Consultant

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT 

Consultant

REF: C/LGFNR/017/26

Ethiopia

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to engage a consultant who conducts a comprehensive gap analysis of the tropical forage collection conserved in the ILRI Genebank and to develop a strategic, evidence-based acquisition plan.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org.

GENERAL BACKGROUND:

ILRI Genebank holds one of the most diverse collections of tropical forages comprising nearly 2000 spp. Within this collection, there are over 8000 accessions of grass and legumes from Africa. However, the geographic mapping based on passport data and country of origin indicates that several regions remain underrepresented in the genebank. Africa, while the centre of diversity for many tropical forages, is experiencing rapid environmental and socio-economic changes, including land degradation, habitat loss, and climate variability. These changes pose a serious risk of genetic erosion, threatening the loss of valuable and potentially irreplaceable germplasm. In this context, the urgency to systematically identify, prioritize, and collect underrepresented forage species has become increasingly critical.

An independent panel review of the ILRI Forage Genebank has highlighted the need to undertake gap assessment in the collection and to develop evidence-based acquisition strategy and action plan to secure valuable germplasm before it is lost. These efforts ensure genebank captures the breadth and depth of diversity required for future research, breeding and restoration initiatives.

Hence, ILRI seeks to recruit an experienced expert to conduct a thorough gap analysis of the tropical forage collection conserved in the genebank. The assessment will include evaluation of both taxonomic and geographic coverage, using available passport, characterization, and environmental data. The expert is expected to apply advanced analytical approaches, including species distribution modelling and spatial analysis, to identify priority species, populations, and regions for future collection.  Building on this analysis, the expert will develop a comprehensive Acquisition Strategy and Action Plan. This will outline clear priorities, methodologies, and operational steps for targeted germplasm collection missions, with a particular emphasis on underrepresented regions in Africa and wild forage species with high potential value. The strategy will also consider practical aspects such as partnerships, regulatory frameworks, risk management, and resource requirements to ensure effective and sustainable implementation.

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The main objective of this assignment is to conduct a comprehensive gap analysis of the tropical forage collection conserved in the ILRI Genebank and to develop a strategic, evidence-based acquisition plan.

Specific objectives include:

• To assess the current collection in terms of taxonomic and geographic coverage
• To identify gaps and underrepresented species, populations, and regions
• To apply advanced analytical approaches, including species distribution modelling and spatial analysis
• To prioritize species and regions for future germplasm collection efforts
• To develop a comprehensive, actionable acquisition strategy that guides targeted collection missions

SCOPE OF WORK

• The consultant will undertake a comprehensive assessment and strategic planning process to strengthen the ILRI forage genebank collection. The scope of work will include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
• Review existing genebank (passport, characterization, evaluation datasets),and assess taxonomic and geographic coverage of the existing collection.
• Data cleaning and taxonomic harmonization
• Georeferencing quality checks
• Sampling bias treatment / spatial thinning, 
• Model validation metrics, 
• Uncertainty reporting, 
• Decision rules for prioritization.
• Conduct taxonomic gap analysis across forage species that including Sample Representativeness Score (SRS), Geographic Representativeness Score (GRS) and environmental Representativeness Score (ERS)
• Identify priority species, populations, and regions that are underrepresented or missing
• Apply spatial analysis and species distribution modelling to identify potential collection hotspots for targeted collection efforts
• Utilize modern gap analysis applications and sub-setting tools (e.g., tools developed by Alliance Bioversity-CIAT and ICARDA) to generate actionable outputs.
• Identify priority regions in Africa and beyond for germplasm acquisition
• Propose an implementation plan for future germplasm collection missions
• Literature review on genetic resources conservation and diversity assessment of forage crops
• Engage with relevant stakeholders and partners, including national and international genebanks, where necessary to validate the findings
• Analyse and summarize the gap in the collection and prepare detailed visualizations (maps, score distributions, potential hotspots).
• Develop a comprehensive Acquisition Strategy and Action Plan considering collection priorities, operational methodology, partnerships and collaborations with NARS and Genebanks, and regulatory frameworks, risk management and resources required

FINAL PRODUCTS

• Inception report outlining methodology, tools and work plan
• Gap assessment report (taxonomic, geographic and environmental space analysis)
• Maps and spatial outputs highlighting priority collection areas and predicted hotspots
• Suitability / hotspot modelling: where target taxa are likely to occur or persist under current conditions.
• List of priority species, populations and regions for collection
• Comprehensive Acquisition Strategy document, including operational guidance (detailing where, why and how to collect), partnerships, and regulatory considerations.
• Action Plan with clear timelines, priorities, and resource requirements, and risk mitigation strategies
• GIS layers / shapefiles / geodatabases,
• Scripts or notebooks,
• Cleaned datasets,
• Metadata and assumptions,
• Map templates and scoring tables.
• Final report incorporating feedback from ILRI

PROVISION OF MONITORING AND PROGRESS CONTROLS

August 2026

• Inception report
• Develop inception report

September 2026

• Gap assessment report
• Review existing genebank (passport, characterization, evaluation datasets), and assess taxonomic and geographic coverage of the existing collection, identify gap and write a report

October 2026

• Maps and spatial outputs highlighting priority collection areas and predicted hotspots
• GIS layers / shapefiles / geodatabases,
• Scripts or notebooks,
• Cleaned datasets
• Metadata and assumptions,
• Map templates and scoring tables.
• Conduct taxonomic gap analysis across forage species that including Sample Representativeness Score (SRS), Geographic Representativeness Score (GRS) and environmental Representativeness Score (ERS)
• Develop datasets, metadata and assumptions for gap analysis, developing acquisition strategy and action plan.
• Analyse and summarize the gap in the collection and prepare detailed visualizations (maps, score distributions, potential gaps and hotspots).

November 2026

• Suitability / hotspot modelling
• List of priority species, populations and regions for collection
• Develop suitability map for key forages
• Develop list of priority species, populations and regions for collecting based on the gap assessment result and spatial map

December 2026

• Comprehensive Acquisition Strategy document and action Plan with clear timelines, priorities, and resource requirements, and risk mitigation strategies
• Final report incorporating feedback from ILRI
• Develop Comprehensive Acquisition Strategy and action plan
• Write final report

Required qualifications:

Education:

• Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in ecology, plant genetic resources, botany or related field
• Strong expertise in GIS and species distribution modelling
• Experience software for gap analysis
• Familiarity with tropical forage species and African agro-ecologies is highly desirable
• Demonstrated ability to develop strategic plans and technical reports
• Experience contributing to writing reports and journal publications
• Ability to work independently, multi-task and meet tight deadlines

Experience:

• At least 5 years of proven experience in genebank, collecting mission, gap analysis, germplasm acquisition and population genetics

Language requirement:

• English (fluent).

Duty Station:   Addis Ababa with possible travel within Ethiopia

Terms of appointment:  The consultant appointment is for 5 months (maximum working days of 110 working days)

THE CONSULTANT IS REQUIRED TO HOLD A VALID BUSINESS LICENSE AND ABLE TO ISSUE VAT/TOT RECEIPTS WHEN PROCESSING CONSULTANCY FEES.

Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae.

The position and reference number: REF: C/LGFNR/017/26 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com/ before 13 July 2026.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training).

Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.

To find out more about ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org

To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/

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