Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations.  With presently 194 member states, and working in more than 130 countries worldwide, including Zambia where the Organization has operated since 1978. The main aim of the FAO country office that is headed by the FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The support is based on the Country Programming Framework (CPF), 2023 – 2027. The current Zambia CPF has four priority areas: (1) Improve production and productivity of crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry; (2) Sustainable management of the natural resource base and Increasing Resilience and Uptake of Climate Smart Agriculture; (3) Enhance food security and nutrition status; and (4) Improved market access and sanitary measures. The incumbent’s tasks will mainly contribute to the first priority area.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative, the incumbent will report directly  to the ECTAD Country Team Leader.

Technical Focus

Provide technical advice, support, coordinate and facilitate the development/revision of the curriculum, contents and implementation of competency-based epidemiology training programme including the FAO’s In-service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) programme to be delivered through in person or/and virtual platforms through hybrid/blended formats and support disease monitoring, information sharing among key stakeholders.

Tasks and responsibilities

Support the implementation of ISAVET Zambia programmes and dissemination of ISAVET achievements.
•    Support planning and delivering of ISAVET and post-training mentorships and evaluations.
•    Support the preparation and on-line delivery of selected modules of ISAVET trainings using virtual learning platforms.
•    Facilitate the establishment of national field epidemiology/ISAVET networks with key partners including AFENET, FELTP and FETP
•    Contribute to the preparation and dissemination of the performance of ISAVET graduates, the outcomes of ISAVET field studies and ISAVET technical publications (through relevant partnerships or platforms Academia, peer-review journals, information notes, etc.)
•    Participate in advocacy activities aiming at institutionalizing and integrating ISAVET training programmes as a strategy to enhance Veterinary Epidemiology work force in the government and partner institutions.
•    Support other ECTAD’s capacity development activities such as:he design implementation and evaluation of other animal health-related in-service training programmes in collaboration with regional and global teams and partners. This includes but not limited to other FAO or other partners’ epidemiology capacity development programmes such as:
–   National technical short training sessions and monitor impact.
–   Intermediate and advanced field epidemiology and laboratory (FELT-V) Programmes
–   Executive ISAVET training programme
–   Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) and Community Disease Reporters (CDRs) participatory epidemiology training programme
•    Contribute to disease surveillance, monitoring (including media scanning) and information sharing among key stakeholders at country level.
•    Perform other duties as may be required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  

•    University degree in the field of Veterinary Medicine
•    Advanced university degree in the Veterinary Epidemiology
•    Five (5) years of relevant experience including disease surveillance, data analysis, research and policy analysis and stakeholder engagements is cardinal.
•    Working knowledge (level C) of the English language
•    National of Zambia

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Very good knowledge of the communication and documentation standards
•    Very good knowledge of corporate computerized financial systems and administrative procedures and policies
•    Very good knowledge of the organizational structure

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION