Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition.  The FAO Country Office in Bangladesh (FABGD) is responsible for leading FAO’s response to country priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO’s priority activities in the country. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the country and, in collaboration with the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP), Divisions, Offices and Centers at FAO Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO’s strategic response to these priorities. Through its Country Programming Framework (CPF), the Country Office supports policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, at country level and facilitates the emergence of country partnerships and supports capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development in the region.

In the South Asia Region (SAR), several regional structures and entities have been identified to spearhead and sustain pandemic preparedness and response (PPR) initiatives. Among these, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) stands out as a prime candidate for coordinating regional health security, offering advantages in navigating complex geopolitics and ensuring regional ownership through member-driven governance. The BIMSTEC Secretariat has established a Public Health Expert Group, comprising senior officials from member countries’ ministries of health, to drive the health security agenda. This Group has endorsed a comprehensive Plan of Action on Public Health (2023-2025), aimed at strengthening regional human and animal health systems, leveraging an ecological perspective for disease prevention and preparedness, and ensuring a unified response to public health emergencies through a One Health framework. Notably, BIMSTEC also offers opportunities for non-member engagement, with Pakistan and Maldives participating as observers and cooperating partners in regional pandemic PPR discussions.

Currently, the region lacks functioning and routine coordination mechanisms for health emergencies or pandemic PPR, which FAO aims to address by strengthening BIMSTEC’s capacity to sustain pandemic PPR functions. To ensure long-term sustainability, FAO will establish mechanisms for technical capacity strengthening of the BIMSTEC Secretariat and member countries, including exit strategies tailored to each country’s needs. Additionally, FAO will employ participatory approaches engaging all stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of project results beyond the project’s lifetime. Stakeholder identification, sensitization, and mobilization will be initiated through varied participatory approaches, and project activities will be refined based on participatory planning results.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Bangladesh, the direct supervision of the ECTAD Team Leader, the technical guidance of the project Lead Technical Officer, and in close collaboration with Senior Animal Health Officers and other FAO team members at the country and regional level, the incumbent will support knowledge generation and sharing on One Health and AMR.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Provide technical assistance to the BIMSTEC Secretariat supporting regional strategic planning exercises and exploring establishment of a regional center of excellence related to PPR and OH.
•    Provide technical, operational and strategic support to strengthening investments in One Health, working to support country level advocacy for policies and investments in One Health and Pandemic Preparedness including AMR.
•    Serve as a focal person for the project on specific One Health technical areas, including One Health country profiling, zoonotic disease control, NSA’s One Health and AMR in Agrifood Systems for Global Health and Food Security Framework, and FAO’s One Health Programme Priority Area.
•    Support country teams to conduct desk review of secondary resources for preparing One Health country profiles.
•    Contribute to the preparation and drafting of the One Health country profiles.
•    Review the One Health investment landscape in each country against the global investor landscape and amend as necessary.
•    Document findings and outcomes of the country’s One Health action planning process.
•    Work closely with the country teams and World Bank counterparts to prepare the One Health action plans and investment cases in selected countries.
•    Ensure coordination and completion of activities related to environmental issues as defined by project Environmental and Social Commitment plan (ESCP).
•    Prepare annual workplan for ESMS activities and reporting and M&E activities in collaboration with the Project Manager.
•    Contribute to drafting the short handbook describing the procedure for developing the One Health country profiles, action plans, and investment cases.
•    Collate project progress reports in collaboration with technical managers and operations.
•    Perform other related duties as necessary.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced degree in veterinary medicine/science, public health, or in a discipline relevant to the management of One Health programmes.
•    At least 5 years of relevant experience in One Health, Animal and Public Health programming and other related fields.
•    Working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Work experience in more than one location or area of work
•    Extent and relevance of experience in an international organization with strong understanding of the One Health approach, including experience in zoonotic disease management, health systems strengthening, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
•    Technical competency in zoonotic disease control.
•    Ability to analyze complex health data and translate findings into actionable strategies.
•    Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills.
•    Demonstrated experience in training and mentoring internal and external stakeholders.
•    Proven experience working with government officials, is highly desirable to support strategy development, implementation plans, and decision-making.
•    Proficiency in a South Asian language is desirable.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements