Applicant must be a US citizen.

Summary of Position

Biogemma is a French plant biotech company having several French-based seed companies (Vilmorin, RAGT, and Euralis) and financial institutions as shareholders. Its major shareholder, Vilmorin, is the 5th seed company Worldwide. Biogemma is seeking a highly motivated person to manage a GMO field trial platform in the USA for Corn and Wheat. He/she will be based at the Biogemma US Corp. office in Ames (IA, USA). He/she will report to the research manager of the GM Trait Discovery research unit (GMTD) based in Clermont-Ferrand (France).

Responsibilities may include directly or indirectly:

The role of the field trial manager is to lead, plan, manage and support the delivery of projects aimed at the agronomic evaluation of candidate genes for future GMO commercial trait development. He/she will have a key role in co-ordination and communication of field trial activities with the transgenic research unit in France and the shareholders. He/she will participate in strategic decision-making through participation in the FAC research unit steering committee.

Main activities

• Plan budget proposals and timelines to ensure that targets are achieved.
• Ensure the flow of project-relevant information within the US team and the research unit in France.
• Responsibility for regulatory compliance, notification submission, relationships with APHIS and USDA, stewardships for GMO practices.
• Support for field trial design and statistical analysis.
• Negotiate contracts with service providers and the legal department.
• Management of the administration of the site (office + seed preparation lab).
• Develop relationships and collaborations with institutes, local organisations, service providers and shareholders.
• Frequent reporting to his/her supervisor about project status and needs in a timely manner

Experience

• In depth experience of project and personnel management.
• Expertise in plant breeding including methodologies, experimental field plot design (RCB, BIBD, lattice, latin square, augmented or unreplicated designs with spatial control), nursery management
• Evaluation of phenotypic data using appropriate statistical methods (GLM ...)
• Experience working with field trial on regulated GMO material.
• Good communication, organization and computer skills are required.

Education

• PhD degree with a minimum of 5 years of experience in plant breeding, genetics or a closely related field.
• Strong knowledge in agronomic statistics.

Critical skills

• This position requires good coordination and communication skills due to interactions with University teams and/or service providers, the research teams in Europe, with the breeding teams of Biogemma’s shareholders in the US and in Europe and locally with USDA and APHIS and representatives.
• Based in Ames, this position requires travelling to various States of North America, Puerto Rico and several trips per year to France.
• Corn and wheat breeding requires extended hours during planting, pollinating, and harvest seasons.
• Able and willing to deal with social and cultural differences

Application

Send your CV and a letter of motivation by email to Christophe SALLAUD, Research Manager, Biogemma, France (rh@biogemma.com)  

To be accepted, the application must refer ABSOLUTELY to the following reference: 11-FAC-006-CR