Jobs at United Nations in South Africa

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Animal Production and Health Division (NSA) promotes and facilitates the sustainable development of the livestock sector, integrating scientific and technical expertise and policy advice. It hosts technical networks in areas of animal health, genetics, feed and animal husbandry and provides analysis, policy dialogue (including intergovernmental bodies) and technical assistance. It also supports emergency responses, mostly in animal health. The One Health and Disease Control Branch (NSAH-CJW) under the Animal Production and Health Division leads and coordinates the prevention and control of endemic and emerging transboundary animal diseases and health threats that emerge at the animal-human-environment interface including zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

FAO supports Members to build and implement effective collaborative One Health strategies and capacities, simultaneously addressing the health of people, animals, plants and the environment. One Health in agrifood systems transformation is a key Priority Programme Area, and part of FAO's Strategic Framework (2022-2031). The FAO Animal Health and Production Division, One Health and AMR Cluster, coordinates and implements work across different FAO divisions to mainstream One Health and AMR in FAO activities, integrating scientific and technical expertise and policy advice. Externally, this cluster streamlines FAO collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as the Quadripartite to address health threats at the human-animal-plant-environment interface and to promote health and sustainable development.

A consultant/PSA subscriber is engaged by the Organization to provide expertise, skills or knowledge for the performance of a specific task or piece of work, which would be short-term by nature. The assignment may involve full-time or part-time functions.

The purpose of this Call is to identify suitably qualified and experienced consultants and/or PSA subscribers to populate a roster for Technical experts on One Health.

Candidates may be involved in more than one orientation and may be invited to undertake short-term assignments ranging in duration from a few days or weeks to a maximum of 11 months. The possibility of extension is subject to satisfactory performance and depending on the resources and needs of the Organization.

The consultant/PSA subscriber reports directly to responsible officers for functional and policy guidance.

Support the delivery, in collaboration with the One Health Technical Working Group, of the One Health and Disease Control Branch of the Animal Production and Health Division.

Following are the generic functions for which candidates are sought. Specific tasks and responsibilities will be defined in Terms of Reference prepared for different assignments, according to:

• The profile orientation required
• The selected candidates’ experience, qualifications and expertise

The key functions will be as followed (tasks will be assigned according to the specific profile):

• Expert input into One Health implementation:
  1. Provide expert guidance on One Health related activities of NSA including, but not limited to:
  2. Support the implementation of the FAO’s One Health in Agrifood System Framework
  3. Conduct desk review studies and assessments on various topics related to One Health
  4. Prepare, organize, participate in and provide technical support, as coordinator, facilitator, specialist expert, trainer and/or evaluator, at national and multi‑country events such as technical meetings, workshops and simulation exercises in liaison with key stakeholders of countries involved
  5. Contribute to developing/reviewing One Health strategies and Framework
• Collaboration:
  1. Contribute to extending the One Health approach to engage relevant sectors and disciplines including animal health, wildlife, plant, environment, and connect effectively public, academia, research and private stakeholders at global, regional and national levels
  2. Contribute to the development of high‑level documents on advancing One Health within the global political agenda and advocacy
• Capacity development:
  1. Contribute to strengthening national and regional capacities to efficiently operationalize One Health including but not limited to:
  2. Support the identification of the One Health core competencies required for Veterinary Services and other relevant sectors at national and field levels
  3. Design/Develop the training curricular based on the required core competencies for relevant levels
  4. Prepare, organize, participate in and provide technical support as the trainer for the One Health training/workshops
  5. Support activities on One Health Governance
  6. Support activities to improve national capacity to apply an extended One Health approach to prevent and manage health risks in agrifood systems
• Provide support to strengthen FAO’s capacities/tools, design and implementation of One Health operational tools for One Health in Agrifood system transformations making use of evidence and best practices in the field
• Support the generation of new knowledge and evidence in support of One Health implementation as well as collective learning, exchange and dissemination
• Resource mobilisation: Contribute to resource mobilization efforts for One Health related programmes including but not limited to:
  1. Support consultations with target countries and partners, national and regional organizations in order to assess specific needs, priorities and gaps relevant to One Health
  2. Formulate and develop project proposals on One Health in Agrifood systems in line with FAO project cycle and relevant policies
  3. Prepare and participate in coordination calls/meetings with donors, other FAO colleagues and relevant partners with regard to resource mobilization
  4. Advance evidence on the return on investment of One Health and processes of resource mobilization
• Coordination and communication activities:
  1. Support the coordination of the One Health Technical coordination working group (OHWG)
  2. Support the coordination of the Quadripartite (FAO, UNEP, WHO, WOAH) Secretariat
  3. Contribute to implementation of One Health related projects in coordination with other stakeholders within and outside FAO
  4. Contribute to the development of a public private partnership platform for One Health
  5. Prepare briefing notes, blog posts and success stories on One Health
  6. Contribute to advocacy efforts to increase awareness on and visibility of One Health in general and specifically related to food and agriculture in line with FAO’s four Betters
• Perform other related duties as required

Depending on the Profile and orientation:

• For Consultants:
  1. Advance University degree in a discipline relevant to the duties listed or otherwise related to FAO’s Programme of Work, including technical field disciplines
  2. At least 1 year (Category C), 5 years (Category B) or 10 years (Category A) of relevant experience in one of the areas below
     1. One Health related matters activities (such as assessment, Governance, One Health Knowledge sharing, training, strategy)
     2. Working with international and/or regional Organizations and/or Institutions
     3. Project design, budget planning and management
     4. Monitoring and Evaluation work
     5. Awareness, communication and behaviour change
  3. Working knowledge (Level C) of English and limited knowledge (Level B) of one of FAO’s Official languages: French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian
• For PSAs:
  1. University degree, technical specialization or equivalent in a discipline relevant to the duties listed or otherwise related to FAO’s Programme of Work, including technical field disciplines
  2. At least 1 year (Category C), 5 years (Category B) or 10 years (Category A) in one of the areas below:
     1. One Health related matters activities (such as assessment, Governance, One Health Knowledge sharing, training, strategy)
     2. Working with international and/or regional Organizations and/or Institutions
     3. Project design, budget planning and management
     4. Monitoring and Evaluation work
     5. Awareness, communication and behaviour change
  3. Working knowledge (Level C) of English is required

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

• A post-graduate qualification in veterinary medicine or science, epidemiology, One Health, global health, public health, policy, international relations, or another discipline relevant to One Health programmes is required
• Experience working on One Health within agrifood systems and/or in international organizations is considered an asset
• At least one year's experience in working on One Health related matters with multi-disciplinary teams is considered an asset
• Familiarity with liaising with FAO central and decentralized offices as well as the knowledge of protocol procedures will be considered an asset
• Strong communication skills in English