Senior Data Scientist - Agronomic Decision Support Systems

Senior Data Scientist - Agronomic Decision Support Systems

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the internationally recruited position of Senior Data Scientist for the Regional Hub for Fertilizer and Soil Health in West Africa and the Sahel.

This is a unique opportunity to impact smallholder farmers, agricultural development and the agribusiness sector through an innovative approach capable of leveraging more than a billion dollars of investment in improving soil health across the region.

Hosted on the IITA campus in Ibadan, Nigeria, the Regional Hub operates as an ECOWAS sub-program, with initial funding from the World Bank (through its AICCRA program) and OCP Africa plus ongoing discussions with a pipeline of other investors across sectors. The Regional Hub aims to improve long-term soil health and fertility for enhanced yield and incomes, efficient resource use, and climate resilience. The Regional Hub is a public-private partnership tasked with driving holistic solutions at scale through engaging entire value chains across country priorities.

The Senior Data Scientist will be responsible for strategy development, technical oversight, scientific coordination, and reporting for all data science aspects of the Regional Hub’s core activities with a leading role for four of the Hub’s 20 Functions.

• Dashboard for soil health and fertilizer.

• Rationalize, harmonize and update the repository of knowledge products.

• Site-specific nutrient management recommendation models.

• Knowledge resources and databases.

We are seeking candidates with a strong background and extensive experience in applying advanced machine learning and modeling techniques to enhance decision-making for site-specific agronomic advisory. This position will provide critical leadership in the design, development, and implementation of decision support tools (DSTs) for agronomic management and climate adaptation across multiple projects. The successful candidate will work collaboratively to develop actionable, climate-informed agronomic advisories, and assist partners to adopt and scale them with millions of farmers across our target region.

The ideal candidate will combine deep expertise in data science, statistical models, and crop modeling with a strategic understanding of agronomy, crop physiology, and soil-plant-atmosphere interactions. This position requires a proven leader who can drive the development and deployment of DSTs and establish diverse partnerships across organizations, sectors and geographies. Additionally, the Senior Data Scientist will play a key role in helping build team and partner capacity and in supporting the core project management team through reporting, fundraising, and creating project visibility. The successful candidate is expected to support and adhere to open and FAIR data and code practices to the extent possible, given some incoming resources may have proprietary constraints.

Position Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Team Management: Lead the development of technical capability across the Hub, including an inventory of tools, solutions and guidelines to enable rapid and deep response to priority demands from target countries for implementing agronomic solutions at scale. Lead and mentor a network of data scientists and modelers in designing, testing, and deploying DSTs. Foster a collaborative and innovative team environment that encourages knowledge sharing and technical excellence.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Building: Lead scientific engagement with national and regional partners across West Africa and the Sahel with a particular focus on effective contribution and use of regional data-based resources. Engage with partners in academic organizations, NGOs, CGIAR, national programs and the private sector, as well as investors, government agencies, and other stakeholders to identify knowledge gaps, define requirements, and develop impactful, scalable solutions for climate-smart agriculture.

Developing Decision Support Tools (DSTs): Oversee the design and implementation of robust, modular DSTs that integrate process-based and empirical crop models. Ensure DSTs are scalable, user-centered, and effective for various extension platforms. Work with the Senior Agronomist to coordinate the expansion and improvement of site-specific nutrient management recommendation models to cover all priority cropping systems and countries across West Africa and the Sahel.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing: Lead training and capacity-building efforts for partners and team members around crop modeling and data science techniques, helping to build expertise across technical partners, national institutions, delivery channels, and organizations.

Delivering Impactful Technologies: Lead the Regional Hub's technical engagement with demand-driven delivery programs in target countries. Contribute to the development or adoption of country-specific solutions tailored to the local context and needs. Provide technical input as required by scaling experts working on bundling solutions and training experts working.

Project Management and Reporting: Support the core project management team in tracking milestones, preparing reports, and maintaining strong visibility of project outcomes. Lead scientific writing and publication efforts to disseminate project results.

Grant Proposal Development and Fundraising: Actively participate in and lead the development of grant proposals to secure funding for high-priority research initiatives. Identify opportunities for new funding streams to support project expansion and innovation.

Technical Oversight and Quality Assurance: Provide oversight for digital platform development, ensuring adherence to best practices in design, security, and scalability. Guide the implementation of data pipelines and workflows, maintaining quality control across all stages of the data lifecycle.

Key Skills

• An agile and strategic thinker with a mission-driven approach and an entrepreneurial spirit

• Ability to engage diverse partners and stakeholders across disciplines, sectors and geographies.

• Demonstrated ability to thrive under complexity and uncertainty and take calculated risks.

• Understanding of the regional agribusiness context and experience working with small-scale farmers at scale in West Africa and the Sahel.

• Proven ability to translate complex data analyses into actionable insights to influence decision-making.

• Use visualization and narrative to make data understood by various audiences.

• Encourage and promote critical thinking with multidisciplinary teams.

Requirements

Educational Qualifications

Advanced Degree in a computational field such as Data Science or Statistics or a related discipline.

Core Competencies & Experience

This role offers an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on agriculture in Africa by driving innovations in climate-smart decision-making tools. If you are a forward-thinking data scientist with a strong record of leadership and a passion for advancing sustainable agriculture, we encourage you to apply.

Extensive Technical Expertise: Strong expertise in statistical modeling, machine learning, AI and crop modeling. Experience with process-based models and their application to agronomic decision-making is essential.

Proven Leadership Experience: Demonstrated success in leading multidisciplinary and multisector teams and managing cross-functional projects. Strong skills in mentoring and capacity-building, with experience in agile development processes and project management.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Skills: Excellent written and oral communication skills with a track record of effective collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including government, academia, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

Technical Skills: Proficiency in Python, R, and other relevant programming languages. Experience with version control (Git), cloud platforms, and tools for handling large datasets (e.g., climate and soil data).

Adaptability and Solution-Orientation: A proactive problem solver with the ability to adapt to changing project needs and priorities.

Project and Grant Management: Experience in securing funding, managing grants, and delivering project reports for investors. Strong organizational skills to manage project timelines and budgets.

Language Skills: Fluency in spoken and written English is required, and proficiency in French is preferred.

Rewards

• Impact: Play a pivotal role in enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability in West Africa and the Sahel.

• Innovation: Be at the forefront of large-scale adoption of science and technology-based solutions for improving African agriculture.

• Collaboration: Work with a dedicated team that is passionate about making a difference, from scientists and extensionists to companies of all sizes and government policy makers.

• Growth: Opportunities for professional development and career advancement within a dynamic and growing organization.

Duty Station: IITA HQ, Ibadan, Nigeria, with the expectation of extensive travel across West Africa.

General information: The contract will be for an initial period of three years. IITA offers an internationally competitive remuneration package that is paid in US dollars.

Applications: Applications must include a cover letter which should address how the candidate’s background/experience relates to the specific duties of the position applied for, curriculum vitae, and names and addresses of three professional referees (which must include the applicant’s direct Supervisor/Superior at his/her present or most recent former place of work). The application should be addressed to the Head of People and Culture and copied to the Interim Director of the Hub. Please complete our online application form using this link: https://apply.workable.com/iita/#jobs

Closing Date: 1st January2025

IITA is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse workforce, particularly welcoming applications from women.

While all applications will be acknowledged, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.