Overview of Semilla Nueva 

Malnutrition affects over a billion people worldwide, and Guatemala has the third highest rate in the world with nearly half of children suffering stunted growth. Semilla Nueva works with scientists, farmers, and the Guatemalan government to promote biofortified crops. Biofortified corn, beans and others have been bred to have higher yields, better taste, and far more nutrients. These new crops allow farmers and families to continue growing and eating what they traditionally have, while dramatically improving the nutrition of their children, and the entire food system. 

Semilla Nueva’s goal is to reach more than a million people with these new crops in the next five years. Semilla Nueva works directly with farmers to test, improve and disseminate these new seeds. We achieve scaling through collaborations with farmer groups, NGOs, the government and through direct sales of commercial seeds based on innovative social marketing campaigns. We have also constructed a national collaboration to promote biofortified seeds, which has helped nearly 20 organizations throughout the country reach 5,000 families in its first year. Our newest seed, launched in 2016, has already changed the daily diets of 27,000 people, and we hope to reach 60,000 in 2017. This year marked our first year of commercial seed sales, which we hope in five years will provide over half of our revenue, allowing Semilla Nueva to become more financially sustainable. 

Our work has been recognized by CNN, Huffington Post, and Forbes and led to an Ashoka Fellowship and Forbes 30 under 30 for our founder. 

Overview of the Position 

We are hiring a research director to lead the development of new biofortified corn hybrids. This work will partner with and build off the achievements of organizations such as CIMMYT and Harvest Plus to develop seeds that bring farmers competitive advantages, while improving the nutritional quality of Central America’s staple food. Our goal is to ensure that biofortified seeds can become more competitive with the best conventional seeds from the biggest companies in the market. This position will oversee a local field team creating a breeding pipeline, collaborate with partner organizations, and explore new technologies to improve our breeding work or to include with the seeds we sell. Semilla Nueva began its breeding program in 2016, launching yield trials, line recombination, experimental hybrid formation, and a backcross project in 2017. We are proud to have maintained a passionate and committed team with great relationships with our partner farmers and allies. We are looking for a new team member who can be just as passionate as we are about developing new seeds to change the lives of hundreds of thousands or millions of people. 

The position is full-time position based in Guatemala City or our research farm, with extensive travel through tropical and subtropical Guatemala. 

Qualifications 

Required: 

• M.S. in crop breeding or an associated field 
• Experience with field trial management 
• Excellent data analysis and data presentation skills 
• Academic research abilities 
• Strong networking and interorganizational collaboration skills 
• Advanced Spanish and fluent English or fluent Spanish and advanced English 

Desired: 

• PhD in crop breeding 
• Hybrid corn breeding experience 
• Experience in genomic selection 

Expectations 

• Minimum commitment two years 
• Ability to work independently, proactively, and prioritize/coordinate a variety of activities 
• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team 
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, constantly evolving work environment 
• Must be comfortable driving in Guatemala and have a valid Driver’s License from home country 

Specific Tasks 

1. Lead establishment of a breeding pipeline – This position will work to fully establish a pipeline of new biofortified corn hybrids. This will involve leading SN’s breeding field team in improving the quality of our nursery, isolation plots, and yield trials, which are located in three different regions of Guatemala. Strategic decisions in pipeline development and management will require familiarization with the literature on QPM and high zinc QPM breeding, as well as consultation of our technical partners at CIMMYT and other institutions. 
2. Germplasm and data management: This position will establish improved systems for the management of both germplasm and data, most likely based on the Integrated Breeding Software from CIMMYT. 
3. Oversee creation of nutrition lab – Based on the nature of our focus, nutritional characteristics of experimental materials will need to be evaluated in house. This position will oversee the setup and operation of a small lab specifically designed to revise minerals and amino acids through bacterial assays and XRF equipment. 
4. Next step technologies –This position will evaluate new technologies that may be used to increase the speed and efficacy of breeding (such as genomic selection) as well as new traits to include in our seed portfolio (such as high iron maize). This position will take leadership in assisting Semilla Nueva in establishing new strategic directions based on this research. 
5. Representation of Semilla Nueva in the scientific community–This position will attend conferences, workshops, and workgroups on biofortification and will be part of the Semilla Nueva team interfacing with CIMMYT, Harvest Plus, and other technical partners. 

Applications

Before applying, please review our website: www.semillanueva.org, including blogs and annual reports. 

To apply please send your cover letter and CV to trabajo@semillanueva.org. Please note “Research Director” in the subject line of your email.