Regional One Health Officer - OIE Sub-Regional Representation - Nairobi, Kenya at World Organisation for Animal Health

Positioning and reporting

Under the Authority of the OIE Director General and the direct supervision of the OIE Sub-Regional Representative for Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa and in close collaboration with OIE Headquarters and its international project partners at regional level.

Context

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is an intergovernmental organisation recognised by the World Trade Organization as the reference Organisation for intergovernmental standards concerning the sanitary safety of international trade of animals and products of animal origin and zoonoses, and is in charge of improving animal health, veterinary public health and animal welfare worldwide, as well as transparency of the global animal disease situation. The OIE maintains permanent relations with nearly 75 international and regional Organisations and has 13 regional offices around the globe.

With support from various resource partners, the OIE has jointly engaged with WHO and FAO in facilitating countries’ multisectoral (‘One Health’) collaborative reviews of their national capacity to meet international health standards as evaluated by tools respectively in human health (WHO IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework) and in animal health (OIE Performance of Veterinary Services ‘PVS’ Pathway). This joint assessment of these results, the “IHR-PVS National Bridging Workshop” (NBW) has enabled countries to identify existing gaps in their management of zoonotic diseases and to develop a joint national roadmap to improve intersectoral collaboration and national capacity.

Further to this, the OIE, WHO and FAO have identified a series of activities to build upon NBW momentum and to support countries in the implementation of their NBW roadmaps. The OIE Regional One Health Officer, Africa will undertake specific responsibilities to ensure the timely and successful coordination and operational execution of activities to facilitate this national roadmap implementation.

Job description

The Regional One Health Officer contributes to the OIE’s work to improve intersectoral collaboration and national capacity by participating in the implementation of related OIE sub-regional activities in Eastern Africa. He/she is responsible for providing technical support to the countries of the sub-region and contributing to the management of activities related to the implementation of joint national roadmaps. The Regional One Health Officer also supports other OIE initiatives pertaining to regional Tripartite and One Health coordination and research, including on, but not limited to, rabies, Rift Valley Fever and Emerging (zoonotic) diseases. In addition, he/she contributes to the promotion of these activities in the sub-region and ensures stakeholder outreach and engagement.

Responsibilities and activities

• Ensure the delivery of technical support activities
• Monitor and support, as required, the development and operationalisation of joint national roadmaps to address priority gaps in capacity identified during NBWs in collaboration with Tripartite partners at regional and national levels, as applicable,
• Assist in the identification of additional training gaps related to One Health and NBWs roadmaps in order to better address specific health threats at regional and national levels,
• Support the development and implementation of capacity-building training and education modules/programmes to address identified priority gaps,
• Participate in the establishment of the selection criteria and the selection of candidates for capacity training,
• Assist in the selection of candidates to potentially participate in future sub-national “train the trainer” NBWs,
• Participate in the advocacy for, and coordination of new NBWs in the region,
• Assist in workshops to foster the development of joint national roadmaps to strengthen legislative and policy frameworks at the human-animal interface,
• Participate in the development of training programmes to advocate for government support of capacity needs,
• Contribute to the annual programme review of measurable outcomes, recommendations, and follow-on activities to address ongoing and future capacity needs,
• Support capacity development of selected OIE Members in the region with focus on rabies and Rift-valley fever, including the support to the development and implementation, including monitoring and evaluation, of national control programmes.
• Contribute to the coordination of One-Health related activities
• Maintain regular communication with the OIE-WHO-FAO project team, including the Regional Representation in Africa and OIE Headquarters project colleagues regarding the implementation and progress of the activities,
• Assess the implementation of activities and make recommendations to inform decision-making and best practices,
• Organise, coordinate and/or participate in conferences, technical meetings and workshops related to the projects he/she is involved in,
• Coordinate specific activities and deliverables in a timely fashion to ensure that the projects deliver outputs on time and within scope.
• Contribute to communication and stakeholder engagement
• Share, collaborate and ensure the involvement of key animal health sector stakeholders in NBWs, national roadmap planning and implementation, and training programmes/modules,
• Represent the OIE at external meetings as relevant, including regional Africa CDC and AU-IBAR meetings, sub-regional meetings of IGAD and EAC, pertaining to Tripartite topics (animal influenzas, rabies) and zoonotic diseases of high relevance to the region (Rift Valley Fever, anthrax, rabies),
• Act as an OIE technical contact point for the Tripartite in Eastern Africa and ensure liaison with the WHO and FAO counterparts, relevant OIE regional and headquarters colleagues, and OIE Collaborating Centres for training and education,
• Participate in the preparation of background documents and periodic progress reports.
• Provide general support to the work of the Sub-regional Representation
• Contribute to the drafting of relevant documents, articles, website content and other technical and communication information materials to promote engagement in, and implementation of NBWs and other relevant activities,
• Assist the Sub-Regional Representative in managing the day-to-day technical issues in the sub-region, including following up member countries on required information, conducting country visits, among others,
• Carry out other related activities as assigned by the Director General or the OIE Sub-Regional Representative.

Qualifications and experience

1. Graduate degree in Veterinary Science, veterinary public health, public administration or equivalent
2. At least 10 years of professional experience, ideally including on One Health, in project coordination at a national or regional level
3. Work experience in an international context
4. Experience in English-speaking Africa

Requirements

Technical skills

• Expertise in project coordination and successful implementation
• Knowledge of OIE international standards and guidelines as well as WHO International Health Regulations
• Knowledge of key technical and scientific issues relating to animal and human health, as well as the concept of One Health
• Proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office suite
• Perfect command of English, written and spoken
• Excellent command of French, written and spoken would be an asset
• Excellent writing and presentation skills

Interpersonal skills

• Proven ability to work in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team and environment, as well as to work effectively and flexibly with counterparts in external organisations
• Good organisational understanding, including the ability to set priorities and work on tight deadlines
• Ability to identify key information, conduct critical analyses, and synthesise logical proposals or advice
• Situational intelligence and excellent communication skills, including advocacy, on sensitive topics
• Proactive attitude and information sharing to prevent situations and seize opportunities that may be useful to the OIE
• Ability to make presentations, lead groups, and contribute to the facilitation of trainings
• Strong work ethic, and ability to motivate enthusiasm and participation from key stakeholders

Working conditions

• Based in Nairobi, this post involves long hours in a seated position working at a computer. Regular regional travel in Africa, as well as some international travel, are to be expected.
• Salary: commensurate according to experience and qualifications
• Duration: One (1) year