Research Associate – Laboratory Services

The Research Associate – Laboratory Services position is responsible for enhancing team field operations and coordination, ensuring an organized and efficient work environment. The individual will work closely with project leaders and project scientists to manage both office and field activities for ongoing projects in Kenya. This role includes overseeing soil analysis through spectroscopy, as well as the analysis of plants, fertilizer, and manure. Additionally, the Research Associate will be responsible for scheduling maintenance for all laboratory equipment, ensuring that​ all tools and instruments are in optimal working condition to support research activities.

  Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensuring the lab and all lab equipment are in working status including availability of required re-agents.
• Coordinating and or receiving, documenting and processing of samples delivered to the lab.
• Conducting and overseeing soil and plant analyses following established/appropriate lab procedures and protocols.
• Keeping records of samples, re-agents and analyses data.
• Maintaining cleanliness and organization of laboratory spaces and ensuring compliance with laboratory safety protocols and regulations and ethical standards.
• Developing protocols, supporting establishment and management of field trials and demonstrations of the MFL within CGIAR Scaling for Impact Accelerator.
• Undertaking field data and sample collection related to the field/demonstration trials
• Participating in other field activities such as field days, farmer mobilization, capacity building or any others assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements

Required Education Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Soil Science, or Environmental Science, Analytical Chemistry, Applied Biology, Agronomy or related field.
• Master of Science (M.Sc.) in any of the above is an added advantage
• Experience in soil spectroscopy equipment and methods
• Knowledge of field sampling techniques and data collection methods
• Knowledge in writing soil analysis recommendation reports.
• Familiarity with project management, prior experience with the management of specific projects would be considered an asset.
• Strong organizational and detail-oriented skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiarity with online collaboration tools (Microsoft Teams; Teams).
• Knowledge of records management