Expert Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunisation Programmes

Contract length: 5 years (renewable)
Location: Stockholm
Indicative number of candidates to be employed: 1

Is this job for you?  

You will work in the Vaccine Preventable diseases and Immunisation (VPI) section in the Directly transmitted and Vaccine preventable Diseases (DVD) unit. To find out more about the unit, please visit https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about-us/ecdcs-organisational-structure. Within the unit you will be reporting to the Head of Section VPI and will be part of a team of approximately 15 people.

This is an exciting opportunity for highly motivated and competent epidemiologists who want to make a difference in the control of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) in the EU/EEA countries. This is an area of strategic priority for ECDC, particularly under its new mandate[1] and the new Regulation on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health[2].

The new EU/EEA health security legal framework emphasizes the role of ECDC in issuing recommendations to Member States e.g. when new vaccines are introduced in the market or when there are signals of suboptimal effectiveness of ongoing vaccination strategies and new recommendations must be given to Member States; in monitoring vaccination coverage and the effectiveness of vaccination programmes, in increasing the usefulness, completeness and resiliency of surveillance systems, and in tackling overarching determinants of health such as the currently reduced vaccine acceptance by the population. 

For fulfilling this ambitious mandate, ECDC is building a strong multidisciplinary VPI section, including epidemiologists, microbiologists, mathematical modellers, and statisticians.

In this position, you will have a wide variety of tasks that will give you the opportunity to:

•    Contribute to the development of science-based guidelines and recommendations for effective immunisation programmes; this may include conducting or outsourcing systematic literature reviews, performing analysis and interpretation of epidemiological data, assembling and moderating panels of experts, drafting and communicating ECDC guidelines and recommendations;   
•    Initiate, follow up on, and/or supervise scientific studies to address critical knowledge gaps and inform vaccination policies at the EU and national level; this will be done in close collaboration with the network of Member State representatives; 
•    Lead or contribute to the assessment and control of ongoing and emerging public health threats related to vaccine preventable diseases and vaccines; this may include investigation of outbreaks or analysis of epidemiological data and of the literature, setting up and coordinating outbreak investigation teams with internal and national experts, assessing the risks and issuing public health recommendations following ECDC methodologies and standards for rapid risk assessments;  
•    Contribute to the surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases, including effective networking with VPD surveillance national authorities, evaluation of surveillance systems and activities in Member States, and analysis and dissemination of surveillance data; 
•    Write scientific manuscripts and reports on relevant applied research topics; 
•    Contribute to the strategic planning of ECDC activities and resources in vaccine preventable diseases and immunisation, in line with the Centre’s priorities, the needs of Member States, and opportunities for public health impact, ensuring their relevance and feasibility; 
•    Establish close links between ECDC and national/international bodies, and with other relevant networks, partners and stakeholders and contribute to the management and coordination of ECDC networks in the VPD field;
•    Contribute to other activities of ECDC as required, within your field of competence including the 24/7 duty system and the response to public health emergencies if requested to.
Administrative and operational tasks in the job mostly relate to developing public procurement procedures for outsourcing research and analysis tasks, such as scientific studies and technical reports, providing strategic direction to external contractors and monitoring the quality of their work.

What are we looking for?

A.    Formal requirements

For your application to be considered eligible you must fulfil all the following requirements by the application deadline:

•    A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least 3 years attested by a diploma[3]
•    Thorough knowledge of one of the official EU languages and a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language to the extent necessary for the performance of your duties[4];
•    Nationality of one of the EU Member States or of Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and to be entitled to your full rights as a citizen;
•    To have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
•    Meet the character requirements for the duties involved[5]; and
•    Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

You will need to provide appropriate documents to show that you meet all of the above criteria.

B.    Selection criteria

For your application to be evaluated further, you will also need:

•    At least 5 years of recent experience acquired in positions relevant to the job description, including having worked as an epidemiologist in a public health institute at national, local or international level for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, preferably of vaccine preventable diseases or in the setting up, coordination, or management of childhood, adolescent or older age-groups vaccination programmes;
•    A university or post graduate degree within the field of medicine, public health, epidemiology or other fields of health, relevant to the position;
•    Expert-level knowledge of the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases acquired by direct working experience in VPD surveillance, outbreak investigation and response at local, national, or international levels; 
•    Expert-level knowledge of vaccines and their uses acquired by direct working experience with setting up and evaluating local, national, or international immunisation programmes, or by having performed epidemiological studies such as cohort, case-control and randomised clinical trials on vaccines or their use;
•    Working experience in writing scientific guidance for the use of vaccines, preferably using event-based medicine methods, or knowledge of methods for planning and performing systematic literature reviews acquired in the context of formal trainings or by direct working experience; 
•    Proven experience in coordinating working groups activities and project management;
•    Excellent command of English, both written and spoken.

Additionally, we will assess the following competencies:

•    Public health leadership, e.g. the ability to develop and promote a relevant EU/EEA research agenda for tackling the impact of vaccine preventable diseases, or the ability to foster the issuing of EU/EEA level policies addressing existing challenges in vaccine preventable disease control, or similar activities; 
•    Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills;
•    Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary and multi-cultural team;
•    Excellent written and oral communication skills, including in communicating scientific information to authorities, peers as well as to a wider audience;
•    Organisational skills and ability to manage responsibilities under routine conditions as well as under pressure.
Depending on the number of applications received, the selection committee may apply stricter requirements within the aforementioned selection criteria.

Why ECDC?

You will play an active role in making a tangible difference in public health.

At ECDC you will join a team of more than 400 colleagues with diverse backgrounds and professions who work together for the common goal of helping countries prevent and respond to outbreaks and public health threats. Every position at ECDC plays an important part, and we cooperate closely for our collective goals.

ECDC is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all suitably qualified candidates without any distinction on grounds of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic or social origin, religion, or belief.

As an ECDC staff member, you will have the chance to own or support initiatives impacting the health and well-being of people in Europe. You will have access to the latest European-level surveillance data and dedicated expertise in your field, collaborate with various experts and organisations across Europe and beyond, and you will be part of public health-relevant infectious disease networks.

You will be joining ECDC at interesting times. In October 2022, the European Parliament endorsed an extended mandate that will allow ECDC to adopt a stronger role in supporting EU Member States in the prevention and control of infectious disease threats and improve European preparedness and response. This includes real-time surveillance systems, mobilising an EU Health Task Force to assist local responses in Member States and building a network of EU reference laboratories. 

What can we offer you?

We offer a competitive salary and a range of benefits, including health insurance, learning opportunities and flexible work arrangements such as flexible working hours and teleworking in the Stockholm area for part of the week.  Additionally, you can work up to 10 days a year from outside the Stockholm area.

Depending on your experience, the monthly basic salary usually starts at € 6224,44 and may be supplemented by various allowances including, as applicable, expatriation and/or generous family allowances. Salary is exempt from national tax and instead an Agency tax is deducted. We also provide financial support when relocating to Stockholm.

Our benefits package is designed to support a healthy work-life balance, and we are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive work environment that values the well-being of our employees.

Learn more about the benefits of joining ECDC here: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about-ecdc/work-ecdc/staff-positions/what-we-offer 

How does our selection process work?

Our selection process takes, on average, three months from the application deadline. All selection processes include a remote written test and a video conference interview; some selection processes may include additional steps.

After a candidate has been selected for the position, additional shortlisted candidates can be placed on a reserve list. The reserve list may be used when ECDC needs to fill similar positions at the same level in the future. The reserve list is valid until 31 December 2026 and may be extended.

Visit https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about-us/work-with-us/internal-procedure-recruitment-selection for an overview of the different steps in the selection process and see the ECDC-candidate-guide.pdf (europa.eu) for a detailed explanation of the selection and recruitment process. 

When starting a new contract under the EU staff regulations, all new staff must successfully complete a probationary period of nine months.

How do you apply?

To apply for this vacancy, please create/ log in to your ECDC e-recruitment user account. 

See detailed instructions on how to apply here: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Candidate-E-recruitment-user-guide.pdf

Please submit your application well ahead of the deadline in case of technical issues and/or heavy traffic on the website. After submitting your application, you will receive an automatic email message confirming receipt of your application. Ensure that the email address you provide for your applicant account is correct and that you check your email regularly.

ECDC does not accept applications submitted after the deadline or applications submitted by email, mail or any other means.

Only candidates selected for interviews will be notified. You can see the progress of the selection process from within your e-recruitment account. 

Translations of this vacancy notice in all EU languages can be obtained by using the automatic translation function on this website.

Note: 

While this vacancy notice can be translated into all official EU languages from its English original, the language of day-to-day operations in the Agency is generally English. ECDC therefore prefers to receive the application in English.

Disclaimer: Please note that in the event of any differences in meaning or interpretation between the original English version of this content and a translation, the original English version takes precedence

We welcome your application!