Jobs - 39498- FAO Consultant Vacancy (FAO/UKR/2013/005): Nationa

FAO Consultant Vacancy (FAO/UKR/2013/005): National Veterinary Epidemiologist

Location :

Kyiv, UKRAINE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

30-Aug-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

150 days within 11 months period

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Background

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute fatal haemorrhagic disease of pigs which has devastating economic consequences in affected countries. Because of its high mortality and morbidity rate and the lack of specific treatment or vaccine, it is one of the most dreaded epidemic diseases of pigs. African swine fever is not a direct danger for human health nor does it threaten other animal species as it only affects pigs and wild boar. However, it can impact people’s livelihoods, food security and nutrition. The spread of ASF since its first detection in Georgia in early 2007 has been progressive, first eastwards within Georgia, and next into Armenia and Azerbaijan, and eventually introduced and became endemic in Russian Federation in areas located in the nearest proximity to Ukraine. In July 2013 ASF was officially reported in Belarus for the first time. In 2009-2012 overall losses due to the disease in Russia reached over 1 billion USD.

The proposed project “Capacity development in early detection and response to African Swine Fever in Ukraine” has been tailored to contribute to strengthen the capacities of the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine for surveillance and control African Swine Fever. The project will provide: a) capacity building training of the laboratory technicians in prompt and accurate ASF diagnosis and on ASF surveillance; b) capacity building on outbreak investigation and outbreak management: c) assist in development of the national epidemiological database for epidemiological data collection, analysis and practical use: d) provide with the necessary consumables and reagents for national and laboratory for the capacity building activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities:

The National Veterinary Epidemiologist shall operate under the overall supervision of the FAO Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia (REU), technical supervision of the Animal Production and Health Officer (REU), the operational supervision of the Field Programme Officer (REU), and in close cooperation with international and national consultants, experts from contracted institutions under the Letter of Agreement, with national counterparts, and staff of State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine. Under the direct supervision of the International Team Leader, the National Veterinary Epidemiologist will be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the project. In performing his/her duties, the incumbent will:

Assist in organizing workshops and other project activities;
Liaise closely with the national Chief Veterinary Officer;
Jointly with International Consultant review existing ASF surveillance protocol and provide recommendation on its improvement;
Jointly with International Consultants assist to identify weak points in the animal health information system, and identify actions to address critical points;
Jointly with International Consultants contribute to capacity building trainings on ASF epidemiology, surveillance and control;
Assist in development of the decision-support system for control of ASF
Develop the template for the awareness materials on biosecurity measures for ASF prevention and control such as poster and leaflet;
Draft at least two scientific articles and two articles for farmers and swine keepers on: ASF general epidemiology, surveillance and control; ASF prevention and biosecurity in English and Ukrainian languages;
Draft information notes of the project activities for FAO REU website;
Assist National Project Coordinator in drafting progress reports and a final report to FAO at the end of the project;
Participate in the elaboration of the work plan and implementation of all the project activities of the project;
Make the preparations and execute the field consultations;
Keep contact with the responsible officer at the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food and the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine assigned to the implementation of the project;
Support the international consultants working for this project;
Ensure and guaranty that all expenses covered by the project will be prepared, spent and settled with receipts and account reports as FAO relevant financial rules and regulations;
Perform other duties as required.

Competencies

Minimum requirements
Candidates should meet the following:

Demonstrated capacity to administrate project tasks of this nature;
Experience in managing databases, grants and project administration/assistance;
Knowledge of FAO administrative rules and procedures would be an asset;
Excellent interpersonal and networking skills;
Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member;
Good computer skills and the ability to work with word-processing and spreadsheet programmes, and use of internet; and
Administrative and organizational skills, and the ability of working under time pressure;

Required Skills and Experience

BA or MA degree with at least 5 years of working experience in veterinary medicine and related projects;
Experience in working with international organizations will be considered an asset;
Level C proficiency in English and fluency in Ukrainian , knowledge of Russian would be an advantage.

Selection criteria

Candidates will be assessed against the following:

Extent to which above minimum requirements are met.
Ability to plan and organize work and participate in a multi-disciplinary team.
Extent of knowledge of public international organizations’ procedures and administrative rules.

FOR THIS CONSULTANCY POSITION, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION by email with VA FAO/UKR/2013/005 in the subject-line to REU-Vacancies@fao.org

For this position, a duly completed Personal Profile Form (PPF) generated from FAO’s iRecruitment portal is to be submitted by email together with a cover letter.

Please note that attached resumes or CV’s in place of the PPF will not be accepted.

In order to prepare a Personal Profile Form, you must first register on the FAO iRecruitment site (click on the following link to register: http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment-access/en/).

Important notes: As you fill in your information online you should make sure to click Save after each section before logging out. Also be aware that the session times out after 20 minutes of inactivity.

For details, please visit: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Employment/docs/creating_your_application_irec.pdf AND http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Employment/iRec/iRC_UG08_ExternalApplicant_UserGuide.pdf

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: 30 August 2013

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.