Academic Faculty Position — Crop Production

About the position

This vacancy is open to candidates at all academic ranks — from Senior Lecturer to Professor (or equivalent). Applicants must indicate their preferred rank and area of specialization: plant protection and diagnostics, or crop production technology. The final rank will be determined by the University Selection Committee based on the candidate's qualifications, publications, and experience.

Responsibilities

• Teaching specialist courses and practical classes at bachelor's and master's levels in the chosen specialization: either plant protection, phytopathology, and pest and disease diagnostics within crop production systems, or general and specialized crop production, agrotechnologies, soil science, seed production, and forage production. Selected courses may be taught in English.
• Developing, updating, and delivering course syllabi and teaching materials in line with programme learning outcomes, and integrating modern agricultural and digital technologies into the curriculum.
• Continuously updating lecture and practical content to reflect new agrotechnologies, climate challenges, and agricultural digitalization, including Precision Agriculture, GIS monitoring, agri-data analytics, and Carbon Farming approaches.
• Supervising bachelor's graduation theses, master's dissertations, and research projects aligned with the chosen specialization.
• Participating in the university's research and applied projects, and collaborating with agricultural research centres, agriholdings, and regional farming enterprises.

Requirements

Education Requirements

• A PhD or equivalent degree in agronomy, crop production, plant protection, soil science, farming systems, agroecology, or a related field matching the specialization profile.
• A related profile is acceptable if the dissertation topic, publications, and professional experience are connected with crop production and plant protection.

Experience Requirements

• Academic and teaching experience consistent with faculty requirements set out in the university's internal regulations and the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Specific criteria are defined in the university's internal Faculty Competition Regulations.

Language Requirements

• English is desirable.

Key competencies

• Deep understanding of modern and traditional crop production agrotechnologies, integrated plant protection systems, irrigated farming, and seed production.
• Knowledge of phytopathology, plant disease and pest diagnostics, integrated pest management (IPM) principles, and biological control methods.
• Experience in laboratory and field research, including microscopy, serological methods, molecular diagnostics, and phytosanitary monitoring.
• Strong teaching and research supervision skills at all levels, with the ability to connect theory to practical applications in an agricultural context.

Additional Competencies

• Precision Agriculture and Smart Farming: GPS navigation, Variable Rate Technology, digital yield maps, soil moisture sensors, and IoT systems for monitoring plants and agronomic parameters.
• GIS and remote sensing: use of ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, and satellite data (NDVI, NDWI) for crop condition monitoring, mapping phytosanitary hotspots, and assessing damage.
• AgriData Analytics: use of Python, R, and Power BI for phytosanitary data analysis, pest and disease forecasting, and agrotechnology optimization based on big data.
• Climate-resilient agriculture: understanding of adaptive technologies and climate risks to crops, and development of strategies to reduce yield losses under stress conditions.
• Carbon Farming and ESG approaches: methods to increase soil carbon potential, low-carbon agrotechnologies, sustainable crop production, and compliance with international standards (GLOBALG.A.P., organic production).
• Digital tools: experience with phytosanitary monitoring software, digital field management platforms, agricultural analytics, agrodrones, and decision-support systems.

Selection process

The selection process includes an interview, a presentation of one specialist course, and a proposal for planned research aligned with the chosen specialization.

Documents

• Curriculum vitae (CV) with a full list of publications and citations;
• a motivation letter (maximum 1 page) describing research and teaching interests and indicating the chosen specialization;
• copies of diplomas and degree certificates;
• where applicable, a list of research projects and grants, and information on supervision of master's and doctoral research.