Chief of operations to the Interbull Centre, SLU

The Interbull Centre provides genetic information services and applied research for improvement of livestock to a worldwide network and fulfils a mandate as a European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL). The Interbull Centre is a section of the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), which has been contracted by the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) to be the operational unit for the Interbull permanent subcommittee and for the Interbeef working group. In this capacity Interbull Centre is responsible for conducting several genetic/genomic evaluation processes involving data from more than 32 member countries from five continents. As the EURL for Zootechnics, the Interbull centre interacts with the EU member states through the international genetic evaluation services and also provides assistance to the European Commission in issues related to bovine breeding and genetics. The Interbull Centre is formed by seven full time staff, one part time consultant, a PhD student and it is supported by the Interbull Secretariat.



As Chief of operations you are responsible for the daily working routines of the group concerning genetic information services. You have a responsibility to manage and develop the work activities, and organize the group in order to utilize and develop available skills in a suitable manner. Moreover, you are responsible for controlling documents and processes, strategically planning and prioritizing projects, and for the laboratory's infrastructure and working environment. You keep regular contacts with geneticists and data managers from the member countries to ensure the quality of data exchanges between the Interbull Centre and the members. You are also responsible for monitoring the progress of several genetic evaluation processes conducted by the Interbull Centre's service team. You are also a catalyst and motivator for the Interbull Centre's development, both internally and externally. You work half time with your managerial duties and half time operatively within the group that handles large data sets and performs phenotypic-, pedigree and SNP-analyses in order to genetically merit individual bulls. The results are compiled and made available to the clients of interest.



Qualifications

You have a college/university degree in science with a preferable focus on computational- or quantitative genetics. It is meritorious if you hold a PhD in this subject area and have conducted your own research. For this role it is crucial that you are experienced in, or have a profound understanding of the process regarding handling large data sets. Moreover, it is desirable that you are experienced in Python, Fortran, R, or shell programming/scripting. You are a responsible person with extensive strategic, organisational and decision-making skills. You are expected to be service oriented with the ability to delegate and lead personnel, and your work is focused on quality. The role requires you to be outgoing, communicative and responsive with very good oral and written English. It is also desirable that you speak Swedish. We place great emphasis on your personal characteristics.



About the Interbull Centre
The International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) was founded in 1951 and is today the world-wide organization for the standardization of animal recording and productivity evaluation. During the past half century, ICAR has evolved into a global organization known for establishing standards and guidelines for animal recording, identification and genetic evaluations.

INTERBULL became a permanent sub-committee of the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) in 1988, supported by its parent organizations EAAP and IDF, and also the FAO. It is managed by an ICAR appointed Steering Group, consisting of members from different countries.

Following a call for tender the Interbull Centre was established in 1991 under contract with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, and with financial support from the Swedish Farmers' Foundation for Agricultural Research, the dairy industry and the Swedish Board of Agriculture. In 1996 the European Union (EU) appointed the Interbull Centre as the community reference body for bovine evaluations. Additional information about the Interbull Centre can be obtained at www.interbull.org [ http://www.interbull.org/ ].



Employer: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Location: Uppsala.

Scope: Full time. SLU applies a six month probationary period.

Application closing date: 10th of March 2014.

For information: In this recruitment SLU cooperates with Proffice Life Science. For questions regarding this position, contact Recruitment Consultant Stefan Grip, 073-343 41 45, stefan.grip@proffice.se [ mailto:stefan.grip@proffice.se ]. You are welcome to register your application at www.profficelifescience.se [ http://www.profficelifescience.se/ ].