The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is looking for a talented graduate for a Postmaster position with its sustainable Productivity Enhancement program. The Postmaster program is initiated to provide work experience in an international research environment to talented students, which gives them comparative advantage at recruitment procedures for PhD or regular job positions. The position will be stationed at AfricaRice in Cotonou, Benin.
Ref. PMT/16/RD/JULY/2012
About AfricaRice
The Afrca Rice center (AfricaRice) is a leading pan-African research organization with a mission to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector while ensuring the sustainability of the farming environment. AfricaRice is an autonomous intergovernmental association of African member countries. It is also member of CGIAR Consortium. AfricaRice is temporarily headquatered in Benin.
Responsibilities:
The Postmaster and will work under the supervision of the Remote Sensing and GIS specialist. He /she will work on the adaptation and calibration of the AquaCrop of the FAO which allows modeling crop yield and water productivity. However, this models needs to be calibrated and validated for different ecosystems of rice production (upland, lowland and irrigated rice). The candidate is expected to work on:
- Calibration and validation of the AquaCrop model for rice in different ecosystems;
- Establishment of validation data sets from field experiments by AfricaRice and partners;
- Analysing the options for improving crop water productivity in rice production; and
- Exploring the possibilities for spatial analysis of yields and water productivity by linking Aquacrop to GIS software such as ArcGIS.
Requirements:
The successful candidates should have:
- An MSc in Geography, Ecology or Agriculture with a specialization in hydrological modelling
- Experience in the use of GIS software likeArcGIS;
- Pro-active and original way of thinking, and
- Communication skill in either English or French.
Desirable Requirements: Experience with rice production systems in Africa;
- Programming skills; and
- General computer skills, including MS Excel, ftp-software, etc.
Terms and Conditions: The contract for the position will be for a fixed two-year term.
Application procedure: Candidates should prepare
- A cover letter describing why she/he is suitable for the position by specifically addressing the essential and desirable requirements for this position as described before. Please include one reference (e.g. thesis supervisor) and the earliest date of availability (maximum size is 1A4 page, times new roman, 11pts).
- A curriculum vitae describing personal details, study details (diplomas, date of graduation, thesis research, grades, TOEFL) and possible work experience (max 1 A4).
AfricaRice is a bilingual research center (English/French) and documents can be prepared in either language.
How to Apply
Visit: http://ict.africarice.org/apply/positions/GSS16RD201207
Applications will be considered up to August 05, 2012.
The position is open to citizens of the 24 AfricaRice member states.
AfricaRice believes that staff diversity promotes excellence in its operations, and encourages applications from women and developing country professionals.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
