Animal Laboratory Specialist at DAI

Project Description

• DAI is seeking an Animal Laboratory Specialists for an anticipated Fleming Fund project in Nigeria. The Fleming Fund, a UK aid programme, is designed to increase national capacity to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• The Nigeria Fleming Fund program is expected to establish the foundations for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use (AMU) surveillance in the human, animal and environmental health sectors and to facilitate a stronger One Health approach to surveillance.

Job Summary / Responsibilities
The AMR Animal Laboratory Specialist will report to the Project Director and provide expert guidance, leadership and support in AMR and AMU surveillance in food animals. The specialist will have overall responsibility for operationalizing an AMR animal health National Reference Laboratory (NRL) and surveillance system in Nigeria including:

• Organizing and facilitating an animal health AMR and AMU surveillance Technical Working Group
• Equipping and operationalising the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) as the AMR National Reference Laboratory (NRL)
• Defining roles and responsibilities for the animal health AMR NRL in relation to the surveillance sites
• Implementing a population-based surveillance system in poultry and fishery for E. coil, Salmonella species, Enteroccoccus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis and antibiotics
• Implementing biosafety and biosecurity measures for the NRL, surveillance sites, and transport of samples
• Establishing a sample selection framework for animal health AMR/AMU surveillance and a procurement and transportation system for a sample of live birds from farms and live bird markets
• Establishing mechanisms for collecting information on antibiotic use (AMU) in the animal health sector including; sample data on antibiotic usage by poultry and fish farmers; mapping the value chain and distribution pathways for antibiotics from importation to farm use; and collation of data at the Federal level on the importation of veterinary drugs
• Providing quarterly and annual reports of AMR patterns for the zoonotic bacteria/antibiotic combinations in poultry and fishery to critical stakeholders
• Establishing inventoried biorepository of relevant isolates from surveillance laboratories together with appropriate IT and support systems
• Establishing a national External Quality Assessment (EQA) system for reference and surveillance laboratories.

Requirements

• Doctorate Degree in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or Postgraduate degree in Microbiology
• At least 10 Year's experience in an animal health laboratory position
• Experience implementing programs designed to strengthen Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Antimicrobial Use (AMU) surveillance in food animals
• Expert knowledge in laboratory capacity building and the operations of professional animal health laboratories including: renovations, equipment specifications, consumables and development of appropriate testing and reporting regimes
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with team members, partners and government stakeholders.