Job Description
The role: The main purpose of the role is to lead and develop a small team delivering transformation and gene editing in a range of non-cereal crops, including oilseed rape, vegetable Brassicas and legumes. The post holder will be responsible for the normal day to day activities of the team including tendering for jobs, managing research budgets and developing the skills of team members to deliver a successful service to public and private sector users. An important facet of the role will be to drive innovation, expanding our capabilities and ensuring state-of-the-art gene editing techniques are accessible to crop scientists both within the UK and internationally. Working together with staff within the Institute Strategic Programmes you will build relationships with academics and businesses, developing partnerships and new projects that make a key contribution to the John Innes Centre’s national and international reputation as a hub for innovation in crop science. In practice this means tendering for and participating in grant-funded research projects, responding to the challenges facing society as we transition to a more sustainable food system in a changing climate. The ideal candidate: The ideal candidate will have previous experience delivering innovation in crop transformation or gene editing and will be responsible for developing new capabilities alongside managing the team to deliver a first-class service to users in the United Kingdom and internationally. Experienced in plant molecular biology, the successful candidate will have excellent organisational skills, the ability to manage budgets and deliver high quality work to agreed deadlines. Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant subject or equivalent post-graduate experience in crop science and a sustained track record of research and delivery in crop transformation and/or plant gene editing. They will have excellent communication skills and experience working closely as a team, both within their organisations and in collaborative research with external stakeholders.