ECTAD National Epidemiology Advisor at Food and Agriculture Organization Of the United Nations

Ref No: 2002747
Organizational Unit: FRNIR
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: NPP (National Project Personnel)
Grade Level: N/A
Duration: 12 Months

Organizational Setting

• The main aim of the FAO country office, which is headed by an FAO Representative (FAOR), is to assist government in developing policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. In Nigeria, transboundary animal diseases (TADs) such as PPR, FMD and ASF, including zoonoses such as HPAI, EVD, Lassa Fever and other issues including AMR pose serious risk to agriculture and food/nutrition security especially in view of their impact on the livelihoods of smallholder livestock producers.
• They also represent a persistent threat to the national, regional and global health security if not detected early and control on time. FAO had supported Nigeria to carry out several evaluations and develop a number of strategic documents and plans through a multisectoral/multidisciplinary approach with majority of the documents signed jointly by Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Environment: National Action Plan for AMR (2017); Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2017); National Action Plan for Health Security - NAPHS (2018); National One Health Strategic Plan (2018); National Livestock Transformation Plan (2018) and OIE PVS (2019) follow up mission.
• These evaluations and strategic documents have identified the gaps and priority actions needed to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats. In the framework of Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Program in Nigeria, FAO Animal Production and Health (NSA)/Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) - Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) aims to support the National Veterinary Services to address these gaps in line with JEE recommendations.

Reporting Lines:

• The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Nigeria in collaboration with Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO)/Chief, Animal Health Service (AGAH), the functional guidance of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programmes) on programmatic issues and country priorities, and the direct supervision and technical backstopping of the ECTAD Country Team Leader (ECTL) (or the Regional Manager of ECTAD for West and Central Africa in absence of the ECTL), and in collaboration with the ECTAD country team and RAF epidemiologist.

Technical Focus:

• Support the implementation of FAO’s Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Program at country level.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Contribute to the preparation of country strategies and programme for the management of high impact emerging and re-emerging zoonotic and non-zoonotic disease in line with the national priorities and FAO’s Strategic Objectives
• Participate in and support the design and implementation of national strategies and programmes/projects following EMPRES/ECTAD strategies, in line with the FAO/ OIE Global Framework for the Progressive Control of TADs and Regional priorities
• Support the design, coordination and implementation of surveillance activities relevant to emerging and re-emerging zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases at the livestock-wildlife-human interface to mitigate the high (current/potential) impact of diseases in Nigeria. These include:
• Supporting appropriate stakeholder workshops and facilitate discussion and development of a surveillance approach that addresses national and regional priority diseases to target through a surveillance program
• Support the drafting of a concept note, LoA, preparation and implementation of national surveillance plan for Ebola and other filoviruses in livestock
• Contribute to development and the implementation of surveillance protocols (epidemiological sampling) from livestock in targeted livestock farming systems, value chains and at domestic animals-wildlife interfaces
• Plan, organize and implement capacity development of in-service professionals through the use of field epidemiology training and participatory epidemiology approaches targeting veterinarians, animal health technicians, community animal health workers, farmers, and where appropriate, public health or other stakeholders/partners
• Conduct risk assessments at the human/livestock/wildlife interface and Supervise in-country expert missions on epidemio-surveillance to ensure that high-quality samples are collected.
• Organize stakeholders’ meetings and lead the process for the development of animal health and related policy instruments in Nigeria
• In close consultation with relevant sectors and stakeholders, initiate a national zoonotic disease control program to serve as an entry point for a functional intersectoral One Health collaboration
• Facilitate closer linkages of the EPT-2 program with relevant Ministries and other technical partners and Provide regular updates of TADs epidemiology situation in the country, bi-weekly project activity updates, and prepare draft web articles on technical accomplishments as needed
• Establish a functional national epidemiology and laboratory network
• Participate in animal health emergency preparedness and contingency planning exercises, or tabletop scenarios
• Assist in the organization of planned training workshops, simulation exercise and technical meetings.
• Provide immediate notification to GLEWS and the Country Team Leader, of any significant epidemiological events
• Contribute to epidemiological intelligence at National and Regional levels
• Contribute to the preparation of regular reports on the progress of the implementation of projects implemented by the ECTAD Nigeria, for FAO, donors or other stakeholders
• Submit a final technical report upon completion of the assignment to the ECTAD Nigeria Country Team Leader and the FAOR
• Perform other related duties as required

Minimum Requirements
Candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or PhD) in Veterinary Epidemiology, preferably with specialization in zoonoses control, control of infectious diseases in animals or related Emergency Management Disciplines; (candidates with Bachelors’ degree in Veterinary Medicine with at least 5 years of direct experience in linked to GHSA Program at country level will be exceptionally considered)
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in field veterinary epidemiology, surveillance, disease management or coordination programmes/platforms, including at least one-year experience linked to Government (Federal or State), UN System, organised private sector, multilateral institutions or international NGOs;
• Working knowledge of English (level C);
• National of Nigeria

FAO Core Competencies:

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills:

• Excellent organizational skills and a solid foundation in programme and project formulation, planning, implementation, management and evaluation;
• Familiarity and experience with national animal health interventions linked to GSHA action packages: Zoonotic Diseases (ZDs); Biosecurity and Biosafety (BSS); National Laboratory Systems (NLS); Human Resources/Workforce Development (HR/WFD) and Antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS); National One Health
• Demonstrated ability to analyse problems, make appropriate recommendations and effective decisions, including in emergency settings;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, including the ability to present complex issues to FAO management and senior government representatives, as well as to non-specialist audiences;
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills
• Familiarity with Office tools including virtual/teleworking platforms