Veterinary Epidemiologist

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FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality

People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

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Organizational Setting

The tasks envisaged for this consultancy are to be carried out through the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), which is currently implementing a number of projects in various countries and regions. Within the ECTAD framework, the Animal Production and Health Division (NSAH) is closely working with the Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER to support various aspects of the animal health programme of FAO, including the Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT-2) and Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Programmes.

Reporting Lines

Depending on the duty station, the Epidemiologist works under the policy and technical guidance of the Senior Animal Health Officer/ECTAD Global Manager (NSAH), the functional and administrative supervision of the Assistant Director General/Regional Representative or FAO Country Representative, and the direct supervision of the ECTAD Country Team Leader or Regional Manager or Global Manager, and in collaboration with other relevant team members of ECTAD and other units of the NSAH as well as the Animal Production and Health Officers from the Regional and sub-Regional Offices and Country Offices.

Technical Focus

Technical backstopping support and guidance for risk assessments including systems characterisation and value chains mapping and analyses, planning and evaluation of epidemiological surveillance, contingency planning and simulation exercises and various epidemiology capacity development activities in target countries.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of work plans relevant to workforce capacity development, surveillance, risk assessment, early warning and preparedness in alignment with existing regional and global guidelines such as the GF-TADs, relevant action packages of the GHSA, Tripartite Zoonoses Guide:

• Support assessment of the status of epidemiological surveillance capacities in target country(ies) using FAO relevant tools such as Surveillance Evaluation Tool (SET) and Epidemiology Mapping Tool (EMT)
• Develop, update and harmonize regional/national strategies and plans, and provide technical support for capacity development where required based on the assessment results;
• Support and coordinate the training programmes appropriate to the countries or regions such as Field Epidemiology Training Programme for Veterinarians (FETP-V); Participatory Disease Surveillance/Response (PDS/R), Participatory Epidemiology (PE), Community Animal Health Worker (CAHW) training programme and outreach;
• Provide technical support for the development and review of curricula for epidemiology capacity building at various levels of workforce where required;
• In close collaboration with GLEWS and EMPRES technical teams at FAO HQ, support the evaluation of tools related to surveillance such as GLEWS/Event Mobile Application (EMA-I), EpiCollect data collection and storage technology at the field level;
• Provide guidance and support to target countries on the use of mobile based applications for surveillance data collection, analyses and sharing of results;
• Provide guidance and technical support for the design and implementation of risk assessment in the context of farming systems, value chain studies, disease ecology and the livestock-wildlife-human interface;
• Support spatial disease and risk factors analysis for spill-over, spread and persistence of priority zoonotic diseases including risk modeling and other related activities;
• Support early warning activities and conduct environmental monitoring for risk assessment;
• In close collaboration with Emergency Management Centre - Animal Health (EMC-AH) and ECTAD regional and country teams, coordinate and participate in emergency preparedness, simulation exercises and rapid response planning and missions;

• Contribute to the One Health multi-sectoral coordination and partnerships

• Participate, when required, in the World health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE), World Organization for Animal Health Tool for the Evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services (OIE PVS), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention One Health disease prioritization missions/process evaluations at various levels (global, regional and national) in order to ensure the needs of the animal health sector are effectively reflected in the context of the One Health Approach;
• Serve as liaison officer with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on matters relevant to surveillance capacity building, regional animal health networking, and animal welfare.
• Enhance One Health multi-sectoral collaboration including with public health, wildlife, environment, education, etc., sectors with respect to zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance/use (AMR/U) using available/new tools and information technologies/guidelines.
• Prepare regular epidemiological updates and timely situation reports on major diseases in target countries and sub-regions in Africa or Asia;

• Perform other key activities in the region and in country ECTAD Units:

• Attend regular coordination teleconferences or meetings to share activity reports, including challenges, and discuss solutions found and lessons learned with other project countries, regional and HQ teams;
• Contribute to the ECTAD resource mobilization efforts through the development of project concept notes and fundable project proposals;
• Contribute to the preparation of regular progress reports on projects implemented by the ECTAD Units;
• Contribute to EMPRES and GLEWS publications (risk assessment, disease updates, guidelines) when pertinent;
• Support the collection, storage, analysis and publication of data generated from field surveillance activities;
• Contribute to the preparation of project reports as required by the Governments, FAO and donors;

• Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in (for Consultants) / University degree (only for PSA) in veterinary or biological sciences and relevant post-graduate training or experience in epidemiology or disease ecology or related fields;
• At least 5 years of proven experience in the management and implementation of infectious disease control programmes, preferably in developing countries;
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian (for Consultants)/ working knowledge of English, French or Spanish (for PSA).

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable.
• Extent and relevance of experience at international level.
• Ability to write briefs and reports
• Ability to work under pressure and meat deadlines
• Familiarity with FAO policies and programmes and systems is desirable

Selection Criteria

• Based on requirements, competencies and skills

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Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

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