Professor​/Associate Professor; Plant Breeding - Department of Plant and Soil Sciences - Facu

UP Posting - Academic

FACULTY OF NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

In pursuit of the ideals of excellence and diversity, the University of Pretoria wishes to invite applications for the above vacancy. The University of Pretoria's commitment to quality makes us one of the top research universities in the country and gives us a competitive advantage in international science and technology development.

The Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria is a leading research and teaching department in the disciplines of basic and applied plant sciences in Africa and internationally. It is recognised for the quality, relevance and impact of its research, and its graduates are sought after by all stakeholders.

The Department is one of the most productive departments at UP, with a strong emphasis on undergraduate and postgraduate training. We have a unique blend of research expertise in crop and tree health and production, soil science, plant biotechnology, phytomedicine, ecology, systematics and biodiversity. The Department hosts the Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden and the HGWJ Schweickerdt Herbarium. Experimental field sites and plant growth facilities at Innovation Africa @ UP are less than 2 km from main campus.

Within the University, the Department has active collaborations with other departments and research entities, particularly the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) and the Future Africa indigenous food gardens initiative.

One academic position is available in the Department at the level of either Professor or Associate Professor with specialisation in plant breeding and a focus on DNA marker based molecular breeding combined with high-throughput phenotyping data. The incumbent will be responsible for developing and stewarding this specialization. For example, there are excellent opportunities to conduct research in breeding of climate‑smart African orphan crops, or in plantation forestry in collaboration with the Forest Molecular Genetics/Eucalyptus and Pine Pathogen Interactions research team  incumbent will be appointed at a level commensurate with their level of experience.

The incumbent will have an academic mandate of teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with an emphasis on molecular plant breeding and precision Agriculture. They will supervise honours, masters and doctoral students, and produce research outputs through scientific papers published in international high‑impact journals, books, and conference presentations. The incumbent will be expected to raise research funds and build a strong, internationally acclaimed research programme in molecular plant breeding.

• Curriculum development, upgrading and updating course material
• Participating in professional scientific societies
• Participating in community engagement activities
• Active involvement in Departmental, Faculty, and/or University administrative tasks

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Relevant PhD in Plant Breeding or a related field
• At least eight (8) years of tertiary teaching experience
• Evidence of being an established researcher that has international recognition (e.g., in South Africa, a NRF rating in C category and above)
• Evidence of current postgraduate student supervision at masters and doctoral level
• Evidence of supervision of graduated masters and doctoral students that have gone on to fill academic, postdoctoral or research roles
• Recent evidence of research outputs in the field of molecular plant breeding at a rate of at least four publications per year in Web of Science‑listed journals (average over five years)
• Recent evidence of oral presentations of research at local and international conferences in an appropriate field, including invited/keynote presentations
• Involvement in an international scientific society in an appropriate field
• Experience in module coordination, and module and programme curriculum development, with evidence of…