Senior Animal Health Officer

Reporting Lines

The Senior Animal Health Officer (Antimicrobial and One Health Coordination) reports to the Chief, One Health and Disease Control Branch (NSAH/CJW), within the Animal Production and Health Division (NSA).

Technical Focus

The technical focus is on One Health in Agrifood Systems Framework in animal health and production systems, including herd and flock health, disease prevention, biosecurity and hygiene, responsible antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mitigation. Areas of work include production diseases, endemic and epidemic diseases of public health and socio-economic importance, epidemiology and surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU) surveillance, risk management, value chain approaches, and strategic interventions to strengthen animal health, One Health and sustainable livestock development. The position promotes multisectoral collaboration and partnerships to advance disease prevention, control and AMR mitigation in agrifood systems supporting implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action, the Global Action Plan on AMR, the FAO Resolution on AMR, and the UNGA Political Declaration on AMR.

Key Results

Leadership and technical policy expertise for the planning, development and implementation of divisional/cross-divisional programmes of work, projects, products, services in accordance with One Health domain of the FAO Strategic Framework.

Key Functions

•Plans, manages, or leads highly specialized or multidisciplinary teams, leads, coordinates, and/or participates in Organization-wide, cross-divisional committees, project teams, and working groups, and/or provides technical leadership/secretariat services on technical networks and/or international technical policy and standard setting bodies.

•Analyses global and country specific requirements and relevant technical issues to provide critical input into the FAO Strategic Framework, Programme of Work, work plans and the supporting budgets and/or resourcing strategies.

•Implements and monitors programmes of work involving the development of the approach, evidence-based strategies, and related tools, methodologies and the supporting system/database, monitoring and reporting frameworks.

•Conducts, designs and oversees research and analysis' activities to support the development of technical standards, international instruments, innovation, technical reports, publications and/or on-going programme development as well as the provision of technical and/or policy advisory services.

•Provides technical and policy advice to Members and technical support to Decentralized Offices in the development and implementation of their programmes.

•Leads and/or collaborates in, provides technical backstopping to and ensures the quality/effectiveness of capacity development and knowledge sharing activities within Members such as policy support, organizational development and individual learning events including preparation of related information, learning, on-line tools.

•Represents the Organization at international meetings and conferences, identifies and implements strategic partnerships, advocates best practices and increased policy dialogue and develops and negotiates effective working relationships/consensus and agreements with international and national stakeholders.

•Leads and/or participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.

Specific Functions

Leads and coordinates FAO's AMR and One Health work in agrifood systems, ensuring alignment across divisions, Decentralized Offices and corporate priorities, while promoting innovation and scaling effective approaches to strengthen country implementation of National Action Plans on AMR and National One Health Implementation.

Leads and coordinates FAO's One Health Technical Working Group with relevant divisions, centres and offices across the Organization.

Leads corporate planning, programme development, monitoring and reporting on One Health and AMR, including strategic advice to governing bodies and senior management.

Oversees the quality and continuous improvement of technical, policy and programmatic products (guidance, reports, knowledge and advocacy materials, project documents, investment proposals and monitoring frameworks).

Coordinates FAO's engagement in Quadripartite One Health and AMR mechanisms, ensuring alignment with FAO's Strategic Framework and strong integration of agrifood priorities including implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action and the Global Leaders Group recommendations, as appropriate.

Leads the development and implementation of FAO corporate strategies and programmes on One Health and AMR, including the AMR roadmap and On