Veterinary Epidemiology Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is the specialized agency of the United Nations for food, nutrition, agriculture, and forestry. FAO’s global vision is for a world free from hunger and malnutrition where food and agriculture contribute to improving the living standards of all, especially the poorest, in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner. Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active and healthy lives. 

The mission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to work to eradicate hunger and promote global food security together with balanced and complete nutrition. Our mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. 

Our three main goals are the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate, and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

The FAO Representation in Ethiopia provides technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and related sectors. The government of Ethiopia through the Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) and Ministry of Health (MoH) is implementing a World Bank Funded project “Ethio-Pandemic Multi-Sectoral Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (EPPR)”. FAO is one of three Implementing Entities (IP) for the project. WHO and UNICEF are the other two EPPR IPs. The project is being implemented using the One Health (OH) approach in alignment with the country’s One Health Framework. The EPPR project aims to enhance the country’s capacity for pandemic prevention, detection and response. Overall, the project aims to strengthen Ethiopia's health systems, improve disease surveillance, and enhance response capabilities to public health emergencies, ultimately promoting the well-being and resilience of communities. The project is being implemented throughout the country with special focus on identified zoonotic disease and AMR hot spots and runs from January 2024 to December 2026.

Reporting Lines

The Veterinary Epidemiology Specialist Works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Ethiopia, and direct supervision of the EPPR Project Coordinator in collaboration with the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases Country Team Leader (ECTAD-CTL) and EPPR project Lead Technical Officer (LTO). 

Technical Focus

The Epidemiology Specialist technical focus areas are: (a) provide technical support in the preparation of EPPR project annual detailed implementation plan (DIP) and diligently follow up implementation; (b) participate and provide technical advice in the identification of EPPR project IPs and processing IP contracts; (c) monitor EPPR project IP contract implementation and provide necessary technical support; (d) participate and provide technical input in intra and intersectoral EPPR project coordination meetings, events as required; (e) Collect and analyze EPPR project performance data and write project reports as required. 

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:
•    Establish functional linkages between the EPPR project team and Epidemiology desk / focal persons in the ministry of agriculture at federal level as well as with regional governments agricultural bureaus.
•    Participate provide expert input in the preparation of detailed EPPR project annual work plans.
•    Prepare technical specifications for procurement of EPPR project inputs and conduct technical evaluation of tenders. 
•    Implement assigned project activities in a timely and cost-effective manor for effective delivery of project results.
•    Participate and provide technical input in the formulation of EPPR project Implementing Partner (IP) and short-term consultants’ contracts. 
•    Supervise and monitor activities of EPPR project IPs and short-term consultants on a regular basis in line with respective contract agreements, provide expert advice including recommended corrective measures where necessary and provide written feedback to EPPR project coordinator, ECTAD CTL and project LTO.
•    Participate and provide technical input in project coordination and stakeholder meetings / events. 
•    Develop EPPR project data collection templates, develop appropriate data collection mechanisms, and supervise / manage data collection. 
•    Analyze project data and produce appropriate project information products on a regular basis to keep project stakeholders well informed and facilitate timely decision making.
•    Working in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture Epidemiology desk and regional government bureaus of agriculture generate appropriate epidemiological analysis reports as requested.
•    Participate in the formulation/design and dissemination of project visibility material / products. 
•    Document project success stories and lessons learnt articles.
•    Initiate, or participate and provide technical input in, project formulation exercises as required.
•    Perform any other related duties as may be required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  
  
•    Advanced university (master’s) degree in veterinary epidemiology. 
•    At least 5 years of professional experience in Animal Health programme management
•    Working knowledge of English and Amharic.
•    Candidate should be a national of Ethiopia. 

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
•    Experience with donor relations will be considered an asset. 
•    Familiarity with FAO’s work in Ethiopia and African region will be considered an asset.
•    Demonstrated experience in working with government partners, UN Agencies and other stakeholders dealing with health-related matters. 
•    Extent and relevance of experience and knowledge on animal health and production data management
•    Extent of experience and knowledge on project formulation, implementation and report writing
•    Extent of knowledge and experiences in working with various stakeholders, including UN, Government, NGOs, private sector, academics, and others
•    Extent and relevance of experience of working with the latest data management software to generate interactive reports / presentations 
•    Extent of experience in doing similar work/ assignment 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION