Analytical Chemist

About IFDC

IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.

Responsibilities

This position is responsible for supporting the Research and Innovation department’s day to day laboratory activities commonly used in agricultural and fertilizer laboratory mainly pertaining to soil fertility and soil health.

• Support day-to-day operations of the analytical laboratories, including sample collection, preparation, extraction, analysis, and preliminary data processing;
• Ensure compliance with laboratory protocols, safety standards, and regulatory requirements;
• Operate on various scientific equipment that include ICP-OES, Flow Injection Analyzers, Total C and N analysis etc.;
• Follow all quality assurance and control procedures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of analytical results;
• Generate data reports summarizing analytical findings.

Reporting and Work Relationships

This position will report to the Lab Manager of Analytical Laboratories.

Location

This is a national recruitment with a duty station at the IFDC office based in Muscles Shoals, AL.

Benefits

IFDC's benefits include annual and sick leave, health, dental, vision and group life insurance coverage, a 13th-month salary, social security and pension contribution in compliance with local laws.

Salary Clause

The salary grade for this position is BG 5 with an annual salary range of USD 39,467 - 49,334.

The determination of new employee salaries takes into account various factors. These include the salary range linked to the assigned job grade, the candidate's qualifications in relation to the job's responsibilities and prerequisites, internal fairness, the competitive state of the job market, as well as potential organizational and budgetary considerations.

Diversity Clause

IFDC is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, and offers equal employment opportunities based on ability, performance, and potential. Equal opportunity is integral to the recruitment and selection practices at IFDC. IFDC recognizes the value in recruiting employees with different backgrounds, knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. IFDC recognizes and values the contribution of people with a diverse background in capabilities, experience, and perspectives. Diversity encompasses gender, age, experience, education, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds as well as other dimensions such as lifestyle and family responsibilities.

Required Skills

This position requires theoretical and practical knowledge of analytical chemistry to  carryout analysis of fertilizers, amendments, soils, and plant tissues. The position also requires a good knowledge of MS Excel.

Minimum requirements of this job are:

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or soil science;
• 0 to 1 year of prior work experience;
• Good scientific knowledge to understand analytical procedures;
• Knowledge of various scientific equipment pertaining to soil, fertilizer and plant tissue analysis, along with a basic knowledge of analytical data verification and processing to ensure the accuracy and integrity;
• Minimum knowledge of computers to operate scientific equipment, and carry out basic analytical data processing;
• A team player attitude with a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning;
• Ability to communicate effectively to prepare reports.