Research Fellow – Climate‑Smart Forages for Resilient Livestock

About the role

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is seeking a Research Fellow to lead advanced genomic analyses that support the development of climate‑smart forages for resilient livestock systems in East Africa. The fellow will work within the Forage Genebank team, turning large‑scale Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Genotyping‑by‑Sequencing (GBS) datasets into actionable insights for breeding programs and scientific publications.

Key responsibilities

• Process, analyse and interpret WGS and GBS data from diverse forage germplasm collections.
• Generate high‑quality tables, figures and reports to support research outputs and publications.
• Develop and maintain robust bioinformatics pipelines and data‑management workflows.
• Contribute to peer‑reviewed manuscripts and technical reports.
• Provide training, mentorship and capacity‑building activities in bioinformatics tools and programming for institute staff and partners.

Required profile

• Strong background in genomic data analysis, statistical genomics and bioinformatics.
• Experience handling large‑scale sequencing datasets and translating results into breeding decisions.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment.
• Commitment to capacity development and knowledge transfer.

Required skills

• Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Genotyping‑by‑Sequencing (GBS) data analysis.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as R, Python and Linux command‑line tools.
• Familiarity with bioinformatics pipelines, data curation and visualization.