Animal Health Officer (AHPS)(P4)

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING APPLICATION DEADLINE: Please note that the closing date for submission of applications is indicated in local time as per the time zone of the applicant’s location.

Organizational Setting

The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA’s Major Programme 2, “Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection”. This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme’s objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.

The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture assists Member States of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IAEA in using nuclear techniques and related technologies to improve food security, alleviate poverty and promote sustainable agriculture. The Joint Centre consists of five Sections, each with an associated laboratory (located in Seibersdorf, 45 km south-east of Vienna), in the areas of: animal production and health; plant breeding and genetics; insect pest control; soil and water management and crop nutrition; and food and environmental protection.

The Animal Production and Health Section and Laboratory assist Member States in improving livestock productivity through the efficient use of locally available feed resources, reproduction and breeding practices, and disease diagnostic tools and control measures.

Main Purpose

Reporting to the Laboratory Head, the Animal Health Officer provides expertise, knowledge and services on the development, evaluation, validation and transfer of tools to control animal diseases. The Animal Health Officer also provides animal and zoonotic disease and One Health approach related technical and strategic advice and services to FAO and IAEA Member States as resource person on animal health research (R&D), scientific knowledge and expertise, and through design, technical backstopping, and support for the implementation and appraisal of activities aimed at the control of animal diseases and sustainable enhancement of animal production. Other purposes include provision of scientific expertise and knowledge to conceptualize, plan, formulate, implement, manage and evaluate coordinated research projects (CRPs), support and implement technical cooperation projects (TCPs) with regard to fellowship training and technology transfer, and support capacity building in Member States on animal health/animal disease activities.

Role

The Animal Health Officer is: (1) an animal health/animal disease researcher and research coordinator, ensuring the efficient and effective development, implementation and dissemination of research outputs on animal disease control (diagnostic and vaccine tools), One Health approach including Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), training and scientific and technical knowledge, and evaluating and implementing TCPs and CRPs for the IAEA and FAO; (2) a technical expert, planning and conducting technical meetings and project review missions; (3) a facilitator, working with Member States to meet their national and regional agricultural development objectives; (4) a resource person for animal health and related aspects of the Animal Production and Health Subprogramme; and, (5) a liaison with relevant stakeholders on issues related to the transfer of animal disease diagnostic and control tools and related analytical methods and technologies to Member States.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Serve as a resource person on nuclear and nuclear related immunological, microbiological, and molecular diagnostic, vaccine and control issues and their application and develop relevant technical guidelines, methodologies and standard operating procedures.

Provide technical and managerial inputs to animal health/animal disease components of current CRPs and TCPs where applicable.

Contribute to upstream planning work to address Member State animal health needs, including the preparation of TCPs, CRPs, concept papers, participation in pre-project missions, thematic planning exercises and country programme framework missions as required, to evaluate and reformulate TCP and CRP requests and make recommendations for inputs when necessary.

Participate, conceptualise and plan new CRPs in the area of animal health/animal disease diagnostics and control technologies (including vaccines), evaluate proposals for research contracts and agreements for CRPs in animal health as well as requests for renewal, and coordinate with staff of the Animal Production and Health Subprogramme on research, training and analytical services in support of CRPs.

Plan, organize and conduct consultants’ meetings; plan and conduct training courses and regional seminars and participate in national and international expert consultations, symposia and workshops as required.

Contribute, prepare and review relevant aspects of the animal health component of the Animal Production and Health Subprogramme, work plans, biannual newsletters and periodic updating of the Subprogramme’s website.

Develop and implement innovative and value added approaches to enhance livestock and One Health and to optimize animal health resource utilization.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies(Competency Framework)

Name	Definition
Communication	Communicates orally and in writing in a clear, concise and impartial manner. Takes time to listen to and understand the perspectives of others and proposes solutions.
Achieving Results	Takes initiative in defining realistic outputs and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expected results in the context of the Department/Division’s programme. Evaluates his/her results realistically, drawing conclusions from lessons learned.
Teamwork	Actively contributes to achieving team results. Supports team decisions.
Planning and Organizing	Plans and organizes his/her own work in support of achieving the team or Section’s priorities. Takes into account potential changes and proposes contingency plans.

Functional Competencies

Name	Definition
Commitment to continuous process improvement	Plans and executes activities in the context of quality and risk management and identifies opportunities for process, system and structural improvement, as well as improving current practices. Analyses processes and procedures, and proposes improvements.
Judgement/decision making	Consults with supervisor/manager and takes decisions in full compliance with the Agency’s regulations and rules. Makes decisions reflecting best practice and professional theories and standards.
Technical/scientific credibility	Ensures that work is in compliance with internationally accepted professional standards and scientific methods. Provides scientifically/technically accepted information that is credible and reliable.

Required Expertise

Function	Name	Expertise Description
Animal Health	Animal Diseases	Ability to develop and apply nuclear, nuclear related immunological and molecular techniques to animal disease diagnosis, AMR detection and surveillance, vaccine development and vaccine evaluation.

Qualifications, Experience and Language skills

• Master’s Degree – Advanced university degree or equivalent in animal science, microbiology, or immunology or other relevant field. Doctorate degree an advantage.

          Other – Primary Veterinary Medicine degree an asset.

• Minimum of seven years of post-qualifying experience in animal health/animal disease control research and development at the national level in a livestock research institute or university with at least five years of experience in national/international livestock development programmes, research, teaching and technology transfer.
• Experience in the use of nuclear and nuclear-related host immune response technologies to control animal diseases.
• Experience in planning, implementing and coordinating activities related to the livestock research and development sector.
• Experience in designing and conducting training and technical meeting.
• Experience in managing multidisciplinary projects and participation in international research networks an asset.
• Self-motivation with the capability to bring initiative and innovation to research. This includes (1) the ability to formulate and undertake research programmes and projects and to mobilize extra-budgetary research and development funding; (2) the ability to evaluate research and development projects.
• Understanding of CRPs and TCPs and their life cycles, good knowledge of project management, implementation and monitoring and impact assessment.
• Demonstrated ability to present and communicate project results effectively to diverse audiences.
• Record of published research papers.
• Proficiency in MS Office, which is the IAEA standard (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), and the ability to use databases and data analysis tools, including web-based resources.
• Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

Remuneration

The IAEA offers an attractive remuneration package including a tax-free annual net base salary starting at US $77326 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), a variable post adjustment which currently amounts to US $ 46318, dependency benefits, rental subsidy, education grant, relocation and repatriation expenses; Other benefits include 6 weeks’ annual leave, home leave travel, pension plan and health insurance. More information on the conditions of employment can be found at: https://www.iaea.org/about/employment/professional-staff/conditions

General Information

• The IAEA’s paramount consideration in the recruitment of staff member is to secure employees of the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
• Staff Members shall be selected without any unfair treatment or arbitrary distinction based on a person’s race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, language, social origin or other similar shared characteristic or trait.
• The IAEA is committed to gender equality and to promoting a diverse workforce. Applications from qualified women and candidates from developing countries are strongly encouraged.
• Applicants should be aware that IAEA staff members are international civil servants and may not accept instructions from any other authority. The IAEA is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. As part of the United Nations common system, the IAEA subscribes to the following core ethical standards (or values): Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for diversity.
• The IAEA has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and the IAEA, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.

Evaluation process

• The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the selection criteria stated in the vacancy announcement. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information. Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
• Candidates under serious consideration for selection may be subject to reference and background checks as part of the recruitment process.

Appointment information

• Appointment is subject to a satisfactory medical report.
• Staff members may be assigned to any location.
• Candidates appointed to posts in the Professional and higher categories are subject to IAEA rotation policy and their maximum tour of service shall normally be seven years.
• The IAEA retains the discretion not to make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade or with a different contract type, or to make an appointment with a modified job description or for shorter duration than indicated above.