JOB OPPORTUNITY: SOIL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN

ABOUT THE POSITION

Under the direct supervision of the Scientist in charge of Land Health Management, the incumbent will be based in Yaounde, Cameroon and will lead the overall soil laboratory activities which occasionally have different priorities and requirements.

Specifically, he/she will have the following responsibilities:

• Provide overall management for the laboratory operations
• Maintain laboratory facilities and equipment in accordance with laboratory standards in order to help ensure the validity and integrity of experimental results.
• Supervise all routine soil samples preparation and processing.
• Carry out soil samples analysis following laboratory procedures and standards.
• Establish and maintain relationships with other scientists in need of laboratory analysis to enhance the services offered.
• Develop the strategy and policies for the laboratory and ensure that they are communicated and understood by the staff.
• Responsible for all equipment and resources assigned to the laboratory either permanently or that is temporarily in their custody.
• Implement a fair and transparent means of full cost recovery to cover all operational and capital investments made by ICRAF for laboratory services.
• Keep the laboratory organized and any other laboratory duties, as appropriate.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A bachelor degree in soil chemistry or, a bachelor degree in chemistry and Biochemistry with focus on soil properties/nutrients
• A minimum of 3 years' experience in a soil laboratory or other laboratory environments.
• Skills in the use of laboratory equipment such as radioscope and spectrometer will be an advantage.
• Ability to communicate fluently in written and verbal English.
• Excellent technical knowledge of computer applications and systems.
• Well organized with good management skills necessary to manage laboratory operations.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to pass on information clearly to users and to grasp difficulties perceived by users.
• Strong customer service orientation that establishes a good working relationship with laboratory users, with the attitude of wanting to assist people and pass-on their knowledge and experience to others.
• Ability to multi-task in dealing with several different problems at a time.
• Ability to work under high pressure, meed deadlines, monitor and follow-up on pending matters under minimum supervision.

TERMS OF OFFER

The World Afroforestery Centre is an equal opportunity employer and offers a collegial and gender-sensitive working environment. We believe that staff diversity promotes excellence and strongly encourage applications from qualified women. This position is a contract of service and will be for an initial period of one(1) year. The contract could be renewed subject to performance, continued relevance of the position and availability of funds.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for the position must include:

• A cover letter illustrating your suitability for the position against the listed requirements and salary expectations.
• A detailed curriculum vitae
• The names and addresses of three referees, including telephone, fax numbers and email  addresses.

All correspondence should be addressed to the Human Resources Unit, ICRAF West and Central Africa Region email: icraf-aht@cgiar.org. Applicants should indicate "Application - Title of position Soil Laboratory Technician" on their application letters and email submissions.

Applications will be considered until 10th May 2014 or until a suitable candidate is identified and selected.

Please not that only short-listed applicants will be contacted.