Technical Officer, Food Safety

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 127,176 USD and 163,967 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Position No. 422211 might be relocated to another duty station according to programmatic needs

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The Regional Centre for Environmental Health Action (CEHA) is responsible for developing and managing regional programmes for supporting Member States in their endeavor to protect human health from environmental risks including unsafe or potentially unsafe food though the prevention, elimination, or reduction of health hazards associated with biological and chemical agents in food. Food safety is an integral part of the environmental health risks and determinant for many communicable and non-communicable diseases. The objectives of the programme is to promote food safety through strengthening food safety policies legislation, standards and enforcement. And to support Member States in the prevention and control of food borne diseases using food borne disease surveillance and food hazards monitoring and response and improvement of food safety education.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The incumbent will perform the following duties:Provide technical expertise for the development, improvement and implementation of sustainable food safety systems.Provide advisory and technical guidance to countries on policies, strategies and regulations for strengthening environmental health and food safety systems.Promote the implementation of WHO norms, guidelines, and standards to protect public health from the food safety perspective.Develop regional food safety guidelines covering food control, inspection, legislation, laboratory and import-export mechanism for safe food.Develop building capacity curriculum and buildthe capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks to contain food safety outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations.Undertake regular missions including field visits to the national food safety programmes in Member States and arrange for appropriate technical consultation and support.Lead and expand WHO's leadership in the areas of food safety in the EMR, collaborate with appropriate technical networks, institutions, universities and WHO Collaborating Centers for developing appropriate training courses for national capacity building.Foster collaboration and coordinate efforts with international partners and donor agencies to mobilize resources and facilitate effective utilization of resources for projects and new initiatives.Promote inter-programmatic coordination with other technical entities in the development and implementation of foodborne diseases control efforts.Lead and coordinate the information seminars and workshops and awareness/ advocacy campaigns and promote WHO's position on Safe Food.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Master's degree in microbiology, toxicology, epidemiology, agriculture and veterinary science, environmental science, food science or food technology. Desirable: Post graduate studies or specialized training inpublic health, or food safety and security.

Experience

Essential: At least seven years of relevant experience, with proven international exposure, in development and management of food safety and foodborne diseases control programmes as well as related experience working in foodborne outbreaks and/orhealth emergency operations. Experience in developing and promoting collaborative actions with national authorities. Desirable: Experience in providing technical support and building capacity in food control systems, in developing countries.Experience in facilitating public-private sector collaboration.Relevant work experience with WHO, other UN agencies, health cluster partners, relevant governmental or nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations.

Skills

Proven understanding and expertise on food safety issues and their impact on the burden of foodborne diseases. Excellent knowledge and understanding of international public health with focus on food safety.Good understanding of international standards, agreements and other legal instruments pertaining to food safety and food trade.Ability to identify constraints and opportunities in the introduction of new and innovative food safety intervention strategies, policies, and actions.Independent judgement; and ability to anticipate new trends in the field of food safety and take actions accordingly.Ability to manage food safety events based on a sound assessment of available information.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences Communication Ensuring the effective use of resources Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of Arabic.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 75,602 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 2892 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

• A written test may be used as a form of screening.

• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO 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 through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

• For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

• WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.

• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

• WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.