Soil Science

Faculty of Agricultural & Food Sciences

Position number: 38241

Date posted: September 16, 2026

Job details

FHB Project Technician 4 - Tech 4 (AESES) New Project Full-Time (Grant Funded)

Full-time:

Yes

Permanent

No

Work schedule

35 Hours/week (Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm)

Salary

$26.20 to $37.62 per hour ($47,684.00 to $68,468.40 per annum)

Appointment Dates

October 5, 2026 to March 31, 2028

Trial/Probation period

840 hours worked For more information please contact: Dr. Mario Tenuta - [email protected]

Qualifications

MINIMUM FORMAL EDUCATION/TRAINING:

- M.Sc. in Soil Science or related field is required.

EXPERIENCE:

- Experience with disease risk mapping/forecasting model development and research is required.
- Experience with website management is required.
- Experience with research project coordination is required.
- Experience with grain field sampling and management is required.
- Experience with weather station operation and data management is required.
- Experience with research extension to farmers and industry is required.
- Experience with project administration is required.
- An acceptable equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

- Ability to install, operate, and maintain portable weather stations to collect local weather data at the research plot sites is required.
- Ability to use and operate SAS for advanced statistical analyses of research results is required.
- Ability to use and operate MATLAB for extremely large data set management, analysis and summarization is required.
- Excellent demonstrated communication skills with project stakeholders including farmers and industry are required.
- Website development and management skill is required.
- Demonstrated project management skills including stakeholder consultation, reporting, financial resources and meeting project goals and timelines, are required.
- Demonstrated ability to develop disease forecasting models is required.
- Satisfactory work record, including satisfactory attendance and punctuality, is required.

OTHER JOB RELATED QUALIFICATIONS:

- Valid Manitoba driver’s license

Key responsibilities

FHB risk mapping tool website management and project coordination

- Oversee the operation and development of the FHB risk mapping tool by reporting to a supervisor (bi-weekly) and with the guidance of the FHB steering committee (quarterly)




- Monitor the daily FHB risk maps from May 15 through August 31 to identify potential technical issues and communicates with the website contractor to resolve identified problems
- Update the FHB risk models and coordinate their deployment to the FHB risk mapping tool with the website contractor
- Liaises with the website contractor regarding website maintenance, updates, and improvements, and manages routine website-related requirements, including domain renewal and website analytics
- Facilitate updates to the FHB risk mapping tool as required and from the recommendations of the steering committee
- Communicates with project partners and provincial agriculture staff to coordinate activities required for the continued operation and development of the FHB Risk Mapping Tool
- Complete an annual update to the crop variety information on the website from provincial seed guides

Field sampling and grain sample management

- Coordinates the collection of FHB field samples with provincial agriculture staff, including arranging field sampling, sample shipment, and grain threshing
- Communicates with variety trial coordinators to identify suitable crop varieties and plots for FHB sampling based on project requirements
- Coordinates the grading and testing of grain samples collected from plot sites and producer fields
- Organizes and maintains records of field samples, including sample locations, crop and variety information, and disease and grain quality measurements
- Hire and train a summer student to assist with field work and sample processing

Weather and field data management

- Organize the collection of weather data at the plot locations by coordinating the operation of portable weather stations with variety trials coordinators
- Collects and compiles weather information associated with producer field sample locations
- Update the plot database with new data from the plots and the weather stations
- Update the producer field database with current data from fields sampled by provincial collaborators and nearby weather stations




- Reviews and organizes field and weather information to identify missing or inconsistent records and follows up with data providers as required

FHB risk model development and research

- Re-analyzes the plot data to update and improve the FHB risk models with newly collected field, disease, grain quality, and weather information
- Validate and evaluate the FHB risk models using the producer field data
- Updates the risk models based on the validation and evaluation results and coordinates their implementation in the FHB Risk Mapping Tool with website contractor
- Reviews weather-based crop disease risk tools and approaches used in other countries and regions and communicates with international experts to identify potential methods for improving the accuracy and reliability of FHB risk prediction

Extension and project administration

- Manage project expenditures within an assigned project budget
- Undertake extension and communication to publicize the FHB risk mapping tool and educate the agriculture industry on its utilization
- Provides regular project updates to the supervisor and FHB steering committee regarding project activities, field and data collection, risk map operation, and model development
- Maintains project records and documentation required for the administration and reporting
- Other duties as assigned.

Additional information

The University of Manitoba is committed to the principles of equity, diversity & inclusion and to promoting opportunities in hiring, promotion and tenure (where applicable) for systemically marginalized groups who have been excluded from full participation at the University and the larger community including Indigenous Peoples, women, racialized persons, persons with disabilities and those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning, intersex, asexual and other diverse sexual identities). If you require accommodation supports during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected] or (phone hidden). Please note this contact information is for accommodation reasons only.

Application materials, including letters of reference, will be handled in accordance with the protection of privacy provisions of "The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act" (Manitoba). Please note that curriculum vitae will be provided to participating members of the search process.

📌 FHB Project Technician 4 - Tech 4 (AESES) (Winnipeg)
🏢 University of Manitoba
📍 Winnipeg