Breeding Trial Specialist Vegetable Seed

Minimum requirements for the role:
Must have a BSc and/or MSc in Horticulture or in Agriculture, (MSc/PhD in Plant Breeding & Genetics will be an added advantage)
3 5 years relevant crop related work experience will be required
Must have relevant knowledge about basic agronomy, plant genetics and breeding, including trial design and theory
Good understanding of the English language both verbally and in writing is important
Experience in plant variety trialing (preferably in vegetable crops), data analysis and assessment (using statistical methods and IT tools) as well as agricultural technologies and applications will be required
Must have previous experience in working with growers and related companies within the vegetable production chain, with the understanding of vegetable market and crop specifications
Must have a valid drivers license and be willing to travel frequently (local/abroad)
Experience with working in international environment would be ideal
Experience in making public presentations is an added advantage

The successful candidate will be responsible for:
Managing on/off site trialing and deliver quality data to support decision making processes.
Functioning as key contributor to trial decisions with the variety performance and other technical parts at Territory level.
Supporting the Breeding Project Leads in making a year plan for assessment trials, including budgets.
Organising external (off-site) trials with growers in relevant crops as planned in the trial planning tool and as described in trial protocols.
Organising internal (on-site) trials with Station Managers in relevant crops as planned in the trial planning tool and as described in trial protocols.
Preparing and negotiating contracts with growers for trials based on standard company agreement.
Performing grower-field and greenhouse selections for trial in line with targeted customer segment and general trialing needs (uniformity, soil, consistency).
Conducting grower visits at critical steps of growing to execute or manage sowing, planting, harvest to prevent mixture and to provide correct material labelling.
Collecting harvest, plants and yield evaluation-data according to trial protocol and breeders needs.
Delivering all collected data via agreed formats and within agreed deadlines.
Instructing Trial Technicians or 3rd party trialing companies to secure good trial and data quality.
Organising data collection in the field with company or 3rd party employees.
Making plant selections in field as instructed by the Breeding Project Lead.
Supporting data collection during line development.
Using the databases and other software packages to plan trials and to analyse data.
Providing data set on the performance of materials from all trials and making good overviews about the hybrids for their positioning in certain markets (country level).
Securing the availability of products and co