Job Summary

Associate Scientist - Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition

ICRISAT seeks applications from dynamic and motivated Indian nationals for the post of Associate Scientist - Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition . The incumbent will to lead the design, implementation, and scientific delivery of post-harvest RD across its regional portfolio. This is a nationally recruited position for The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), Hyderabad, Telangana.

Duties and Responsibilities

Research and Technology Development

- Design and lead applied research on post-harvest handling, predictive postharvest management, pre-cooling, cold chain, storage, packaging, minimal processing and value addition for priority vegetables (including tomato, onion, chili, okra, cucurbits, leafy vegetables and traditional/indigenous vegetables).
- Conduct loss assessments along selected vegetable value chains using standard methodologies (e.g., commodity systems assessment, load tracking) and identify critical loss points and intervention options.
- Adapt, test and validate low-cost and scalable technologies suited to smallholder contexts, such as plastic crates, shade structures, evaporative and solar cooling, zero-energy cool chambers, improved curing and drying, and modified atmosphere packaging.
- Undertake work on food safety and quality along the chain, including pesticide residue, microbial contamination and hygiene at aggregation and market points, in coordination with WorldVegs team.
- Develop and evaluate processing and value-addition technologies for vegetables to enhance shelf life, market opportunities and farmer incomes.
- Evaluate the environmental sustainability and climate resilience of post-harvest technologies and practices, including energy efficiency, food loss reduction and waste utilization opportunities.
- Design and manage on-station and on-farm trials, collect and analyze data with scientific rigor, and maintain complete and auditable research records.
- Contribute to the development of decision-support tools, protocols and standard operating procedures for post-harvest management, processing and value addition.

Project Implementation and Management

- Serve as technical lead for the post-harvest components of WorldVeg SCA projects funded by state governments, national agencies, multilateral institutions and private-sector partners.
- Prepare annual work plans, budgets and procurement plans for post-harvest activities and ensure timely delivery of outputs, milestones and deliverables agreed with donors.




- Supervise and mentor project officers, research associates, field staff and consultants working on post-harvest activities; ensure quality of field implementation and data.
- Prepare technical and progress reports, donor reports and contributions to the SCA annual report in line with WorldVeg and donor requirements.
- Ensure compliance with WorldVeg policies on confidentiality, research ethics, safeguarding, financial management, data management and open access.

Capacity Development and Scaling

- Develop and deliver training programs, demonstrations and extension materials on post-harvest management, processing and value Addition for farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), womens collectives, traders, processors and government extension staff.
- Establish demonstration units and pilot aggregation/handling facilities with partners to showcase valuable practices and generate evidence on costs and returns.
- Support the development of business models and market linkages that reward quality, including retailers, processors, exporters and institutional buyers.
- Contribute post-harvest technology packages to WorldVeg SCAs technology compendium and donor-facing briefs, including investment and return scenarios.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

- Build and maintain effective working relationships with state Departments of Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing, State Agricultural Universities, ICAR institutes (e.g., ICAR-CIPHET, ICAR-IIHR, ICAR-IIVR), NABARD, APEDA, NHB, MIDH and relevant private-sector actors.
- Identify funding opportunities and contribute to the preparation of concept notes and full proposals for post-harvest and value-chain projects, in coordination with the Regional Director and the SCA proposal development team.
- Represent WorldVeg in technical meetings, stakeholder consultations, policy dialogues and conferences relating to post-harvest management and vegetable value chains. Scientific Communication and Knowledge Management

- Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at national and international scientific fora.
- Prepare policy briefs,



technical bulletins, training manuals, factsheets and digital content for diverse audiences.

- Contribute to WorldVegs global Research Program on post-harvest and food systems, sharing data, protocols and learning with colleagues across regions.
- Ensure research data are curated and deposited in accordance with WorldVegs data management and open-access policy.

Other Duties

- Contribute to the broader research, monitoring and evaluation, gender and social inclusion, and communications agenda of WorldVeg SCA as required.

- Undertake any other duties reasonably assigned by the Management in line with the level of the position.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

- Post-harvest loss assessment reports and intervention strategies for priority vegetable value chains in projects.

- Validated and costed post-harvest, processing and value-addition technology packages ready for scaling by partners, supported by documented protocols, economic analyses and business cases. Annual work plans, budgets and timely technical/donor reports for all assigned post-harvest project components.

- Capacity-building programs delivered to farmers, FPOs, extension officers and partner staff, with training materials in English and relevant local languages.
- Peer-reviewed publication and regular contributions to WorldVeg communications and knowledge products.

- Substantive contributions to concept notes or proposals for post-harvest and value-chain funding.

Requirements

Technical: (specialized knowledge and expertise required to perform specific tasks).

Essential

- PhD in Post-Harvest Technology, Horticulture, Food Science and Technology, Agricultural Process Engineering or a closely related discipline with at least three to four additional years of relevant experience from reputed and recognized institutions.

- Minimum of three to four (3-4) years of post-doctoral in post-harvest research and/or development, preferably on horticultural crops, in India or South Asia.
- Demonstrated track record of designing and managing field-based research and development projects, including budgets, work plans and reporting to donors or government funders.
- Strong record of scientific publication and technical writing.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.

📌 Associate Scientist-Post-Harvest Management & Value Addition (Hyderabad)
🏢 Icrisat
📍 Hyderabad