Scientific Officer Food-, Water-borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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 Food-, Water-, Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases section in the One Health related Diseases (OHD) unit. To find out more about what the unit does, visit https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about-us/ecdcs-organisational-structure.

Reporting to the Head of Section, you will be part of a team of approximately 7 supporting the Centre’s work related to the food-, waterborne and zoonotic diseases, including Legionnaires’ disease. Some involvement in activities on other diseases covered by the section will be considered should the need arise.

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

• Contribute to the early detection and the response to cross-border food-, waterborne and zoonotic diseases outbreaks, coordinating with EU/EEA countries, and with other relevant partners such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO);
• Participate to the food- and waterborne and the Legionnaires’ disease specific duty rosters (office hours);
• Support the production of risk assessments and the writing and updating of procedures;
• Coordinate the production of evidence-based scientific advice for the prevention and control of food-, waterborne and zoonotic diseases; perform scientific reviews and data collections, synthetise information and communicate about the results;
• Contribute to the implementation of ECDC coordinated surveillance activities and related activities of the EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs);
• Support and contribute to the ECDC disease networks coordination, including preparation, organisation and follow-up of meetings;
• Contribute to other activities of ECDC as required, within your field of competence.

What are we looking for?

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 diploma¹;
• 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 duties²;
• 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 involved³; 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.

Selection criteria

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

• A university or post graduate degree within the field of within the field in medicine, veterinary medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, environmental health, food safety, infectious disease epidemiology, microbiology, environmental health or other field relevant to the position;
• At least 3 years, (following the award of the diploma), of recent and operational professional experience acquired in positions relevant to the job description;
• Proven recent experience in responding to food-, waterborne and zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks and in conducting analysis of surveillance data;
• Scientific and technical experience related to the prevention and control of food-, water-borne and zoonotic infectious diseases;
• Proven experience in developing evidence-based public health advice;
• Proven experience in communicating outbreak information and scientific information to professionals, scientists as well to a wider audience, especially through oral presentations, outbreak notifications, technical reports and by publishing scientific articles;
• Proven experience in project management;
• Excellent command of English, both written and spoken.

Additionally, we will assess the following competencies:

• Quality driven;
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team;
• Organisational skills and ability to manage responsibilities under routine conditions as well as under pressure;
• Attention to detail and ability to perform routine tasks;
• Ability to work collaboratively in an international, multi-cultural team;
• Excellent written and oral communications skills.

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 € 5,034 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!