Job Posting: 27/Jul/2023
Closure Date: 28/Aug/2023, 10:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit: NSA
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level: N/A
Primary Location: Various Locations-Various Locations
Duration: Up to 11 months on a WAE basis (with possibility of renewal)
Post Number: N/A
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
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
Organizational Setting
Through the Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES), FAO assists countries to prevent and control the world’s most serious livestock and zoonotic diseases, while also surveying for newly emerging pathogens. Member countries are supported with early warning, and technical guidance for risk management of transboundary threats to the food chain at regional and country levels. EMPRES provides normative technical support and guidance on emergency response to high impact diseases through collaboration with different units including the Emergency Centre for transboundary Animal diseases (ECTAD) which plans and delivers FAO animal health emergency and development programmes to more than 37 countries under the global health security (GHS) program to prevent and mitigate the impact of animal diseases and anti-microbial resistance using a One Health approach.
This call for expressions of interest is intended to attract well-qualified candidates (categories A, B and C) interested in joining the talent pool.
Reporting Lines
The consultant/PSA works under the functional and policy guidance of the Senior Animal Health Officer, Emergency Prevention System for Animal Health (EMPRES-AH), and depending on the tasks reports to the relevant FAO responsible officers. He/she works closely with the Global Surveillance Coordinator and the animal production and health officers from the Regional and sub-Regional Offices and Country Offices and in collaboration with ECTAD Country Team Leader or Regional Manager or Global Coordinator.
Technical Focus
Technical support and guidance for health system assessments, disease risk monitoring, risk assessments systems characterisation and value chains mapping and analyses, planning and evaluation of surveillance, contingency planning and simulation exercises and various surveillance capacity development activities in target countries.
Tasks and responsibilities
Following are the technical areas for which candidates are sought. Specific tasks and responsibilities will be defined in Terms of Reference prepared for different assignments, according to the profile orientation required and the selected candidates’ experience, qualifications and expertise.
The key functions will be as following (tasks will be assigned according to the specific profile):
Contribute to development and implementation of the FAO’s project proposals/work plans.
- Lead the development and implementation of work plans relevant to the FAO’s global health security program ‘Zoonotic Diseases’, ‘Surveillance’ and ‘Workforce Development’ Action Packages.
- Contribute to the preparation of project reports as project proposals to support resource mobilisation;
- Provide technical support for the development and review of curricula for epidemiology and surveillance capacity building at various levels of workforce.
Contribute to implementation of the pathways/tools developed by FAO and other partners - Support health system assessments in target country(ies) and develop, improvement plans, and provide technical support for their implementation, where required;
- 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 (WOAH PVS), FAO Surveillance Evaluation Tool (SET) 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;
- Support the implementation of the Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animal Biosecurity (PMP-TAB) ;
Provide expert guidance on epidemiological studies and early warning related activities - Support the collection, storage, analysis and publication of data generated from field surveillance activities;
- Support design and implementation of risk assessments, risk modelling, value chain studies, simulation exercises and other related activities;
- Support the development of technical guidelines/tools/products related to surveillance, risk assessment and/or early warning.
- Provide expertise to contribute to OFFLU (FAO/WOAH network for expertise in animal influenza) and FAO animal influenza related activities.
- Support implementation of the Field Epidemiology Training Programme for Veterinarians, the Participatory Disease Surveillance (PDS)/Personal Data Assistant (PDA), the Participatory Epidemiology (PE), Community Animal Health & Outreach (CAHO), etc., the surveillance and early warming training programs undertaken by the EMPRES.
- Provide technical inputs to emergency preparedness activities and participate in emergency response missions,
- Contribute to EMPRES publications (risk assessment, disease updates, guidelines) when pertinent;
Undertake activities relevant to multisectoral surveillance and risk assessment - Support the design of One Health surveillance frameworks and strategies for early warning of high impact diseases, monitoring of drivers of risks for spread and spill-over of priority diseases
- Contribute to One Health multi-sectoral coordination and partnerships and the implementation of the Joint Risk Assessment (JRA) tool at regional and country level.
- 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.
Support the implementation and improvement of the disease reporting, data collection and other early warning tools - Provide guidance and support to target countries on the use of mobile based applications for data collection, analyses and sharing of results;
- Support the implementation of tools related to animal disease reporting such as GLEWS/Event Mobile Application (EMA-I), EpiCollect data collection and storage technology, etc., in the field.
Perform other related duties as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
For Consultants:
- University degree in a discipline relevant to the duties listed or otherwise related to FAO’s Programme of Work, including technical field disciplines;
- At least 1 year (Category C), 5 years (Category B) or 12 years (Category A) in one of the areas below:
- Epidemiology-related matters activities (such as assessment, training, strategy);
- Working with international and/or regional Organizations and/or Institutions;
- Surveillance related to One Health in food and agriculture sectors;
- Epidemiology, data analysis and risk assessment;
- Working knowledge (Level C) of English and limited knowledge (Level B) of one of FAO’s Official languages: French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian.
For PSAs:
- University degree, technical specialization or equivalent in a discipline relevant to the duties listed or otherwise related to FAO’s Programme of Work, including technical field disciplines;
- At least one year of relevant work experience in:
- Epidemiology related matters activities (such as assessment, training, strategy);
- Working with international and/or regional Organizations and/or Institutions;
- Surveillance related to One Health in food and agriculture sectors;
- Epidemiology, data collection, management, data analysis and risk assessment;
- Working knowledge (Level C) of English is required.
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.
- Post-graduate qualification veterinary medicine/science, epidemiology, public health, risk assessment, or in a discipline relevant to the management of One Health programmes such as economics, partnerships, including International experience as relevant
- At least 1year of experience in working in the duties listed or otherwise related to FAO’s Programme of work, ideally on OH-related matters with multi-disciplinary teams from animal and public health sectors;
- Familiarity with liaising with FAO HQ and decentralized offices as well as the knowledge of protocol procedures will be considered an asset;
- Strong communication skills in English alongside a second language.
- Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency
Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
For more information, visit the FAO employment website
Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
HOW TO APPLY
- To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
- Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
- Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
- Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
- Incomplete applications will not be considered
- Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
- Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
- Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
- We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.
If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org
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