Research Assistant II

About this role

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is recruiting a Research Assistant II to join its digital inclusion team as a field-based research assistant in Arusha, Tanzania. The post sits within CGIAR, the global research partnership for a food-secure future, and supports digital and artificial intelligence tools that make crop breeding data collection more reliable and scalable. Day to day, the post-holder leads all field data collection activities, designing and executing field trials, scheduling collection activities, and developing and documenting standard operating procedures and related Bruno development work. They maintain and update the knowledge base on SOP and Bruno development so new users can be onboarded to the digital AI tools, giving feedback to the MLOps team on SOP execution and image data quality.

They also work with product development and user research colleagues to test app model development and data collection flows, and support onboarding of new breeding teams within CGIAR and NARS institutions. Required qualifications include a BSc in agronomy, plant breeding, or a related agricultural field, professional working proficiency in English, and demonstrated experience managing agronomy research trials, writing reports, and leading field teams. Candidates must show excellent problem-solving and attention to detail, strong communication and collaboration skills, and good organisational and time-management abilities. Basic knowledge of data collection tools such as ODK and image data quality analysis is required, alongside solid Microsoft Office skills including Excel, Word, Google Sheets and Google Docs.

The position is a nationally recruited one-year contract based in Arusha, with a three-month probation period and renewal subject to performance and resource availability. It is graded BG05, with a minimum basic salary of TSH 2,700,000 on a BG01 to BG14 scale, and benefits include insurance, a retirement plan, training and development, paid time off, and flexible working arrangements. Applications go through the Alliance careers portal, quoting reference RFP301434, and close on 15 October 2026.