Senior Scientist - Sustainable Fertilizers, Soil Health, and Climate Solutions

Job Description

About IFDC

IFDC is a public international organization active in 20 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.

Position Summary

The Senior Scientist - Sustainable Fertilizers, Soil Health, and Climate Solutions position will provide scientific leadership and programmatic direction to IFDC's work at the intersection of fertilizer innovation, sustainable agriculture, soil health, and climate mitigation.

The position is designed to strengthen IFDC's role as a global authority on evidence-based fertilizer solutions, including biological and organomineral fertilizers, enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, fertilizer stewardship, and climate-smart nutrient management, while advancing IFDC's engagement in developing robust carbon market mechanisms, biogeochemical modeling, GHG Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems, and policy-relevant science.

This role combines strategic leadership, applied research, partnership development, and resource mobilization, translating rigorous science into scalable solutions for farmers, markets, and governments.

Responsibilities

1. Scientific and Technical Leadership

• Provide technical leadership on sustainable fertilizer systems, including biological, organomineral, and enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, with a focus on soil health, nutrient-use efficiency (NUE), and emissions mitigation (N₂O, CH₄);
• Design and oversee field trials, validation studies, and demonstration networks to generate robust agronomic, environmental, and economic evidence for fertilizer products and practices;
• Lead the integration of life-cycle assessment (LCA), soil carbon, and GHG accounting into IFDC fertilizer research and innovation programs;
• Ensure scientific rigor, quality assurance, and alignment with international best practices and standards;
• Develop and implement innovative approaches for nutrient cycling, including the valorization of organic waste streams and biofertilizers to enhance soil fertility and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs;
• Drive the integration of low-emissions agriculture principles across all IFDC programs, ensuring that nutrient management strategies align with climate mitigation goals.

2. Climate, Carbon Markets, and MRV

• Lead IFDC's technical engagement on agriculture and soil carbon methodologies, including MRV/DMRV systems relevant to fertilizer and soil management interventions;
• Support the development and validation of carbon-in-soil and emissions-reduction approaches linked to fertilizer use, organic amendments, and regenerative practices;
• Lead IFDC's engagement in Carbon markets and Agriculture and Land Use projects, including the design, validation, and implementation of robust carbon accounting and crediting methodologies;
• Provide expert guidance on the quantification and verification of soil carbon sequestration and GHG reductions within agricultural value chains;
• Identify opportunities to monetize environmental services from regenerative agriculture practices through carbon and other ecosystem service markets;
• Engage with international standards bodies, auditors, and technical experts to ensure IFDC science informs credible carbon certification and climate finance pathways (without IFDC acting as a certifier).

3. Program Leadership and Delivery

• Design and manage multi-country, multi-partner programs that link fertilizer innovation with farmer adoption, climate outcomes, and market access;
• Translate scientific research and biogeochemical modelling insights into practical, scalable interventions for farmers and agricultural stakeholders worldwide;
• Ensure that IFDC's initiatives effectively measure and communicate the impact of improved soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics on climate resilience and productivity;
• Translate research outputs into practical guidance, toolkits, decision-support tools, and policy-relevant recommendations;
• Contribute to IFDC's Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) frameworks, ensuring measurable impact and learning across programs.

4. Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

• Build and manage strategic partnerships with research institutions, governments, private sector (fertilizer companies, agri-businesses), NGOs, and multilateral agencies;
• Lead or support grant writing, donor engagement, and co-financing strategies, including bilateral donors, foundations, climate finance actors, and private-sector partners;
• Represent IFDC in global forums on fertilizers, soil health, climate-smart agriculture, and carbon markets.

5. Policy Engagement and Institutional Capacity Building

• Provide evidence-based inputs to national and international policy dialogues on fertilizer regulation, soil health, climate mitigation, and sustainable agriculture;
• Support capacity building of national institutions, including laboratories, extension systems, and regulatory agencies, in fertilizer evaluation, emissions measurement, and data-driven decision-making;
• Strengthen IFDC's role as a trusted science-policy-market interface.

6. Team Leadership and Mentorship

• Lead and mentor multidisciplinary teams of scientists, agronomists, and program staff across regions;
• Foster collaboration across IFDC departments and with external partners;
• Support publication of peer-reviewed articles, technical reports, and policy briefs to enhance IFDC's global scientific credibility.

Requirements

• PhD in Environmental Science, Soil Science, Agronomy, Climate Science, or related field;
• 15+ years of progressive experience in sustainable agriculture, soil health, fertilizer systems, or climate adaptation/mitigation;
• Demonstrated expertise in soil GHG emissions, nutrient management, organic amendments, regenerative agriculture, and climate-smart agriculture;
• Strong experience leading large, complex, multi-disciplinary programs across geographies;
• Proven track record in resource mobilization, donor-funded projects, and partnership management;
• Ability to translate complex science into scalable, farmer-relevant and policy-relevant solutions;
• Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience with carbon standards, MRV systems, and voluntary or compliance carbon markets;
• Familiarity with fertilizer product development, stewardship, and regulatory environments;
• Experience working with multilateral agencies, foundations, and private-sector fertilizer companies;
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals;
• International experience and familiarity with different research and innovation funding mechanisms;
• Experience in establishing public-private partnerships and fostering innovation ecosystems (startups, incubators, accelerators);
• Recognized publications, patents, or innovations in fertilizer science, soil health, or sustainable agriculture.

Reporting and Work Relationships

This position will report to the Director of Innovations and Research Department.

Location

This is a national recruitment with a duty station at the IFDC office based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA.

Benefits

IFDC's benefits include annual and sick leave, health, dental, vision and group life insurance coverage, social security and pension contribution in compliance with local laws.

Salary Clause

The salary grade for this position is BG10.

The determination of new employee salaries takes into account various factors. These include the salary range linked to the assigned job grade, the candidate's qualifications in relation to the job's responsibilities and prerequisites, internal fairness, the competitive state of the job market, as well as potential organizational and budgetary considerations.

Diversity Clause

IFDC is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe in the value of bringing together people with a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. All employment decisions at IFDC are made on the basis of ability, performance, and organizational need, in alignment with our values of fairness, respect, and opportunity for all.