Country: Viet Nam
Closing date: 12 May 2017
Overview
Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is seeking a Biosafety & Biosecurity (BS&S) Senior Technical Advisor to support CH2M’s U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Biological Threat Reduction Integrating Contract (BTRIC) project in Vietnam that aims to support national and international efforts to counter global biological threats; create sustainable disease surveillance, detection, diagnosis, containment, response, and reporting systems in both the human health and veterinary sectors; promote the development of regulations, legislation, and operating procedures for the reduction of biological threats; improve bio-risk management practices from the field to the laboratory; and support reasonable and safe research on pathogens of security concern.
This position is full-time for 15 months and is contingent upon donor award. Notification of award is expected by June 1, 2017. This position will be based in CH2M Hill’s office in Hanoi, Vietnam. It will be supervised by the Senior Technical Advisor, Global Health Security at MSH headquarters and CH2M Hill’s Project Manager in Hanoi.
Specific Responsibilities
The Biosafety & Biosecurity Advisor serves as a subject matter expert and mentor related to biosafety and biosecurity (BS&S) training, disease surveillance, and best practices. The position supports and interfaces directly with Contractor team members, the US Government and its collaborators including CDC, WHO, and OIE, and Vietnamese scientists and ministerial officials.
- Train BS&S officers and laboratorians from the Tay Nguyen Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology (TIHE), NIHE, Pasteur Institute-Nha Trang (PI-NT), PI-HCMC, the National Hospital for Tropical Disease, and Military Hospital 175, using the Global Bio Risk Management Curriculum (GBRMC) materials. Training audiences may include instructors from Vietnamese Universities of Agriculture, Public Health, Nursing, and/or Medicine. Conduct five (5) in-country training sessions with approximately 25 students per class. Each class will include lectures, exercises, and two hands-on training components in a laboratory (normally one of four MOH institutes or seven Department of Animal Health (DAH) Regional Animal Health Offices).
- Provide Management and Leadership training to laboratory managers and leaders in the DAH and MOH using GBRMC materials. Conduct two (2) in-country training sessions with approximately 20 students per class.
- Develop a Training Management Plan that includes a plan to transition to a Trainer Development Program (also known as Training of Trainers) to include handover of training materials to General Department Preventive Medicine (GDPM) and Department of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (DAH).
- Work collaboratively with Vietnamese and international animal health stakeholders to provide technical guidance to help DAH develop comprehensive, modern BS&S regulations specific to veterinary laboratories including: BS&S requirements for veterinary diagnostic laboratories; BS&S requirements for laboratories conducting animal experiments; BS&S certification requirements and plans for veterinary laboratories; Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for proper hazardous waste handling and disposal; and, technical specifications for BS&S equipment and supplies to meet appropriate BS&S regulations.
- Outline feasible concepts for an electronic disease reporting tool for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
- Research, collect and record information on prior attempts to implement Animal Disease Reporting Systems in Vietnam and work closely with all stakeholders such as USDA, FAO and USAID to produce a Gap Analysis Report documenting the findings.
- Provide assistance as required to support BS&S training program coordination and logistics
- Serve as liaison with BS&S professionals regarding best practices
- Prepare Training Trip Reports and conduct Post-Training assessments and summary reports; support maintenance of regular reports and databases of training activities, including purpose, dates, names of participants, and institutional affiliations
- Conduct annual performance evaluations of BS&S training activities
Qualifications and Experience
- University degree in biology, chemistry, animal health, or related science discipline; post-graduate degree preferred
- Minimum of 7 years of experience in Vietnam related to biosafety & security, lab operations, and related training
- A highly qualified and recognized expert in the field
- Experience in international public health highly preferred
- Understanding of consulting project delivery processes and ability to apply the principles to training processes and practices
- Proficiency with training tools, metrics and systems
- Ability to perform tasks independently with minimal supervision
- Ability to motivate, mentor and lead others by creating a positive work environment
- Excellent written and oral communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to interact with local scientists, local laboratory staff, and US Government staff
- Ability to communicate complex science information to team members
- Well-organized, detail-oriented, and excellent in time management
- Fluency (written/verbal) in Vietnamese and English languages
How to apply:
https://jobs-msh.icims.com/jobs/9539/senior-technical-advisor%2c-biosafety-and-biosecurity/job