Boosting innovative plant breeding

The Swiss Plant Breeding Center (SPBC) is the newly founded, independent, competence and innovation center for plant breeding in Switzerland. The SPBC aims to strengthen and increase efficiency of plant breeding in Switzerland. Its main tasks are to connect key players in plant breeding and research, and to transfer new scientific results into practical breeding programs. The SPBC provides technical support, know-how and competencies to breeders.  It takes an active role in the planning and implementation of innovation projects. It offers services which align with the customer’s needs and is open to all crop types, cultivation systems and methods. The SPBC covers broad areas of expertise through network partnerships, and is active in the acquisition of customers and third-party funding. The SPBC acts in accordance with the Swiss Plant Breeding Strategy 2050 and is supported by federal funding.

The SPBC project team is looking as of now or by agreement for a

Managing Director for the development and establishment of the Swiss Plant Breeding Center (m/f/d)

Workload: 80 - 100%,
Location: Switzerland, provisionally CH5070 Frick

Your tasks and responsibilities:

• Co-design and establishment of the Swiss Plant Breeding Center in close collaboration with the SPBC project team.
• Management and conceptual development of the SPBC and its planned expansion from 2025 onwards.
• Establishment of a service portfolio for private and public plant breeding actors.
• Support Swiss breeders in project acquisition, planning and implementation of innovation transfer to ongoing breeding programs.
• Support and development of the SPBC network of breeders, researchers and service providers.
• Public engagement and visibility of the SPBC.
• Acquisition of third-party funding.

Requirements:

• Studies in Plant Sciences or related subject with completed PhD, preferably in the field of plant breeding, molecular genetics or bioinformatics.
• Ideally MBA (Master of Business Administration) or corresponding work experience in SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).
• Entrepreneurial and negotiation skills, high self-motivation, perseverance and dedication.
• Scientific and practical expertise in plant breeding.
• Solid knowledge and practical experience in modern breeding methods (e.g. marker-assisted and genomic selection, genotyping, digital phenotyping, breeding methodologies, genome editing, big data handling, machine learning, bioinformatics, statistics, database management, etc.).
• Experience in project acquisition and management, financial control and stakeholder management.
• Ability to communicate with high social and leadership competence.
• Innovative, creative, customer- and solution-oriented personality.
• Interest to connect plant breeding actors in Switzerland, and motivation to play a decisive role shaping the breeding of adapted crop varieties for tomorrow.
• Written and spoken German and/or French, as well as English.

Please, send your electronic application in German or English (incl. letter of motivation, CV, list of publications, 3 references) with subject "CEO_SPBC" to info@spbc-plantbreeding.ch. For further information, please contact Monika Messmer, +41 79 379 16 29.

The development of the SPBC is supported by the Federal Office for Agriculture and the SPBC project team consisting of: Cédric Bärtschi (FiBL), Monika Messmer (FiBL), Amadeus Zschunke (Sativa Rheinau AG), Karl-Heinz Camp (DSP), Roland Peter (Agroscope) und Bruno Studer (ETH Zurich).