Animal Influenza (OFFLU) Specialist

Organizational Context

The FAO's Animal Production and Health Division (NSA) promotes sustainable livestock development. This role is within the One Health and Disease Control Branch (NSAH-CJW), which leads FAO's work on transboundary animal diseases and surveillance through EMPRES-AH. FAO co-leads the WOAH/FAO Network of Expertise on Animal Influenza (OFFLU) with WOAH, uniting reference laboratories, scientists, and partners to support animal influenza prevention and control. This contributes to transforming agrifood systems for better production, nutrition, environment, and life.

Job Purpose

The Animal Influenza (OFFLU) Specialist will provide essential technical and scientific support for Avian Influenza surveillance activities. A primary focus of this role is to coordinate and deliver OFFLU activities, ensuring effective prevention, detection, analysis, and global data sharing related to animal influenza. This position is crucial for strengthening global efforts against animal influenza, aligning with FAO's strategic objectives to enhance animal health and contribute to resilient agrifood systems. The specialist will facilitate collaboration among experts and partners to advance influenza control strategies worldwide.

Responsibilities

The consultant will support OFFLU technical activities and workplans, contributing to the review and implementation of strategic frameworks and the FAO–WOAH global avian influenza strategy. This includes identifying research gaps, promoting innovation, and providing technical input to global initiatives. Responsibilities also involve strengthening laboratory capacity and molecular surveillance for influenza and emerging pathogens. The role requires supporting the collection, analysis, and bioinformatics interpretation of genetic, antigenic, and epidemiological influenza data from OFFLU networks, and developing data-sharing mechanisms. The specialist will coordinate OFFLU technical groups, liaise with reference laboratories, facilitate information sharing, and strengthen collaboration with international partners like WOAH and WHO. Furthermore, the consultant will contribute to OFFLU inputs for WHO Influenza Vaccine Composition Meetings, conduct advanced data analysis for vaccine strain selection and risk assessment, and support the development of an animal health vaccine composition process. Drafting scientific publications, reports, and communication materials is also key.

Work Experience

Candidates need relevant professional experience in bioinformatics and molecular epidemiology. This includes at least 1 year (Category C), 5 years (Category B), or 10 years (Category A) of experience. Relevant experience in animal influenza, epidemiology networks, molecular epidemiology, or bioinformatics is essential. Experience working with international organizations, scientific networks, or research institutions is also required.

Skills

Key skills include strong demonstrable expertise in bioinformatics or molecular epidemiology, with extensive experience in analyzing and interpreting genomic and antigenic data. The role requires significant experience coordinating multi-partner scientific networks and processes. Strong communication skills are essential for scientific and policy-oriented outputs. Core competencies include results focus, teamwork, communication, building effective relationships, knowledge sharing, continuous improvement, and the ability to work independently and meet deadlines.

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