Principal Expert Food- and Water-borne diseases

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

Is this job for you? 

Are you an experienced expert with a background in food- and water borne diseases, and are you interested in applying your skills to ECDC projects and scientific activities and engaging with international health partners?

What will you do?

You will work in the Emerging, Food-and Vector-Borne Diseases group within the Epidemic-prone diseases (EPD) section in the Disease Programmes (DPR) unit.

Reporting to the Group Leader, you will be part of a team of approximately 10 people supporting the Centre’s work related to the surveillance and monitoring, scientific advice as well as prevention and control of food-and water borne-diseases.

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

• Lead and coordinate the early detection and the response to cross-border food- and water-borne diseases outbreaks, including the production of risk assessments, working in close collaboration with the microbiology team, with Member States and with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); 
• Support the implementation of molecular surveillance activities for food- and water-borne diseases within ECDC and with the European Union Reference Laboratories;
• Lead and contribute to the production of scientific evidence-based guidance and advice initiated by ECDC, or in response to questions from the Member States, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.
• Contribute to the analysis of the surveillance data on food- and water-borne diseases and to the production of surveillance outputs; 
• Contribute to improving the understanding of factors (e.g. epidemiological, environmental, social and technical factors) influencing the occurrence of food- and water-borne diseases in the EU/EEA;
• Support the development of ECDC strategy for emerging, food- and vector-borne diseases and provide input to the annual workplan of the group; 
• Lead and contribute to the organisation of the food- and water-borne diseases network meetings;
• Contribute to the response to Public Health Emergency related to food- and water-borne diseases but also related to other diseases, as requested;
• Contribute to other activities of ECDC, as required, in his/her field of expertise and participate in the food- and water-borne diseases duty roster as well as in the 24/7 duty system of ECDC.

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, provide strategic direction to external contractors and monitoring the quality of their work. 

What are we looking for?

A. Eligibility criteria

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 attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 4 years or more, or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years*;
• At least 9 years of professional experience** (following the award of the diploma);
• 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***;
• 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****; 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:

• University or post graduate degree within the field of medicine, veterinary medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, food safety, epidemiology, microbiology or another field relevant to the position; 
• At least 8 years of recent professional experience acquired in positions relevant to the job description; 
• Thorough scientific and technical experience related to the epidemiology, microbiology and, prevention and control of food- and water-borne diseases;
• Proven experience in responding to food- and water-borne diseases outbreaks and in conducting analysis of surveillance data; 
• Proven experience in developing evidence-based public health advice; 
• Proven experience in communicating scientific information to professionals, scientists as well to a wider audience, especially through oral presentations, technical reports and by publishing scientific articles; 
• Experience in project management and leading multidisciplinary teams of experts; 
• Excellent level of English, both written and spoken.

Additionally, we will assess the following competencies:

• Good organisational skills: a planned approach to tasks and ability to prioritise, to work under pressure and to manage responsibilities; 
• Ability to work collaboratively and build strong working relationships; 
• Results oriented; 
• Quality driven and service minded. 

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 to 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 work on 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, and 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 flexible work arrangements such as teleworking and flexible working hours, health insurance and learning opportunities. 

Depending on your experience, the basic salary usually starts at 7.977 €/month and is supplemented by various allowances, including as applicable expatriation and/or generous family allowances. Salary is exempt from national tax, instead an Agency tax at source is paid. 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.  

How does our selection process work?

Our selection process takes, on average, three months from the application deadline. All selection procedures include a remote written test and a video conference interview; some selection procedures 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 2025 and may be extended.

See an overview of the different steps in the selection process and 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 have to 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

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 procedure from within your e-recruitment account. 

We welcome your application!

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.