ILRI PhD Graduate Fellowships - Enteric Methane Emissions from Rangelands in Kenya

MSc Fellowships in Kenya - Livestock Characteristics in Rangeland Farming Systems in Kenya



The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Project Manager responsible for the activities in various projects in order to ensure that the projects complete their deliverable within the stipulated timeline and budget.


ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia.


The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals’ alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases.


The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock.


It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa.


The position will investigate livestock characteristics in agricultural production systems with a major focus on ruminants (small and large) and rangeland systems and aims at collecting a suite of data required for establishing accurate Tier 2 GHG emissions baselines across different agroecological zones for the duration of one year.


A standardized protocol that was already successfully applied in Kenya and Tanzania will be followed, following its adaptation to the regional context.


Responsibilities


  • To study enteric methane emissions from beef cattle kept on different rangelands in Kenya;
  • To test and compare different methodologies for measuring and/or calculating enteric methane emissions (e.g., respiration chamber, SF6 tracer technique, IPCC’s Tier 2 approach for calculating emission factors);
  • To collect data on animal performance, activity, intake, diet composition, rangeland species composition and basal cover etc.;
  • To test possible interventions and their effects on methane emissions and animal performance;
  • To upscale the results on a regional basis for different rangeland systems using a partial life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach;
  • To closely work together, cooperate and participate in supervision of MSc students and field research staff;
  • To statistically analyze the data, write scientific papers and prepare conference/workshop presentations;
  • To cooperate and share results with an interdisciplinary team of researchers with different backgrounds (animal nutrition, biogeochemistry, social sciences, gender studies, rangeland ecology etc.);


    Requirements


  • MSc in Agricultural Sciences (preferably Animal
    Nutrition with a focus on ruminants), Environmental Sciences, Rangeland Ecology, or another relevant discipline;
  • Experience in greenhouse gas measurements at different scales, i.e. respiration chambers or SF6 tracer technique would be an advantage;
  • Experience in upscaling field data by modelling or LCA approaches would be an additional asset;
  • Knowledge of grassland/rangeland-based production systems in developing and/or developed countries are an advantage;
  • Experience in handling of diverse datasets, data processing and statistical software such as R, SPSS, Matlab or python;
  • Careful and correct mode of work, especially about field data collection and data analysis, demonstrated skills in writing scientific papers;
  • Experience of living or working in the context of developing countries, especially East Africa, would be beneficial;
  • Willingness to perform field work in rural conditions and ability to work independently and solution-oriented;
  • Ability to cooperate with students and field assistants, farmers and other stakeholder groups, and partly supervise MSc students;
  • Ability to jointly work in a multinational team of scientists, technicians and students from other disciplines (biogeochemistry, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, ecology, social sciences etc.);


    How to Apply


    Applicants should send a cover letter and CV expressing 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 to the Director, People and Organizational Development through our recruitment portal on or before 28th February, 2019. The position title and reference number REF: SLS/PhD ANU GF/02/2019 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.

    We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

    ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.


    For more information and job application details, see; MSc Fellowships in Kenya - Livestock Characteristics in Rangeland Farming Systems in Kenya


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