Position: Scientist (Fish Feeds and Nutrition)

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Application Deadline: 25 August 2022

Type of contract: 01-year fixed-term contract (renewable based on performance & budget)

Language(s) required: English (proficient/fluent writing and oral skills)

About WorldFish

WorldFish is an international, non-profit research and innovation organization reducing hunger, malnutrition and poverty across Africa, Asia and the Pacific. For over 45 years, our work on sustainable aquaculture and fisheries has improved the lives of millions of women, men and youth.

Fish and other aquatic foods grown in and harvested from oceans, lakes, rivers and ponds provide income for more than 800 million people and provide 3.3 billion with 20% of their animal protein intake. Our focus on sustainability makes sure that the way we produce and use these foods today means a plentiful future of generations to come.

Our evidence-based solutions range in scale from households to global policies and spans across six interlinked themes: nutrition, gender, climate, sustainability, economy and COVID-19. We champion aquatic foods for healthy people and planet and believe that a sustainable blue planet of well-nourished children, women and men is within our reach.

About The Position

The new Norad-funded project “Development and Scaling of Sustainable Feeds for Resilient Aquatic Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (FASA)” will be implemented in Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Malaysia and Sweden. WorldFish is seeking a nationally recruited Research Assistant to support the Scientist (Fish Feeds and Nutrition) in the achievement of the project goal in Zambia. The primary purpose of this position is to assist in the implementation of the FASA project in Zambia, under the direction of WorldFish Project Leader based in Malaysia and the WorldFish Country Director, Zambia and Southern Africa.

The candidate will work in an interdisciplinary team of experts from different backgrounds, including fish nutrition, gender, climate change, scaling of innovations, science communication, rural development and bioprocesses. The candidate will focus on the implementation on the ground of high quality applied research on fish nutrition and feeds in the laboratory and on-farm, with emphasis on scoping novel local sustainable ingredients, assessing the nutritional quality and digestibility of local ingredients and feeds, estimating the nutrients requirements of local strains of tilapia and African catfish, training of aquaculture stakeholders, communication and outreach and the publication of scientific and technical articles.

The Successful Candidate will

• Lead the project work in Zambia.
• Design and conduct ingredient scoping in Zambia.
• Design, execute and report on the laboratory and on-farm fish feeds and nutrition experiments in Zambia.
• Publish technical, scientific and outreach articles.
• Work collaboratively with the Project Leader based at the HQ in Malaysia.
• Develop productive partnerships to further feeds research in Zambia, through key international and national research institutes and universities.
• Build productive relations with investors and development partners from public and private sectors for scaling out research results.
• Mentor BSc/MSc students and interns from national and international universities and organization, who are involved in the project.
• Plan, organize, execute and report on project progress in dialogue with senior as well as junior staff/employees and external partners.
• Contribute to resource mobilization for further feeds work in Zambia and in other WF countries.
• All other duties that may be required from time to time.

Requirements

This job might be for you if you have the below skills and qualifications:

• PhD in Aquaculture, Aquaculture Nutrition or related fields of animal nutrition.
• At least two year of research experience in aquaculture nutrition and feeds research.
• Excellent proficiency of spoken and written English.
• Proven record of publications in his/her study field.
• Motivation for high quality science and delivery of impact from research.
• Show proven interest and ability to develop and maintain a professional network in the field of aquaculture nutrition and fish feeds research.
• Ability to work within interdisciplinary research teams, linking own expertise to other fields, including human nutrition, value chains, climate change, scaling and gender research fields.
• Ability to work independently and manage research projects.

Desired Skills And Qualifications

• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong technical and scientific writing skills with record of publication in high quality scientific journals.
• Good organizational skills.
• Good leadership and mentoring skills.
• Project management experience.

Benefits

Salary & Benefits

This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position and WorldFish offers a competitive remuneration package including (but not limited to) insurance coverage for staff and eligible dependents, provident fund contribution, paid leave and others.

Our Offer

The position will be based in Lusaka, Zambia. Interviews are expected to begin in September 2022. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and expected to attend the virtual interview session. The successful candidate should be available to commence as soon as possible for an initial of one (01) year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of contract renewal depending on performance and funding situation.