Job Openings at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.

We are recruiting to fill the following positions below:

1.) Individual Consultant (AI)

Ref No: NRS2025-08
Job Location: Ibadan, Oyo
Employment Type: Contract
Duration and Location of the Assignment: The consultancy is expected to last for 21 days.

Description

• The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is seeking to engage the services of an Individual Consultant to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capacity and readiness within the organization.
• This consultancy will identify priority areas for AI applications to improve data analytics, forecasting, and precision in research and scaling processes across programs such as crop improvement, plant health, agronomy, seed systems, climate resilience, value chain development, and impact delivery.
• The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a comprehensive AI Capacity Assessment, needs identification across programs, and provide actionable recommendations, along with a roadmap, to strengthen AI integration in alignment with the project’s overall goals and donor requirements.

Scope of Work / Key Responsibilities
The consultant will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

• Conduct a desk review of relevant IITA strategies, reports, digital platform inventories, and related CGIAR initiatives. 
• Engage with key IITA programs and support services (Research Programs, ICT, Data Management, Communications and Knowledge Management, People and Culture, Project Development Administration, etc.) through virtual consultations, questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. 
• Assess existing digital and data infrastructure, software systems, databases, and AI-related tools used within IITA and its projects. 
• Map human and institutional capacities relevant to data science, machine learning, and AI. 
• Identify organizational bottlenecks, including skills, resources, infrastructure, and governance gaps hindering the mainstreaming of data, digital, and AI.  
• Benchmark IITA’s AI readiness against similar CGIAR centers or peer institutions. 
• Develop recommendations and an implementation roadmap for strengthening AI use in research and delivery. 
• Identify high-potential AI use cases for research and operational efficiency. 
• Present findings in an internal validation workshop, institutional webinar, and solicit feedback from internal stakeholders.  
• Finalize the report incorporating stakeholder feedback. 

Requirements
Required Qualifications and Experience:

• Advanced degree in relevant field – e.g., Environmental Science, Agricultural Science, Natural Resource Management, Statistics/ Data Science or related discipline.
• Minimum of Seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in agricultural or Environmental project implementation, Monitoring and evaluation in Agricultural Research.
• Demonstrated expertise in Methane Reduction & Climate-Smart Agriculture, Data Collection and Tool Design, and Data Analysis. 
• Excellent analytical, Data analysis, quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Previous experience working with international organizations, donor-funded projects, or research institutions will be an added advantage.

Application Closing Date: 24th December, 2025.

Click here to apply online

2.) GIS & Meteorological Officer

Ref No: IITA/P&C/NRS2025-041
Job Location: Ibadan, Oyo
Employment Type: Contract
Contract: 3 year renewable 

Duties

• Manage and maintain weather station networks across IITA stations.
• Install and service both automatic and conventional weather stations.
• Collect meteorological data through daily instrument readings and periodic downloads from automatic stations.
• Process and analyse meteorological data to support informed decision-making in IITA research activities.
• Conduct GIS data analytics, including drone/UAV data acquisition and processing.
• Produce maps and spatial products using GIS and remote sensing data.
• Deliver high-quality geospatial analysis and remote sensing data processing in support of diverse IITA projects.
• Supervise graduate interns, university students, and NYSC members working in the GIS Laboratory.
• Coordinate and facilitate educational excursions for students from colleges and tertiary institutions to the IITA weather station at the Ibadan campus.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements
Qualifications:

• BSc in Geography, Meteorology, Environmental Science, Geoinformatics and other related courses.
• The ideal candidate must have minimum of 3 years’ experience performing a similar role in a well-structured environment.
• Experience with scripting using R and Python programming for geospatial and remote sensing data analysis, and familiarity with drone/UAV operations and data processing workflows is desirable.
• Professional certification or training in GIS, Remote Sensing, or Meteorological instrumentation is desirable.

Competencies:
The ideal candidate must:

• Be proficient in GIS software (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS) and remote sensing tools.
• Have experience with meteorological instruments and data collection protocols.
• Possess strong analytical skills for processing and interpreting spatial and meteorological data.
• Demonstrate excellent organizational and supervisory abilities, particularly in managing interns and students.
• Exhibit effective communication, presentation, and writing skills.
• Be capable of working both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research environment.

Remuneration
We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

Application Closing Date: 18th December, 2025.

Click here to apply online

3.) Research Data Management Officer

Ref No: IITA/P&C/NRS2025-041
Job Location: Ibadan, Oyo
Employment Type: Contract
Contract: 1 year renewable 

Duties
Data Collection and Documentation:

• Support project teams in designing and using data collection tools (digital and paper-based).
• Ensure data collection, cleaning, validation, and documentation are carried out in line with IITA/CGIAR standards.
• Support the development and implementation of project Data Management Plans (DMPs).

Data Management and Curation:

• Clean, validate, and store datasets generated from project activities.
• Ensure compliance with lITA and donor data management policies, including metadata documentation.
• ??Curate and archive datasets in institutional repositories, ensuring compliance with the FAIR principles.
• ??Develop and maintain secure databases and repositories for project data.
• Prepare datasets for submission to lITA repositories, CSpace, and other open data platforms linking them to project outputs.

Data Analysis and Reporting:

• Support in the preparation of periodic project reports, dashboards, and visualizations.
• Provide preliminary data analysis to inform program decisions and strategy.
• Assist in generating datasets and evidence for publications, policy briefs, and knowledge products.

Capacity Building and Support:

• Build the capacity of project staff and youth beneficiaries in data literacy and management.
• Provide technical support and training to staff and partners on data management practices.
• ??Provide ongoing technical support in data entry, storage, and retrieval.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing:

• Liaise with lITA's Data Management and Open Access teams to align with institutional standards.
• Facilitate data sharing within project networks and contribute to open data initiatives where appropriate.
• Apply and promote the use of metadata standards and repositories (e.g., AGROVOC, DataCite, CGSpace).
• Maintain records of datasets generated and shared by the project.
• Perform any other job-related tasks as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements
Qualifications:

• HND / BSc in Computer Science/Engineering, Information Technology, Statistics or any other related course.
• The ideal candidate must have a minimum of six (6) years’ experience in performing similar role in a well-structured environment.
• Previous experience in agricultural research or development projects is an added advantage.

Competencies:
The ideal candidate must:

• Demonstrate strong knowledge of data management systems (ODK, KoboToolbox, or similar).
• Possess solid understanding of data curation, metadata standards, and repositories (CKAN, Dataverse, DublinCore, DDI).
• Have experience with digital data cleaning and wrangling tools (e.g., R, Python, Stata, SPSS).
• Show proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools (Excel, SPSS, R, Stata, Python, Power BI).
• Exhibit excellent communication, teamwork, and capacity-building skills.

Remuneration
We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

Application Closing Date: 18th December, 2025.

Click here to apply online