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CIMMYT is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow's problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries. For more information, visit: cimmyt.org CIMMYT is looking for an outstanding, self-motivated, and result-oriented professional for the position of Maize Plant Health Scientist. This position will provide strategic leadership in plant health across CIMMYT’s Global Maize program, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and international priorities. The location of this position will be CIMMYT Nairobi, Kenya. Set Plant Health Vision for CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program (GMP) Define CIMMYT GMP’s long-term plant health strategy and regions. Align disease priorities with breeding pipelines, climate projections, and food security risks. Establish CIMMYT as the global authority on maize disease risk in low- and middle-income countries. Lead AI-Enabled Disease Surveillance and Early Warning Systems Integrate field surveillance, genomics, remote sensing, and climate data into predictive disease models. Apply machine learning to forecast outbreaks, pathogen evolution, and resistance breakdown. Develop open dashboards and early warning tools accessible to national partners. Lead the execution, and delivery of scientifically robust pathology trials for product advancement decisions. Optimize disease screening and assays for maize breeding for field application Design and execute pathology trials that are scientifically rigorous, reproducible, and aligned with breeding program goals. Generate high-quality disease resistance data that supports decision-making in breeding, product advancement, and regulatory submissions. Ensure compliance with relevant biosafety, ethical, and quality assurance standards.   Lead Genetic Disease Resistance and Pathogen Intelligence Integration Establish genetic disease resistance as the cornerstone of crop protection by guiding breeding strategies, prioritizing durable resistance approaches, and informing trait deployment to minimize pathogen adaptation. Integrate pathogen genomics and population biology to monitor and anticipate pathogen evolution. Translate pathogen intelligence into actionable breeding and deployment strategies that slow adaptation and extend product life cycles. Establish a comprehensive pathogen intelligence framework that integrates genomic characterization, surveillance of emerging variants, and translation of insights into breeding and trait deployment strategies, ensuring durable crop resistance and proactive disease management. Lead Seed Health, Disease-Free Production, and Phytosanitary Compliance. Establish and oversee comprehensive seed health testing protocols to detect and prevent seed-borne pathogens. Ensure disease-free seed production systems through strict monitoring, sanitation, and certification processes. Implement and maintain phytosanitary procedures aligned with national and international regulatory frameworks. Facilitate safe seed movement across borders by ensuring compliance with international standards (e.g., ISTA, IPPC). Provide technical guidance to breeding and production teams to integrate seed health into product advancement pipelines. Embed Epidemiology and Agronomy into Disease Risk Models. Develop an integrated, multi-dimensional maize disease risk data platform that consolidates epidemiological, agronomic, and environmental datasets to enable robust modeling o