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CIMMYT is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow's problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries. CIMMYT is a core CGIAR Research Center, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security and improving natural resources. For more information, visit cimmyt.org . Objective of the Post We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated candidate for the position of Assistant Research Associate to be based in our Southern Africa Office in Harare, Zimbabwe. This is a nationally recruited position and is open to all Zimbabweans with excellent academic records. This position will support the implementation of managed stress phenotyping and on-farm trial activities, ensuring high-quality physiological and agronomic data collection. The role will also strengthen compilation, quality control, curation, analysis-ready formatting, and upload of breeding data into digital breeding data management platforms including EBS. Duties and Responsibilities: 1.      Regional On-Farm Trial Implementation Coordinate and implement regional on-farm trials with farmers, NARS, seed companies and research partners Ensure trials follow approved protocols for design, planting, management, monitoring and data collection Conduct field visits, provide technical guidance, and support harvesting, yield measurement and documentation of field conditions   2.      Stress Phenotyping and Physiology Support development and implementation of standardized phenotyping and physiological data collection protocols Operate and calibrate field tools such as sensors, GPS devices, moisture meters, weather stations and digital data collection tools. Train field teams and ensure accurate, high quality physiological and environmental data collection across trial sites.   3.      Data Management, Quality Assurance and EBS Support Support electronic data capture, data cleaning, validation and quality assurance using EBS Fieldbook, Kobo Collect, ODK and other approved digital platforms. Compile, curate and upload phenotypic, agronomic, environmental and farmer feedback datasets into EBS and related breeding data systems. Ensure datasets are standardized, traceable, analysis-ready and properly documented to support reporting, breeding decisions and data integration   4.      Logistics and Operations People and process management of all field activities across sites Monitor inputs, equipment and materials required for field operations Ensure compliance with safety and operational guidelines  5.      Reporting and Documentation Maintain field books, trial maps, and activity records. Contribute to routine progress reports and summaries. Document deviations and field observations clearly. Any other duties that may be allocated by the supervisor Requirements MSc in Crop Science, Seed Systems, Data Science in Agriculture or related field Clean Class 4 Drivers Licence and a valid Defensive Driving Certificate. At least 3 years’ experience in agricultural research and field operations (experience in crop physiology/phenotyping and data management will be an added advantage). Basic understanding of plant physiology Experience with field trail management and data collection Familiarity with di