ILRI vacancy: Research Assistant- FSZ

Vacancy Number: RA/FSZ/12/13
Department: Food Safety and Zoonoses
Duration: 2 years renewable contract

ILRI seeks to recruit a Research Assistant to Contribute to Food Safety and Zoonoses team being able to deliver science outputs in a timely and satisfactory manner.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to enhance the roles livestock play in pathways out of poverty in developing countries. ILRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global research partnership of 15 centres working with many partners for a food-secure future. ILRI has two main campuses in East Africa and other hubs in East, West and Southern Africa and South, Southeast and East Asia.

CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centres that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. 

Key responsibilities

• Support Systematic Literature Reviews for Hazards in 3.7 Value chains
• Systematic literature review of initial 20 full papers involving a public health focus on Salmonella typhi, Campylobacter, Leptospirosis, Mycotoxins (Toxigenic), E. Coli, Tuberculosis, Antibiotic residues, Salmonella, Brucellosis, Staphylococcus, Rabies, Clostridium perfringens, Anthrax, Bacillus cereus, Rift Valley fever, Cryptosporidium, Q fever (coxiella burnetti), Toxoplasma, Trypanosomiasis

• Livestock Pest Economic Geography (LPEG)
• First pass analysis for mapping disease distributions and potential relative risks; reviewing disease prioritization: Disease mapping, for Commonwealth Scientific Research Organization (CSIRO)/UMN-HarvestChoice/ILRI project – follow up from HC and data cleaning
• Collate and rank further 120 for diseases using Mendeley and pick the most reasonable search terms to be made public depending on the quality of PubMed and CAB direct publications in readiness for first publication by CSIRO/HarvestChoice.

• General Research support
• Data/information mining the total public health and animal health spend in developing countries by budget/amount, approximately proportion devoted to: Education (initial training of doctors, vets, nurses and any additional training), Laboratories, Infectious disease control, Community animal health.
• Compile a report on participants, their institutions and their brucellosis expertise
• Follow up with participants for additional information and reports
• Compile a country report on brucellosis status for the priority countries
• Facilitate workshop logistics along with ILRI administration staff
• Draft the workshop report

Requirements

• A minimum of a BSc degree in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness or related field
• At least two years working experience in a research environment
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Detail oriented, well organized
• Ability to work well under supervision
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Highly motivated individual
• Interest in pursuing a career in research

Terms of Appointment

This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus and is open to Kenyan nationals only.  The position is on a 2-year contract renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding. ILRI will offer a competitive salary to the successful candidate. The benefits package includes pension, medical and insurances.

Job level and salary: This position is job level 2A Level 2 with a starting salary of KES 71,479 per month. This is exclusive of other benefits provided within ILRI’s National Recruited Staff Scheme

How to Apply

Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience. Applications should be submitted online to the Human Resources through our recruitment portal  http://ilri.simplicant.com/ before 6 January 2014. Only online applications will be considered, and only short listed candidates will be contacted. The position title and reference number is RA/FSZ/12/13 and should be clearly marked on the cover letter.

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer.