Organizational Setting
The FAO Sub-Regional office for West Africa (SFW) responsible for developing, promoting and implementing FAO agreed strategies to help countries and sub-regional organizations address food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development priorities in West Africa. The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO's Regional Office for Africa (RAF).
The Office has a multidisciplinary team of technical experts, in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, land and water, livestock and pastoralism, who provide technical support to the 15 member countries of ECOWAS in their fight against poverty and the promotion of food and nutritional security.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is committed to promoting environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and economically viable best practices in livestock production.
The post is in the Animal Health and Production Unit of FAO SFW. The unit focuses on supporting member countries to strengthen the contribution of the livestock sector to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and works in the following areas of work: sustainable livestock production systems, One Health approach and interaction with the environment: natural resources, climate, environment and biodiversity.
Reporting Lines
The Animal Health Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for West Africa and FAO Representative for Senegal, under the supervision of the Senior Policy Officer at SFW and the direct technical supervision of the Animal Health and Production Officer at the FAO Sub-Regional Office for West Africa and in close collaboration with other FAO staff, FAO Representations in the Sahel and West African countries, technical divisions at headquarters and partners
Technical Focusย
Animal health systems with particular focus on transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases prevention and control, Epidemiology, disease intelligence, planning and evaluation of epidemiological surveillance and risk assessments, epidemiology capacity development activities, public health, AMR, One Health, socio-economics, value chains
Tasks and responsibilities
โข ย ย Contribute to the planning, development and implementation of programmes, projects, products and services in line with the priorities of the Subregional Office for West Africa (SFW) and the FAO Strategic Framework.
โข ย ย Support the overall implementation and monitoring of the SFW Animal Health and Production programme in West Africa and Sahel, focusing on such areas as transboundary animal diseases, zoonotic diseases, sustainable livestock transformation, One health for Agrifood Systems and Pandemic prevention, livestock value chains, livestock in emergencies, food security and resilience, climate change, and pastoralism
โข ย ย Assist the Animal Production and Health Officer in responding to requests for technical assistance from countries and decentralised offices, in particular for the drafting and review of technical specifications and procurement documents of livestock inputs and for technical assistance to projects in the field;
โข ย ย In close collaboration with FAO Animal Production and Health Division (NSA) especially One Health and Disease Control Branch (i.e GLEWS, EMPRES) and EMC technical teams at FAO headquarters, support the implementation and evaluation of FAO tools and frameworks related to disease prevention, preparedness and response such as the Event Mobile Application (EMA-i ), the Early Warning Framework and the Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animal Biosecurity (PMP-TAB); the Progressive pathway for emergency preparedness (PPEP)
โข ย ย Serve as focal point in the SFW animal health and production Unit for matters relevant to surveillance capacity building, regional animal health networking, and animal welfare.ย
โข ย ย Contribute to enhancing in SFW countries 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
โข ย ย Support the development of Wildlife surveillance frameworks and information sharing platforms for monitoring disease risks in wildlife, to enhance sharing and integration of intelligence for risk assessments and forecasting.
โข ย ย Contribute to the preparation of work plans, organization of workshops, training programmes.
โข ย ย Provide technical expertise for the design and delivery of the SFW Virtual Learning Center courses.ย
โข ย ย Support the development of policies, strategies, knowledge products and advocacy material to improve biosecurity and prevention practices and national regulatory systems for prevention of pandemic threats through a One Health approach
โข ย ย Provide support for developing and/or reviewing all documents, manuals, guidelines, and SOPs about animal health, such as surveillance plans and diagnostic SOPs.
โข ย ย Provide technical assistance to collect, assemble, review data, prepare reports and share findings on zoonotic diseases and AMR/AMU trends per national, regional, and global standards and requirements.
โข ย ย Provide inputs, guidance and technical guidance on development of national One Health early warning systems and multisectoral disease surveillance at the human-animal-ecosystem interface to support the One Health Joint Plan of Action.ย
โข ย ย Support, guide short-term consultants in areas of animal health reviewing their technical reports and suggesting for clearance when the reports meet the required technical standards.ย
โข ย ย May undertake when required limited functions of a supervisory nature for affiliate workforce and be part of recruitment panelย
โข ย ย Performs other related duties, as requested.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
โข ย ย Advanced university degree in veterinary medicine, veterinary science, animal health related fields
โข ย ย At least 1 year (Category C), 5 years (Category B) or 10 years (Category A) of relevant experience in animal health, infectious disease management, management and implementation of animal health and One Health programmes, transboundary animal or zoonotic disease prevention - control, and/or antimicrobial resistance, early warning systems, surveillance, assessment of health systems, risk assessment modellingย
โข ย ย Working knowledge of French and limited knowledge of English is required for this assignmentย
FAO Core Competencies
โข ย ย Results Focus
โข ย ย Teamwork
โข ย ย Communication
โข ย ย Building Effective Relationships
โข ย ย Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
โข ย ย Extent and relevance of knowledge or experience in disease prevention and management, and animal health policy development.
โข ย ย Experience of development work related to animal health in West Africa will be an added advantage.ย
โข ย ย Strong administrative and organizational skills,ย
โข ย ย Computer literacyย
โข ย ย Good technical report writing skills.ย
โข ย ย Work experience in more than one location or area of workย
โข ย ย Extent and relevance of experience in animal healthย
โข ย ย Familiarity with West Africa and Sahel Region