ASARI: Postdoc in soil microbiology

Place: UM6P Laayoune ASARI

Expected start date : April 2024

About ASARI

The African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI) launched by UM6P in Laayoune in 2020 within the Foum Eloued technopole project focuses on several research and development programs including biosaline agriculture, native species valorisation, camel value chain, water and renewable energy. The institute consists of a multidisciplinary team of agronomists, biochemists, molecular biologists, bioprocess specialists, animal scientist, etc to respond to regional challenges affecting marginal environments.

Job Summary

the postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for research that studies the interactions between biologicals (microorganisms, microbial signals) and crop plants, in the context of developing suitable crop inoculants for African smallholder farmers. 

The successful candidate will be highly motivated, have an agricultural background, and have completed a Ph.D. in Soil Science, soil microbiology, Plant Science or related fields. The selected Postdoctoral Fellow will be familiar with state-of-the-art techniques used to understand soil microbiology and microbial-plant interactions. This individual will have in-depth knowledge of the microbial-plant interactions in realistic soil environments that experience drought, salinity and other constraints.

Job Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include but not limited to:

• Evaluate, interpret and synthesize experimental results from scientific literature;
• Conceive and design experimental approaches to study the scientific problem from the perspective of biological(s) that have potentially high value or high impact in the African context;
• Select analytical methods that are suitable for measuring the biological material and/or the delivery mechanism;
• Management and analysis of experimental data;
• Take the lead on writing of research reports and communicating the scientific results for conferences and scientific publications
• Participate in the training and supervision of visitors, interns, graduate students, undergraduate students, and volunteer workers as needed, and other research and innovation tasks as assigned. Data scheduling, collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation. 
• Supervise PhD and Master students as well as interns
• Project management including budget, materials, equipment, and staff

Additional responsibilities will include:

• Research proposal writing for external funding
• Report writing for research project
• Manuscript writing and publication in referee journal. 

The candidate will also be expected to help maintain all field and laboratory equipment, order supplies as needed, and help maintain research plot records and. Responsibilities also involve frequent travelling to different experimental platforms, desert environments and farmer’s fields at national and international level

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Ph.D. in Soil Microbiology, Microbial-Plant Interactions or related fields. 
• Background in agronomy, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, or related areas.  
• Experience with data collection and analysis. Knowledgeable of procedures for assembling and analyzing genomic data and other datasets. Proficiency with graphical and statistical packages. 
• Demonstrated ability to take the lead in planning experiments, conducting research and interpreting results.
• Superior communication skills, including a demonstrated record of presentations to professional organizations and publication in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. 
• Experience and interest to mentor students and other personnel. 
• Energetic, motivated, and proactive.
• Good publications record in refereed journals
• Fluency in written and spoken English. French and Arabic will be a plus
• Experience in working as a member of a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to initiate, conduct, and publish research in a scientific manner and to obtain external grant funding
• Well-developed oral and written communication skills

Desirable:

• Working knowledge of statistics and database management
• Additional language skills, Arabic and French are desirable
• Supervisory experience