Background information about the job or company (e.g., role context, company overview)

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known by its Spanish acronym, CIMMYT®, is a not-for-profit research and training organization with partners in over 100 countries. Please refer to our website for more information: www.cimmyt.org

CIMMYT is looking for an outstanding, self-motivated, and result-oriented professional for the position of Maize Plant Health Scientist. This position will provide strategic leadership in plant health across CIMMYT’s Global Maize program, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and international priorities.

The location of this position will be CIMMYT Nairobi, Kenya.

Responsibilities or duties

Set Plant Health Vision for CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program (GMP)

• Define CIMMYT GMP’s long-term plant health strategy and regions.
• Align disease priorities with breeding pipelines, climate projections, and food security risks.
• Establish CIMMYT as the global authority on maize disease risk in low- and middle-income countries.

Lead AI-Enabled Disease Surveillance and Early Warning Systems

• Integrate field surveillance, genomics, remote sensing, and climate data into predictive disease models.
• Apply machine learning to forecast outbreaks, pathogen evolution, and resistance breakdown.
• Develop open dashboards and early warning tools accessible to national partners.

Lead the execution, and delivery of scientifically robust pathology trials for product advancement decisions.

• Optimize disease screening and assays for maize breeding for field application
• Design and execute pathology trials that are scientifically rigorous, reproducible, and aligned with breeding program goals.
• Generate high-quality disease resistance data that supports decision-making in breeding, product advancement, and regulatory submissions.
• Ensure compliance with relevant biosafety, ethical, and quality assurance standards.

Lead Genetic Disease Resistance and Pathogen Intelligence Integration

• Establish genetic disease resistance as the cornerstone of crop protection by guiding breeding strategies, prioritizing durable resistance approaches, and informing trait deployment to minimize pathogen adaptation.
• Integrate pathogen genomics and population biology to monitor and anticipate pathogen evolution.
• Translate pathogen intelligence into actionable breeding and deployment strategies that slow adaptation and extend product life cycles.
• Establish a comprehensive pathogen intelligence framework that integrates genomic characterization, surveillance of emerging variants, and translation of insights into breeding and trait deployment strategies, ensuring durable crop resistance and proactive disease management.

Lead Seed Health, Disease-Free Production, and Phytosanitary Compliance.

• Establish and oversee comprehensive seed health testing protocols to detect and prevent seed-borne pathogens.
• Ensure disease-free seed production systems through strict monitoring, sanitation, and certification processes.
• Implement and maintain phytosanitary procedures aligned with national and international regulatory frameworks.
• Facilitate safe seed movement across borders by ensuring compliance with international standards (e.g., ISTA, IPPC).
• Provide technical guidance to breeding and production teams to integrate seed health into product advancement pipelines.

Embed Epidemiology and Agronomy into Disease Risk Models.

• Develop an integrated, multi-dimensional maize disease risk data platform that consolidates epidemiological, agronomic, and environmental datasets to enable robust modeling of pathogen dynamics and inform breeding, management, and deployment strategies.
• Develop standardized data formats to ensure compatibility across epidemiology and agronomy inputs.
• Model disease dynamics across cropping systems, landscapes, and management practices.
• Integrate agronomic and farmer behavior data into disease risk assessments.
• Design disease management strategies suitable for low-input systems.

Partnerships, Representation and Resource Mobilization

• Build and lead global plant health partnerships by coordinating with NARS, CGIAR centers, universities, and international agencies to align strategies and resources for transboundary and emerging disease response.
• Strengthen national and institutional capacity through mentoring scientists, developing training programs, sharing protocols, and ensuring sustainability of plant health systems via institutional strengthening and knowledge transfer.
• Publish in top-tier journals on pathogen biology, disease forecasting, and resistance durability.
• Develop and deliver donor proposals and investment cases that translate complex plant health risks into compelling, data driven narratives focused on disease surveillance and resistance.
• Engage and partner with donors to strengthen proactive global disease risk management and ensure sustained support for resilient plant health systems.
• Represent CIMMYT at global forums and advise governments and international bodies on biosecurity, climate risk, food systems, and disease preparedness and response.
• Strengthening CIMMYT’s visibility and credibility as a trusted, neutral authority in global plant health and food security.

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills)

Ph.D. in plant pathology or any other closely related crop protection field from an internationally recognized university.

A publication record in high-impact Journals related to Plant Pathology.

Good knowledge of international seed exchange and phytosanitary guidelines.

Working knowledge of data analysis software like R, SAS, and Genstat preferred.

Good reporting and communication skills in English (working language).

Strong interpersonal and communication skills to manage complex collaborator relations, including experienced breeders, social scientists, and crop protection experts.

The selected candidate should exhibit the following competencies: Problem Solving and Decision Making, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Teamwork, and Communication.

Experience needed

Minimum +5 years Post-Ph.D experience.

Working experience in disease screening under natural and artificial inoculations for key maize diseases is a great advantage.

Track record of flexibility, adaptability, well organized and working under pressure with tight deadlines.

Able to excel in a fast-paced, dynamic team environment and possess skills to manage support staff.

Any other provided details (e.g., benefits, work environment, team info, or additional notes)

Willing to travel widely in East and Southern Africa.

• Define CIMMYT GMP’s long-term plant health strategy and regions.
• Align disease priorities with breeding pipelines, climate projections, and food security risks.
• Establish CIMMYT as the global authority on maize disease risk in low- and middle-income countries.
• Integrate field surveillance, genomics, remote sensing, and climate data into predictive disease models.
• Apply machine learning to forecast outbreaks, pathogen evolution, and resistance breakdown.
• Develop open dashboards and early warning tools accessible to national partners.
• Optimize disease screening and assays for maize breeding for field application
• Design and execute pathology trials that are scientifically rigorous, reproducible, and aligned with breeding program goals.
• Generate high-quality disease resistance data that supports decision-making in breeding, product advancement, and regulatory submissions.
• Ensure compliance with relevant biosafety, ethical, and quality assurance standards.
• Establish genetic disease resistance as the cornerstone of crop protection by guiding breeding strategies, prioritizing durable resistance approaches, and informing trait deployment to minimize pathogen adaptation.
• Integrate pathogen genomics and population biology to monitor and anticipate pathogen evolution.
• Translate pathogen intelligence into actionable breeding and deployment strategies that slow adaptation and extend product life cycles.
• Establish a comprehensive pathogen intelligence framework that integrates genomic characterization, surveillance of emerging variants, and translation of insights into breeding and trait deployment strategies, ensuring durable crop resistance and proactive disease management.
• Establish and oversee comprehensive seed health testing protocols to detect and prevent seed-borne pathogens.
• Ensure disease-free seed production systems through strict monitoring, sanitation, and certification processes.
• Implement and maintain phytosanitary procedures aligned with national and international regulatory frameworks.
• Facilitate safe seed movement across borders by ensuring compliance with international standards (e.g., ISTA, IPPC).
• Provide technical guidance to breeding and production teams to integrate seed health into product advancement pipelines.
• Develop an integrated, multi-dimensional maize disease risk data platform that consolidates epidemiological, agronomic, and environmental datasets to enable robust modeling of pathogen dynamics and inform breeding, management, and deployment strategies.
• Develop standardized data formats to ensure compatibility across epidemiology and agronomy inputs.
• Model disease dynamics across cropping systems, landscapes, and management practices.
• Integrate agronomic and farmer behavior data into disease risk assessments.
• Design disease management strategies suitable for low-input systems.
• Build and lead global plant health partnerships by coordinating with NARS, CGIAR centers, universities, and international agencies to align strategies and resources for transboundary and emerging disease response.
• Strengthen national and institutional capacity through mentoring scientists, developing training programs, sharing protocols, and ensuring sustainability of plant health systems via institutional strengthening and knowledge transfer.
• Publish in top-tier journals on pathogen biology, disease forecasting, and resistance durability.
• Develop and deliver donor proposals and investment cases that translate complex plant health risks into compelling, data driven narratives focused on disease surveillance and resistance.
• Engage and partner with donors to strengthen proactive global disease risk management and ensure sustained support for resilient plant health systems.
• Represent CIMMYT at global forums and advise governments and international bodies on biosecurity, climate risk, food systems, and disease preparedness and response.
• Strengthening CIMMYT’s visibility and credibility as a trusted, neutral authority in global plant health and food security.

• Working knowledge of data analysis software like R, SAS, and Genstat
• Good reporting and communication skills in English
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Flexibility, adaptability, well organized
• Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
• Teamwork
• Communication

• Ph.D. in plant pathology or any other closely related crop protection field from an internationally recognized university.
• A publication record in high-impact Journals related to Plant Pathology.
• Good knowledge of international seed exchange and phytosanitary guidelines.
• Working experience in disease screening under natural and artificial inoculations for key maize diseases is a great advantage.