The CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform (www.excellenceinbreeding.org) is a cross-commodity platform that supports the modernization of breeding programs targeting Africa, Asia, and Latin America for greater impact on food and nutrition security, climate change adaptation and development.
The Platform is part of the new CGIAR portfolio of research programs and platforms (www.cgiar.org/our-strategy), and is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known by its Spanish acronym, CIMMYT®, a not-for-profit research and training organization with partners in over 100 countries (www.cimmyt.org).
In the 20th Century, crop breeding drove tremendous gains in profitability and food production that fed a rapidly expanding world population. Along with improved farm management practices, breeding now offers unique opportunities to mitigate climate change and to help farmers — particularly smallholders in developing and emerging economies — to adapt to climate shocks while meeting the rising demand for food and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
The Platform is recruiting a Module Lead specializing in Breeding Process Management. EiB supports breeding programs targeting Africa, Asia and Latin America to adopt best practices and technologies to improve rates of genetic gain and variety turnover, for impact on food and nutrition security, livelihoods and climate change adaptation.
The Module Lead for Breeding Process Management will guide and support EiB partners (CGIAR and national public and private sector breeding programs in these target regions) to adopt efficient, product-oriented and demand-led breeding pipelines. This position will offer the successful candidate the opportunity to create wide-reaching benefits across breeding programs serving resource-constrained farmers in Africa, America and Latin America. One of five Module leads covering the full spectrum of breeding activities and technologies, and reporting to the EiB Deputy Director, this position works closely alongside the EiB Market Researcher and directly with EiB partners to implement best practices in process management in their breeding operations.
We are seeking an expert who has an understanding and track record in optimizing breeding management processes for delivering maximum impact, with a focus on modern methodology, to produce new varieties and intermediary germplasm in, desirably, several crops. This person will bring leadership skills built on a solid professional understanding of breeding and product and process management concepts. They will be able to introduce these concepts where they have not been implemented, while effectively spreading the mission of the Excellence in Breeding platform which is to lead, co-ordinate and support improvement of CGIAR and NARS breeding.
The Module Lead for Breeding Process Management will work closely with the EiB Market Researcher and CGIAR and national breeding teams to ensure that:
- Breeding program objectives are based on market intelligence and drivers of variety adoption.
- Targeted product profiles that ensure delivery of breeding program goals are the basis for all breeding activities and decision-making, including; setting objectives, identifying target traits, germplasm advancement decisions, selecting parents and allocating resources strategically among trait development, trait discovery and variety development.
- Defined processes are in place to ensure all breeding program decision-making are based on reliable market and breeding data, including the establishment of a high-quality and transparent annual advancement meeting, stage-gate processes and impact analysis (genetic gain and variety turnover).
- Regular tracking of performance against key indicators aligned with breeding program objectives. Including effective methods for routine assessment of genetic gains and for monitoring the breeding pipeline against leading indicators predicting genetic gain and variety turnover.
- Breeding teams are incentivized appropriately, structured to foster teamwork and individuals appropriately empowered.
- There is transparency of breeding program outputs to breeding teams, research managers and funders.
The location of this position will be determined through consultation with the selected candidate between either CIMMYT headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico, or the ICRAF campus in Nairobi, Kenya. This position will involve significant international travel.
Specific duties:
- Engage directly with the EiB Market Researcher, CGIAR and NARS breeding teams and managers to implement:
- Development of high-quality product profiles, based on market intelligence and with cross-functional input.
- Demand-driven, product-oriented breeding activities based on the product profiles.
- Stage gate variety advancement processes.
- High quality annual advancement meetings.
- Annual assessment of genetic gain and breeding program performance against key indicators relating to genetic gain and variety turnover.
- Develop tools, where appropriate, to support breeding teams and managers with the activities listed above.
- Provide mentorship and consultation for the partner breeding community.
- Prepare training strategy and materials.
- Lead and contribute to both virtual and face-to-face training and mentorship activities targeted at EiB partner breeding teams in various world regions.
- Contribute to annual and multi-year work plan development, execution and reporting, and manage those associated budgets.
