Maize Breeding Manager

SUMMARY:
An established international manufacturer of specialised agrochemicals is seeking the above to plan, manage and deliver R&D projects, in support of the corn breeding program in South Africa and related countries, aimed at improving the performance of their germplasm and seed products.

POSITION INFO:

Minimum requirements for the role:

• Must have a Bachelors (Honours) degree in Plant Breeding, Genetics or equivalent
• At least 10 years’ experience within a plant breeding team is essential
• Demonstrated project management experience, including resource and timeline management will be required
• Must have knowledge of breeding methods, preferably in corn or other hybrid crops as well as logistics and timeframe involved in a breeding program
• A good understanding of agricultural crop production is important
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills, to successfully function as part of and/or lead cross-functional teams

 

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Managing a breeding pipeline from product concept to genetic entity development.
• Planning breeding crosses and associated testing of breeding populations.
• Planning and allocating allotted nursery, crossing and replicated trial resources in mainland and off season and continuous nurseries.
• Determining the number of breeding starts, extensiveness of sampling and environments of testing.
• Making selections and advancement decisions from product handoff to Product Evaluation.
• Measuring and monitoring key performance factors relative to pipeline performance and program efficiency.
• Leveraging performance metrics and benchmarking to work towards maximum efficiency of germplasm improvement (genetic gain and cost).
• Ensuring appropriate technology integration in germplasm improvement projects and product development processes.
• Planning, evaluating and implementing genomic selection (GS), DH and other breeding tools.
• Planning and ensuring appropriate trialing, phenotyping and analysis methods are used to enable program success.
• Participating in global sharing of information on breeding protocol improvement.
• Actively participating in product advancement and positioning.
• Maintaining a thorough understanding of available germplasm, performance and needs of similar maturities.
• Participating in all appropriate plot tours and advancement meetings.
• Attending international plot tours and advancement meetings as appropriate.
• Coordinating exchange of germplasm within the global corn program.
• Assisting Product Placement Scientist’s and Product Managers with decisions on conversions and product advancement, placement and support of all brands and market channels.
• Working with the Regional R&D to provide feedback that allows continuous improvement in plot quality, testing efficiency and processes in breeding activities.
• Coordinating and deploying native traits R&D projects.
• Conducting validation and implementation of abiotic stress projects, including water optimization, early planting, COGS and CMS.
• Proposing and monitoring the deployment of native trait research in breeding product pipelines.
• Contributing to deliver integrated solutions to targets markets.

Salary package, including benefits, are highly negotiable depending on experience gained 

 

NB! This job is now closed. You can apply for other jobs by uploading your CV.

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