Project Coordinator

Job Purpose
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s premier research organization 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, 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.

ISARC leads numerous projects in India in partnership with public and private sector parties. APART project being undertaken by ISARC in Assam is one such projects which aims to increasing the productivity and profitability of small and marginal farmers in rice-based cropping systems and facilitate agri-business investments, market access, and enable smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs to produce crops resilient to recurrent floods or droughts in Assam. The incumbent will lead the project, develop workplans and oversee the execution of the planned activities in tandem with implementing partners. S/he will work in close coordination with objective leaders and other IRRI scientists and implementing partners to deliver the project and maximize impact at ground level.

Under the minimal direction of the Director, ISARC, the job holder will be responsible for leading, monitoring and implementation of planned activities of projects assigned to her/him including APART. In addition, the incumbent will play a crucial role in expanding the IRRI’s activities in the regions. IRRI as a global institution of excellence in rice science can play a pivotal role in sustainably improving the productivity and incomes of rice- growing households across the entire NER, including North-East Hill Regions (NEHR) and adjoining countries of South and South-East Asia.

This position will be based in Assam, India and is open for international applications.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Strategically lead developmental projects such as APART project and plan for implementation and monitoring of project activities in Assam including 1) Development and review annual work and budget plans based on program objectives to define the team activities, plan specific outputs and milestones in coordination with the program management unit; 2) Act as the Operational Head for Assam-APART project staff from IRRI as the host organization to manage the operational; 3) Coordinate with ARIAS society,
• Word Bank team and other implementing partners for successful implementation of the project
• Development of novel, sustainable and climate-resilient management practices and farming systems that boost and sustain production and income. This may involve the shift from transplanting to direct seeding, novel mechanization options, robust seed systems including introduction of new stress-tolerant varieties and associated management practices, novel diversified farming systems, rice- fallow intensification, rice-fish systems etc.
• Development of dissemination/scaling and partnership approaches, and/or business models for above-mentioned systems that will lead to impact ‘at scale’, such as improved income of farmers, resilience to climatic change and climatic shocks, improved food security, and reduced poverty
• Develop and oversee implementation of strategies in accordance with agreed objectives, outputs, and timelines as reflected in approved impact pathway documents
• Review and analyze progress of the defined objectives and propose recommendations to enhance performance of the Institute
• Take the lead in expanding IRRI’s footprint in northeastern region of India and explore new funding opportunities with donors
• Manage and guide the implementation of research support activities to ensure timely data collection, management, analysis and dissemination of result and information
• Finalize draft reports for submission to supervisor and stakeholders and technical literature to disseminate results and contribute to development of Communication strategy/ies
• Sustain existing partnerships, create new associations and investment opportunities
• Ensure oversight of risks and mitigation strategies to ensure delivery of the Project in line with agreed objectives
• Develop and maintain partnerships with various stakeholders including NARES, CG Centers, WB, ICAR institutes and public- private organizations to implement Assam project activities to meet the agreed project outputs and timelines and also to explore newer opportunities
• Maintain high level of engagement with public, civil and private sectors for the development and delivery of technologies
• Participate in institute wide activities and represent IRRI at various meetings or events
• Oversight of the allocated Projects in liaison with IRRI India and HQ finance to ensure compliance
• Identify, develop and implement models and tools for promoting modern rice technologies/interventions in the northeast and eastern regions of India and contribute to such activities in adjoining countries from South and South East Asia
• Organize and coordinate workshops, conferences, trainings (national and international) and exposure visits for capacity building of partners
• Manage the implementation of communication strategies and promote the dissemination of project findings through workshops and popular communication channels
• Publish and actively contribute to articles in peer-reviewed journals that highlight findings from research and experiment activities showcasing the institute’s scientific leadership
• Supervise, and mentor scientific staff towards research excellence, professional conscientiousness and drive and career orientation and opportunities

Qualifications

• PhD in any relevant branches of Agriculture Sciences
• Minimum 10 years of experience in working on agriculture R & D projects
• Experience of handling of international projects would be preferable

Skills Required
Mandatory

• Has experience in managing a team or unit
• Has experience in developing strategies
• Has strong collaboration skills and has experience in creating long term partnerships including investment opportunities
• Has excellent leadership skills
• Has excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills
• Has management skills for implementing complex projects at national level
• Has strong report writing skills

Preferred

Has worked in an international organization

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.

This position will remain open until filled.

Click here to Apply