Laboratory Support – Pandemic Fund

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, help to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The following position is at SB3 SC5 level.

Pakistan has been experiencing frequent natural disasters and non-coherent economic policies which have affected the overall economy specifically the agriculture sector and the livelihood of the people. Outbreaks of pandemics and locust attacks have damaged agricultural crops and affected the food supply chain in Pakistan. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is supporting the Government of Pakistan at national and provincial levels through different analytical policy reports on food supply chain, food forecast livestock, forestry, fisheries and climate change. Similarly, a web-based data management system is under development for agriculture, food security and nutrition statistics in Pakistan. Through this system, support Government of Pakistan in monitoring food prices and supply chain through live dashboards will enable better planning and policy-making. 

This position is based in Islamabad under the FAO Project Pandemic Preparedness and Response through Operationalizing One Health Approach in Pakistan.

Reporting Lines

Under overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Pakistan (FAOR), and under direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Program) and technical guidance of Pandemic Fund Project Manager/Officer and in close coordination with National Pandemic Fund team, Regional Coordinator for One Health in Agrifood System (FAORAP), Regional Pandemic Fund Coordinator (FAORAP) and other relevant technical colleagues at country, regional and HQ level

Technical Focus

The Laboratory Support will provide technical expertise on all laboratory related duties to achieve the outcomes specified under the relevant projects, including backstopping to the field teams. He/she will work cooperatively with other livestock officials from other FAO projects to ensure best practices are adopted throughout the country program.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Support the operationalization of coordination mechanisms among animal health reference labs, provincial labs and district labs.
•    Support the procurement of laboratory consumables and equipment by developing technical specifications as per international standards and review of quotations. 
•    Support the development and adaptation of laboratory procedures/SOPs and perform laboratory diagnostics functions for the conduct of pilot studies on zoonotic diseases of significance to Pakistan.
•    Support the Laboratory Expert in developing SOPs for sample collection and transport for zoonotic diseases.
•    Support the delivery of hands-on training programs for laboratory personnel on isolation, identification/Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST), including biosafety and biosecurity for prioritized zoonotic diseases.
•    Provide support towards ISO 17025 accreditation for identified federal and provincial labs as per their respective functions.
•    Facilitate enrolment of labs in National EQA Schemes (NEQAS) for priority zoonotic diseases.
•    Perform other duties as needed.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  

•    University degree in Microbiology/Molecular biology or related field to perform lab duties with a basic degree in Veterinary Sciences.
•    Minimum of 3 years of work experience in the field of animal disease diagnosis, experience related to zoonotic diseases (HPAI, salmonella, brucellosis, CCHF etc).
•    A working knowledge (level C) of English 
•    National of Pakistan

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Experience in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic diseases.
•    Understanding of the purpose and functions of technical programmes, operational guidelines and programme/project management procedures, preferably those adopted by the United Nations or FAO, would be considered an added asset.
•    Good knowledge of laboratory quality assurance systems, equipment maintenance, calibration and internal quality control. 
•    Experience in procurement of laboratory equipment and reagents
•    Good knowledge of communication and documentation standards 
•    Previous experience in similar settings would be considered a distinct asset

Selection criteria

•    Ability to work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams are essential.
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions. 

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO [link removed] and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application

• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ [link removed].These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings [link removed].
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
•  We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp [link removed]

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