Key Responsibilities:
The Feeds
Research Officer will work closely with interdisciplinary
teams from ILRI’s People Policies and Institutions (PPI) and Genetics,
Nutrition and Feed Resources (G&NFR) programs to conduct research on BSFL
breeding, production, processing, and utilization in livestock diets. This
includes optimizing BSFL rearing systems, evaluating the nutritional value of
BSFL for different livestock species, scaling and developing effective
extension strategies to promote uptake of BSFL based livestock diets and frass
among smallholder farmers. Ultimately, this position will contribute to
building resilient and sustainable livestock systems that improve livelihoods
and enhance food security for smallholder farmers in Africa.
Specific
duties include but are not limited to:
- Provide specialized technical support for the
collection, management, and analysis of data generated from feed
resources, including chemical analysis (proximate, fibre, mineral,
vitamin, amino acid), and digestibility studies to ensure high-quality
data collection, accurate analysis, and effective data management to
inform project objectives related to integration of BSFL in animal diets.
- Provide expert support and coordination for the
design, development, protocol design, and implementation of animal feeding
trials, ensuring high-quality data collection, compliance with institute
policies and procedures, and adherence to ethical and scientific
standards.
- Support trials evaluating the impact of Black
Soldier Fly diets on animal performance, health, and environmental impact,
and to work with selected feed companies to optimize Black Soldier Fly
Larvae rations.
- Conduct rigorous data analysis of Black Soldier
Fly Larvae trial data, generate high-quality outputs including
presentations, scientific papers, and tailored dissemination materials,
and effectively communicate research findings to diverse audiences, with a
particular emphasis on the novel applications, impact on animal
productivity, and cost-effectiveness of BSFL integration for smallholder
farmers .
- To lead and coordinate the planning,
implementation, and reporting of the project focused on use of black
soldier fly as animal feed, ensuring the timely delivery of project
outputs, effective management of project resources, and alignment with
research objectives.
- To develop and maintain strong relationships
with key stakeholders, including private sector entities, government
agencies, national agricultural research systems, farmer collectives, and
farmers, while actively engaging in capacity-building initiatives and
outreach activities to promote the adoption of sustainable animal feed
practices and technologies
- Other duties as assigned
Requirements
- Master’s degree in animal science, Livestock
Science, Feeds and Feeding Science, Animal Nutrition, Livestock
Production, or specific related areas such as dairy or poultry science.
- Strong understanding of livestock nutrition and
diet formulation, particularly in smallholder systems, with knowledge of
non-ruminant nutrition (poultry and swine) and opportunities for BSFL
inclusion.
- Skills in feed and nutrient analysis, data
management, and statistical software.
- Awareness of feeding gaps and systems
perspectives in developing-country mixed crop–livestock systems;
field-based experimentation experience, with participatory research
methods in smallholder systems an advantage.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with
proven ability to work in multidisciplinary teams to address feed
challenges.
- Demonstrated experience in partnership
management, stakeholder engagement, and co-creation of solutions.
- Experience contributing to and leading
activities and reporting for small projects, ensuring effective
decision-making and team alignment.
- Willingness to travel to rural areas.
- Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain
professional contacts, and to interact with national officials and
experts, other researchers, international organizations, development
partners, and other stakeholders.
- Proficiency in using Ms Office and statistical
packages such as STATA, R, SPSS etc.
- Demonstrated good organizational skills and
ability to work with a minimum of supervision.
How to Apply
