Back Senior Fishery Officer (Aquaculture Biosecurity)

Organizational Setting

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI) is responsible for the economic, social, institutional, governance and policy aspects of FAO's activities related to fisheries and aquaculture and their development, with particular emphasis on human well-being, food security and poverty reduction; post-harvest utilization, marketing and trade with due regard to the protection of the environment, food security and the well-being of fishing communities; collection, compilation, validation, trend analysis and dissemination of the best available and up-to-date fishery statistics and for the syndication of the FAO information on all aspects of world fisheries and aquaculture.

The Division is also responsible for FAO's activities related to the management and conservation of the living aquatic resources used by fisheries and aquaculture, including the biodiversity and ecosystem maintenance, with particular emphasis on most vulnerable and threatened species and habitats; management of responsible fisheries and aquaculture in accordance with modern management standards and best practices; development of fisheries technology, with due regard to the protection of the environment, food security and the well-being of fishing communities, including the safety of fishers and fishing vessels.

The position is located in the Sustainable Aquaculture area of NFI and is based at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines

The Senior Fishery Officer (Aquaculture Biosecurity) reports to the Deputy Director, NFI.

Technical Focus

Technical support to the aquatic health management, biosecurity and disease control portfolio of NFI, particularly in relation to the implementation of the Blue Transformation Roadmap (2022-2030) and the FAO Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture, to ensure that aquaculture development supports food security and nutrition, food safety and public health, as well as the environmental sustainability of the sector, providing guidance to countries on aquatic organism health management and aquaculture biosecurity systems.

Key Results

Leadership and technical policy expertise for the planning, development and implementation of Divisional programmes of work, projects, products and services in accordance with 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 and Budget, 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 and 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 the design and execution of normative and field programmes of NFI on aquatic organism health management, aquaculture biosecurity, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (especially with reference to the FAO Reference Centres on AMR and Aquaculture Biosecurity), One Health and the Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture (section on aquatic organism health and fish welfare) to support sustainable aquatic food systems.
  • Organizes, leads and/or performs fact-finding missions for the identification, formulation and implementation of field projects, at the request of FAO Members in need of technical support.
  • Organizes, leads and/or performs investigation of aquatic disease outbreaks or mass mortality events, at the request of FAO Members and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Develops and implements proactive disease prevention methodologies, tools and assessment instruments to support the National Aquatic Organism Health or Aquaculture Biosecurity Strategy and its components (e.g. pathogen lists, risk analysis, diagnostics, surveillance, farm level biosecurity, emergency preparedness, information systems, etc.) at national, subregional and regional levels.
  • Guides and/or undertakes technical analysis and reviews of developments, innovations to support robust aquatic organism health management and aquaculture biosecurity strategies, at the request of FAO Members.
  • Designs, prepares and conducts training initiatives and capacity-building activities to support policymakers, aquafarmers, and other stakeholders in need of improving essential technical and managerial skills.
  • Produces technical papers, circulars, reports, scientific and review papers and guides pertinent to the above subject areas and maintains the dedicated biosecurity webpage.
  • Initiates, develops and/or manages the preparation of proposals to mobilize extra-budgetary resources in support of the implementation of above thematic areas.
  • Maintains partnerships with national and international academic, research and policy institutions and fosters collaboration with NFI teams, FAO units and Decentralized Offices and relevant FAO partners (regional and international agencies).

    CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

     

    Minimum Requirements

    • Advanced university degree in aquaculture sciences, fishery sciences, bioscience/biotechnology, animal health, natural resource economics, applied developmental studies, veterinary sciences, or related disciplines.
    • Ten years of relevant experience in the development and planning of aquaculture projects, particularly in relation to biosecurity and disease control, as well as identifying, designing, and conducting feasibility and viability analyses of aquaculture investment projects or programmes in the public and/private sectors, and in analysing national aquaculture development policies, strategies and plans for sustainable aquaculture development.
    • Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

       

      Competencies

      • Results Focus
      • Leading, Engaging and Empowering
      • Communication
      • Partnering and Advocating
      • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
      • Strategic Thinking

         

        Technical/Functional Skills

        • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is essential.
        • Extent and relevance of experience or knowledge in providing scientific support and advice to national, regional and international aquaculture management and development bodies in both developed and developing countries.
        • Extent and relevance of experience in developing policy and governance frameworks and strategies to effectively integrate aquaculture into local and national planning economies to enable effective sustainable growth.
        • Extent and relevance of experience in capacity development for the design and implementation of aquaculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing investments in the context of food security, nutrition and economic development.
        • Demonstrated results-based management capabilities with an ability to manage programmes, budgets and human resources efficiently under shifting priorities.
        • Extent and relevance of experience in different countries and regions, especially in developing countries and countries in transition.
        • Ability to mobilize resources.
        • Demonstrated analytical and technical writing abilities.