Laboratory Specialist – Pandemic Fund

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, help to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The following position is at SB4 SC8 level.

Pakistan has been experiencing frequent natural disasters and non-coherent economic policies which have affected the overall economy specifically the agriculture sector and the livelihood of the people. Outbreak of pandemics and locust attacks have damaged agricultural crops and affected the food supply chain in Pakistan. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is supporting the Government of Pakistan at national and provincial levels through different analytical policy reports on food supply chain, food forecast livestock, forestry, fisheries and climate change. Similarly, a web-based data management system is under development for agriculture, food security and nutrition statistics in Pakistan. Through this system, supporting the Government of Pakistan in monitoring food prices and supply chains through live dashboards will enable better planning and policy-making.

This position is based in Islamabad under the FAO Project Pandemic Preparedness and Response through Operationalizing One Health Approach in Pakistan.

Reporting Lines

Under overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Pakistan (FAOR), and under direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Program) and technical guidance of Pandemic Fund Project Manager/Officer and in close coordination with National Pandemic Fund team, Regional Coordinator for One Health in Agrifood System (FAORAP), Regional Pandemic Fund Coordinator (FAORAP) and other relevant technical colleagues at country, regional and HQ level

Technical Focus

The Laboratory Specialist will provide technical expertise on all laboratory related inputs to achieve the outcomes specified under the relevant projects, including backstopping to the field teams. He/she will work cooperatively with other livestock officials from other FAO projects to ensure best practices are adopted throughout the country program.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Strengthen the coordination mechanism among animal health reference labs, provincial labs and district labs through the establishment /review of the National laboratory network for the Animal Health sector (NLNG-AH).
• Foster linkages of NLNG-AH and technical items of OH relevance to the National Laboratory Working Group (NLWG) in the public health sector and other existing laboratory networks in the wildlife/environment/aquaculture sectors to foster a One Health approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
• Develop a national laboratory strengthening road map in line with the existing National Veterinary Laboratory Guidelines and Policy and FAO guidelines.
• Upgrade the animal health sector national reference labs and provincial labs to appropriate BSL levels for priority zoonotic diseases in line with FAO guidelines and FAO LMT tool through, 1) conducting a risk assessment; 2. help designing laboratory settings or new facilities to ensure higher level of biosafety and biosecurity; 3. Develop SOPs/guidelines on biorisk management.
• Develop/update protocols/SOPs for transport capacities of biological samples, from the collection point (for routine surveillance and from suspected outbreak sites) to the regional/provincial/national laboratories.
• Deliver training programs on the developed/updated SOPs for field personnel on sample collection, labelling, packaging and transportation in line with national guidelines and international standards for the shipment of hazardous biological material.
• Develop delivery of targeted training programs for laboratory personnel on isolation, identification/Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST), molecular diagnostics, including biosafety, biosecurity, and lab data management for prioritized zoonotic diseases at federal and provincial levels.
• Provide support and/or training towards ISO 17025 and/or 17043 accreditation for identified federal and provincial labs as per their respective functions.
• Facilitate enrolment of federal and provincial labs in the External Quality Assurance Programs (EQA) and National EQA Schemes (NEQAS) for priority zoonotic diseases.
• Develop a 2027 workplan for the laboratory component of the project in line with the labs strengthening roadmap and in consultation with relevant national stakeholders and FAO teams,
• Contribute to technical progress reports, donor reports, success stories, and knowledge products.
• Document lessons learned, best practices, and scalable models for laboratory system strengthening.
• Perform other duties as needed.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic diseases.
• Experience in arrangements of stakeholders’ workshops.
• Previous experience in similar settings would be considered a distinct asset.
• Liaison with the Technical staff and Administrative staff of the provincial Livestock Departments
• Understanding of the purpose and functions of technical programmes, operational guidelines and programme/project management procedures, preferably those adopted by the United Nations or FAO, would be considered an added asset.
• Proven past experience in advising and supporting laboratories in meeting requirements for ISO 17025 and ISO17043 accreditation
• Proven experience in SOPs development and in training on sample collection, handling and transportation
• Good knowledge of common administrative and financial rules and regulations
• Good knowledge of communication and documentation standards

Selection criteria

• Ability to work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams are essential.