National Legal Specialist– Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and One Health (OH) legislation

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is responsible for leading FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of focused, multi-disciplinary projects and programmes. It identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, and promotes the value and deliverables of the FAO’s New Strategic Framework within the context and outputs of work to help our Members achieve Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life for all – leaving no one behind.
The visibility of FAO’s successes in delivering its good public works within the framework of the abovementioned “Four Betters” is critical to the benefit of our Members and our resource partners. The Regional Office aims to raise visibility of its supporting role for regional policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, in its own right, and through the development, facilitation and emergence of regional Partnerships, to support capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development across the region.
To promote political commitment, good governance, and assist with developing relevant capacities across sectors to address AMR, FAO in collaboration with the Tripartite (World Health Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health) has started an European Commission funded project “Working together to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR)” with nine Asian countries.
This VA is for the identification of national consultants to work on different locations that cover the countries participating in this project and in other AMR projects implemented by FAO. The incumbents will be identified for different assignments that will vary in length, scope and type of contract.
The VA will serve to recruit national legal specialists in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, among other countries.

Reporting Lines

Under the technical supervision of the Chief Development Law Service (LEGN), the overall supervision of the FAO Representation, in close coordination with the Lead Technical Officer (LTO), the RAP senior regional animal health & production officer, the global/regional project coordinators and other members of the project team, and in collaboration with the relevant governmental entities in the country, the incumbent will support the review and revision of national legislation relevant for AMR, using the tools provided by the FAO team.

Technical Focus

• Knowledge of Codex, food safety law, AMR, and Antimicrobial use (AMU).
• Knowledge and experience working on national or regional legal analysis and drafting.
• Knowledge of the country and its stakeholders in national legislation for food safety, animal health, environmental legislation, AMR and areas relevant for AMR.
• Proven capacity in networking sensitively, cooperatively, and productively with multiple stakeholders.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Get familiar with the AMR Assessment tool;
• Collect and analyse all relevant national/regional legislation for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), following the AMR assessment tool, and the preparation of a national/regional legal report. Provide copies of all selected legal instruments in local languages;
• Organize a workshop for presenting the results of the national/regional legal report and to facilitate the prioritization of legal reforms needed;
• Upon request, support the revision of the AMR-related legislation identified in the report and, to this purpose; (i) establish and support a legal drafting working group; (ii) prepare draft legislation based on the recommendations of working group; (iii) facilitate a participatory process for legal reform involving all relevant stakeholders; (iv) support the organization and development of field missions of the international legal consultant, as necessary, and participate in all activities during the mission; (v) support the organization of validation workshops and the finalization of the draft legislation; (vi) prepare final reports with commented versions of the draft legislation as well as concrete recommendations for the approval and implementation of the draft legislation.
• Support the project team in all matters related to AMR regulatory frameworks, including preparation of national reports including references to legislation;
• Ensure that all deliverables are harmonized with the RAP Regional AMR strategy, the RAP Animal Health and Production Module and regional OH program priority area, and aligned with the OH Joint plan of action
• At the request of the LTO or the Legal Officer, undertake any tasks relevant for the achievement of the legislative deliverables of the project;
• Perform other related duties as requested by FAO.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Law. Advanced degree will be an asset.
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in agriculture, health and/or environmental legislation
• National or resident of the country with a valid work permit.
• Nationals from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam are encouraged to apply.

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
• Extent and relevance of experience in agriculture, health or environmental law
• Extent and relevance of experience in legal drafting, compliance and enforcement
• Familiarity with international development projects

Selection Criteria

• Experience in legal analysis and legal drafting in areas related to food, agriculture or the environment in the abovementioned countries
• Experience in implementing capacity development projects with international organizations
• Knowledge and exposure to AMR and AMR-related legislation

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