Associate Scientist-Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition

ICRISAT; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

ICRISAT invites applications from Indian nationals for the role of Associate Scientist - Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition, a position hosted for WorldVeg at Hyderabad, Telangana.

The incumbent will lead design, implementation and scientific delivery of post-harvest R&D across regional portfolios, spanning pre-cooling, cold chain, storage, processing and value addition for priority vegetables, while mentoring staff and coordinating with partners and donors.

Qualifications

• Essential PhD in Post-Harvest Technology, Horticulture, Food Science and Technology, Agricultural Process Engineering or closely related discipline.
• Minimum of three to four years of post-doctoral experience in post-harvest research and/or development.
• Proven ability to design and manage field-based research and development projects, including budgets and donor reporting.
• Sound knowledge of post-harvest physiology, handling systems, cold chain, packaging, storage technologies and food safety standards.
• Experience working with smallholder farmers, FPOs, extension systems and market actors in India.
• Excellent written and spoken English; ability to communicate technical content to non-specialist audiences.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead applied research on post-harvest handling, predictive postharvest management, pre-cooling, cold chain, storage, packaging and value addition for priority vegetables.
• Conduct loss assessments along value chains using standard methodologies and identify critical loss points and interventions.
• Adapt, test and validate low-cost technologies for smallholders (e.g., evaporative cooling, zero-energy cool chambers, modified atmosphere packaging).
• Develop and evaluate processing and value-addition technologies to enhance shelf life and farmer incomes.
• Manage on-station and on-farm trials, collect data with scientific rigor, and maintain auditable records.

Skills

Post-harvest expertise

Field-based research

English proficiency

Education

PhD in Post-Harvest Technology or related

Tools

R

SAS

SPSS

Job description

Associate Scientist - Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition

ICRISAT seeks applications from dynamic and motivated Indian nationals for the post of Associate Scientist - Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition.

The incumbent will lead the design, implementation, and scientific delivery of post-harvest R&D across its regional portfolio. This is a nationally recruited position for The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), Hyderabad, Telangana.

ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi- arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.

ICRISAT is headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics.

ICRISAT conducts research on its mandate crops of chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in the arid and semi-arid tropics. The Institute focuses its work on the drylands and on protecting the environment. Tropical dryland areas are usually seen as resource-poor and perennially beset by shocks such as drought, thereby trapping dryland communities in poverty and hunger and making them dependent on external aid.

Please visit www.icrisat.org

Duties and Responsibilities

Research and Technology Development

• Design and lead applied research on post-harvest handling, predictive postharvest management, pre-cooling, cold chain, storage, packaging, minimal processing and value addition for priority vegetables (including tomato, onion, chili, okra, cucurbits, leafy vegetables and traditional/indigenous vegetables).
• Conduct loss assessments along selected vegetable value chains using standard methodologies (e.g., commodity systems assessment, load tracking) and identify critical loss points and intervention options.
• Adapt, test and validate low-cost and scalable technologies suited to smallholder contexts, such as plastic crates, shade structures, evaporative and solar cooling, zero-energy cool chambers, improved curing and drying, and modified atmosphere packaging.
• Undertake work on food safety and quality along the chain, including pesticide residue, microbial contamination and hygiene at aggregation and market points, in coordination with WorldVeg's team.
• Develop and evaluate processing and value-addition technologies for vegetables to enhance shelf life, market opportunities and farmer incomes.
• Evaluate the environmental sustainability and climate resilience of post-harvest technologies and practices, including energy efficiency, food loss reduction and waste utilization opportunities.
• Design and manage on-station and on-farm trials, collect and analyze data with scientific rigor, and maintain complete and auditable research records.
• Contribute to the development of decision-support tools, protocols and standard operating procedures for post-harvest management, processing and value addition.

Project Implementation and Management

• Serve as technical lead for the post-harvest components of WorldVeg SCA projects funded by state governments, national agencies, multilateral institutions and private-sector partners.
• Prepare annual work plans, budgets and procurement plans for post-harvest activities and ensure timely delivery of outputs, milestones and deliverables agreed with donors.
• Supervise and mentor project officers, research associates, field staff and consultants working on post-harvest activities; ensure quality of field implementation and data.
• Prepare technical and progress reports, donor reports and contributions to the SCA annual report in line with WorldVeg and donor requirements.
• Ensure compliance with WorldVeg policies on confidentiality, research ethics, safeguarding, financial management, data management and open access.

Capacity Development and Scaling

• Develop and deliver training programs, demonstrations and extension materials on post-harvest management, processing and value Addition for farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), women's collectives, traders, processors and government extension staff.
• Establish demonstration units and pilot aggregation/handling facilities with partners to showcase good practices and generate evidence on costs and returns.
• Support the development of business models and market linkages that reward quality, including retailers, processors, exporters and institutional buyers.
• Contribute post-harvest technology packages to WorldVeg SCA's technology compendium and donor-facing briefs, including investment and return scenarios.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

• Build and maintain effective working relationships with state Departments of Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing, State Agricultural Universities, ICAR institutes (e.g., ICAR-CIPHET, ICAR-IIHR, ICAR-IIVR), NABARD, APEDA, NHB, MIDH and relevant private-sector actors.
• Identify funding opportunities and contribute to the preparation of concept notes and full proposals for post-harvest and value-chain projects, in coordination with the Regional Director and the SCA proposal development team.
• Represent WorldVeg in technical meetings, stakeholder consultations, policy dialogues and conferences relating to post-harvest management and vegetable value chains.

Scientific Communication and Knowledge Management

• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at national and international scientific fora.
• Prepare policy briefs, technical bulletins, training manuals, factsheets and digital content for diverse audiences.
• Contribute to WorldVeg's global Research Program on post-harvest and food systems, sharing data, protocols and learning with colleagues across regions.
• Ensure research data are curated and deposited in accordance with WorldVeg's data management and open-access policy.

Other Duties

• Contribute to the broader research, monitoring and evaluation, gender and social inclusion, and communications agenda of WorldVeg SCA as required.
• Undertake any other duties reasonably assigned by the Management in line with the level of the position.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

• Post-harvest loss assessment reports and intervention strategies for priority vegetable value chains in projects.
• Validated and costed post-harvest, processing and value-addition technology packages ready for scaling by partners, supported by documented protocols, economic analyses and business cases.
• Annual work plans, budgets and timely technical/donor reports for all assigned post-harvest project components.
• Capacity-building programs delivered to farmers, FPOs, extension officers and partner staff, with training materials in English and relevant local languages.
• Peer-reviewed publication and regular contributions to WorldVeg communications and knowledge products.
• Substantive contributions to concept notes or proposals for post-harvest and value-chain funding.

Requirements

Technical

Essential PhD in Post-Harvest Technology, Horticulture, Food Science and Technology, Agricultural Process Engineering or a closely related discipline with at least three to four years of relevant experience from reputed and recognized institutions. Minimum of three to four (3-4) years of post-doctoral in post-harvest research and/or development, preferably on horticultural crops, in India or South Asia. Demonstrated track record of designing and managing field-based research and development projects, including budgets, work plans and reporting to donors or government funders. Sound knowledge of post-harvest physiology, handling systems, cold chain, packaging, storage technologies, food safety standards and quality management in vegetable value chains. Proven experience in working with smallholder farmers, FPOs, extension systems and market actors in India. Excellent written and spoken English; ability to communicate technical content to non-specialist audiences.

Desirable

Experience with value-chain analysis, business model development and market linkage approaches. Familiarity with Indian government schemes and institutions relevant to horticulture post-harvest infrastructure (e.g., MIDH, RKVY, NHB, APEDA, PMFME, Agri-Infrastructure Fund). Experience in preparing successful proposals for state governments, multilateral or bilateral donors, or CSR funders. Working knowledge of English, Hindi and regional languages. Experience with gender-responsive and nutrition-sensitive approaches in agricultural research for development. Competence in statistical analysis and data visualization software (e.g., R, SAS, SPSS) and in research data management.

Behavioral

Scientific excellence: Rigor, curiosity and a commitment to producing evidence that is relevant to end users. Results orientation: Ability to plan, prioritize and deliver multiple project outputs to deadline and within budget. Partnership and influence: Skill in building trust with government officials, research partners, private companies and community organizations. Leadership and mentoring: Ability to supervise, coach and motivate a multidisciplinary team, including field staff in remote locations. Communication: Clear, persuasive writing and presentation skills for scientific, donor and farmer audiences. Integrity and inclusiveness: Commitment to WorldVeg's values, to gender equality and social inclusion, and to ethical conduct in research and in the workplace.

General

This is a contractual role for a period of 36 months (03 years), renewable based on the performance of the incumbent and the institute’s continuing need for the position.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing diversity and maintaining a progressive and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether they have a disability.