Veterinary Epidemiologist
Agriculture, Farming Jobs
- FAO - Food and Agriculture Or…
- Expires 09 Sep 2026
- Harare
- Full Time
Job Description
Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting the Government of Zimbabwe and key national and international partners in implementing the Pandemic Fund project, "From Early Warning to Early Action: Building Zimbabwe's One Health Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (ZIPOH)." The project aims to strengthen national capacities for prevention, preparedness and response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases through a One Health approach integrating animal, human and environmental health systems.
This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute directly to Zimbabwe's national health security agenda by strengthening veterinary epidemiology, disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness, and One Health coordination systems. The incumbent will play a key role in building sustainable animal health systems capable of preventing, detecting and responding to zoonotic and transboundary animal disease threats.
Reporting Lines
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Zimbabwe and the functional supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Programme), with technical guidance from the Lead Technical Officer and relevant technical officers at regional and headquarters levels. The incumbent will collaborate closely with the Department of Veterinary Services, Central Veterinary Laboratory, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Environmental Management Agency, universities, research institutions and One Health partners.
Technical Focus
• Veterinary epidemiology and disease intelligence
• Animal disease surveillance and early warning systems
• Zoonotic disease prevention and control
• Transboundary animal disease preparedness and response
• Risk assessment and epidemiological analysis
• Veterinary workforce development
• One Health implementation
• Health security and pandemic preparedness
• Veterinary services strengthening
Duties and Responsibilities
Tasks and responsibilities
Surveillance and Epidemiological Intelligence
• Support strengthening of national animal disease surveillance, reporting and early warning systems.
• Conduct epidemiological investigations, disease trend analyses and risk assessments.
• Generate epidemiological intelligence products, technical briefs and disease situation reports.
• Support development and implementation of surveillance protocols, guidelines and standard operating procedures.
• Strengthen surveillance at livestock-wildlife-human interfaces.
Disease Preparedness and Response
• Support preparedness planning for zoonotic diseases and animal health emergencies.
• Participate in outbreak investigations and emergency response missions.
• Contribute to contingency planning, simulation exercises and after-action reviews.
• Support strengthening of rapid response and incident management capacities.
Capacity Development and Veterinary Services Strengthening
• Facilitate epidemiology, surveillance and One Health training programmes.
• Support implementation of ISAVET and related field epidemiology initiatives.
• Promote application of WOAH standards and best practices.
• Strengthen linkages between veterinary field services and laboratory networks.
One Health Coordination and Partnerships
• Promote integrated surveillance and information-sharing across animal, human, wildlife and environmental sectors.
• Support implementation of One Health approaches for zoonotic disease prevention and AMR containment.
• Contribute to project planning, monitoring, reporting and stakeholder engagement activities.
Qualifications and Experience
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree (master’s degree) in Veterinary Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Public Health, One Health, Animal Health or related discipline
• Minimum five (5) years of relevant professional experience in veterinary epidemiology, disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, emergency preparedness, animal health programme implementation, or related areas
• Working knowledge (Level C) of English
• National of Zimbabwe
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Strong knowledge of veterinary epidemiology and animal disease surveillance systems.
• Experience conducting outbreak investigations and emergency response activities.
• Knowledge of zoonotic diseases, transboundary animal diseases and One Health approaches.
• Experience in epidemiological analysis, disease intelligence and risk assessment.
• Experience using epidemiological databases, disease reporting systems and surveillance information platforms.
• Strong analytical, communication and technical report-writing skills.
• Experience with GIS, epidemiological software and disease mapping tools is desirable.
• Familiarity with WOAH standards and international animal health frameworks.
• Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and multisectoral teams.
• Demonstrated experience working with government institutions and development partners
Selection Criteria
• ISAVET, FETP or similar epidemiology training.
• Experience conducting Joint Risk Assessments (JRA) or surveillance evaluations.
• Experience in wildlife-livestock interface programmes.
• Experience implementing donor-funded animal health projects.
• Previous collaboration with FAO, WOAH, WHO, Africa CDC or similar organizations.
How to Apply
