| Positioning and reporting Under the authority of the Deputy Director General, International Standards and Science and the direct supervision of the Head of the Status Department, and in close cooperation with other officers in the Department. |
| Job purpose The Disease Status Officer contributes to a transparent and secured animal health situation in WOAH Members countries. He supports the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases’ mission to ensure the delivery of high-quality and scientifically-based assessments of applications (and maintenance of) official animal health status recognition and control programmes endorsement, based on compliance with WOAH standards. He also supports the scientific excellence of the WOAH activities by contributing to the revision of these standards and to the continuous improvement of the procedure for official recognition of animal health status. |
| Missions and activities
1- Contribute to the monitoring of the compliance of Members countries having obtained official animal health status or endorsement of control programme with requirements for the maintenance of their status · Screen the annual reconfirmations received from Members countries Members countries in accordance with the provisions of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the Code), the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals (the Manual) and the applicable WOAH guidelines; · Communicate with the Members countries and the WOAH Regional Representations when relevant; · Prepare a short report of screening for the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases’ consideration; · Follow-up the result from the deliberations.
2- Contribute to the implementation and follow-up of the procedure for official recognition of animal health status · Assist Members countries in the correct procedures for the preparation and submission of dossiers for the evaluation of official animal health status or national control programmes for specified diseases; · Support the refinement and continuous improvement of the WOAH procedures for official animal health status recognition (administrative, science/technical aspects); · Contribute to the international standards setting process, in particular to the harmonisation of the requirements for recognition of diseases status and the revision of standards related to these diseases.
3- Provide support to the work of the relevant ad hoc Groups · Prepare background and working documents for relevant ad hoc Groups, in line with the TORs; · Screen and process applications in accordance with the provisions of the Code, the Manual and applicable WOAH guidelines; · Liaise internally with relevant departments to ensure compilation of cross-cutting relevant information; · Provide Secretariat functions to the ad hoc Group meeting ensuring compliance with WOAH procedures; · Prepare the report of the ad hoc Group meeting and any supporting document; · Liaise with the relevant Specialist Commissions; · Follow up actions arising from meetings
4- Provide support to Members countries self-declarations · Contribute to provide assistance to Members countries and ensuring consistent application of the procedure; · Perform a technical and administrative screening of self-declarations; · Contribute to improving the visibility of self-declarations.
5- Contribute to training activities concerning preparation of dossiers • Analyse structure and content gaps between submitted applications and requirements; • Design training programmes and training material aimed at improving the quality of submitted dossiers and their compliance with the relevant chapters of the Code; • Deliver regional training sessions and monitor impact.
6- Provide technical advice and support on the work of the Status Department • Contribute to the preparation of responses to enquiries from Members countries and other stakeholders; • Prepare relevant documents and undertake analysis as required.
In addition, the Head of Department may, when necessary, assign to the incumbent any other duties within his area of competence. |
Expériences / Formation
Qualifications and Experience
Required qualifications
- A postgraduate degree in veterinary medicine (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine – DVM);
- At least 5 years of professional experience in veterinary epidemiology, including exposure to disease control programmes design, implementation or monitoring.
Additional experience (asset)
- Certification in epidemiology and/or experience of infectious animal diseases;
- Work or research experience related to the control of Foot-and-Mouth-Disease (FMD);
- Work experience with national Veterinary Services;
- Experience in provision of secretariat functions at national or international level.
Requirements
Technical skills:
- Ability to work in English at a high level including excellent oral and written communication skills;
- Excellent writing skills and ability to summarise complex technical discussions into clear and concise reports;
- Strong analytical skills;
- Good command of Microsoft Office, in particular Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
- Proficiency in French.
Additional technical skills (asset)
- Proficiency in Spanish;
- Good command geographical information systems (e.g., QGIS), database managements systems (e.g., Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, Postgres);
- Good computer skills in statistical software (e.g., R);
- Good computer skills in developing data visualisations (e.g., PowerBI).
Interpersonal skills
- Excellent organisation and communication skills and team working abilities especially under tight deadlines;
- Ability to work under pressure, and to efficiently prioritise work across multiple parallel tasks.
- Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships in a multinational and multicultural environment;
- Proactivity, and a results-oriented approach;
- Keen sense of observation, attention to detail and accuracy.
Salaire
Working conditions
Salary: Monthly base salary 2.800 € net per month (commensurate with qualifications and experience) plus performance-related bonus, exempt of French income tax.
Duration: Two (2) years – Renewable.
The post is a full-time position based at the WOAH Headquarters in Paris.
It requires long hours in a seated position at a computer and may entail flexibility for missions abroad.
General Information
WOAH places high value on a multicultural and positive work environment.
WOAH is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications of all qualified candidates, irrespective of their ethnic origin, gender, opinions or beliefs.
This is a full-time position as an international civil servant based at the WOAH Headquarters in Paris (France) that is available in September 2024.