Research Associate - Food Technologist

The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking to recruit a Research Associate - Food Technologist to be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Position: The candidate will support the Market-driven, Resilient and Nutritious Agri-food Systems in the Humid zones of West and Central Africa (WCA) initiative. This initiative aims to build a more resilient, climate-smart, nutritious, gender equitable and viable food production system through development and scaling of novel and inclusive production and post-harvest technologies, participatory decision-making and planning, and informed governance systems.  In Rwanda, previous research undertaken by the International Potato Center (CIP) demonstrated the potential for developing economically viable processed products using orange-fleshed sweetpotato puree as a key ingredient and other products (fried, juice) using sweetpotato roots. 

The selected candidate will report to the Senior Research Associate for planning and implementation of the WCA activities and co-supervise by the Food Chemistry – Post Doc for technical evaluation and support.

Key Responsibilities:

• In collaboration with partners on the initiative, identify potential integration of other target crops into product development process.
  
• Assess interest and capacity of selected SMEs in Central Africa (technically and from a business standpoint) to engage in sweetpotato product value chains.
  
• Lead the procuring and testing of innovative equipment as it becomes available.
  
• Collaborate with private sector companies in developing viable sweetpotato product value chains.
  
• Conduct consumer preference surveys to gain insights into consumer preferences linked to selected sweetpotato products.
  
• Ensure collaborating partners are trained in food safety protocols.
  
• Collaborate with the Food Analysis and Nutrition Evaluation laboratory in assessing nutrient composition of products developed.
  
• Participate in regular team meetings, engaging in multi-sectoral planning and contributing to other activities upon supervisor’s request.
  
• Produce progress reports of the research on a timely basis.
  
• Prepare monthly stories from the field.
  

Requirements

Selection Criteria

• MSc degree in Food Technology or Food Science.
  
• Minimum 6 years of relevant work experience, having worked on projects that engaged with private sectors is a plus.
  
• Experience in product development is highly preferred.
  
• Proven ability in developing marketing strategies.
  
• Strong skills in nutrition and statistics.   
  
•  Excellent interpersonal relationships skills and teamwork orientation
  
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English.
  
• Knowledge of French.