Scientific Officer Vaccine-preventable Diseases

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

Is this job for you?  

Are you an experienced professional with a background in vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation, and are you interested in applying your skills to engage with international global health partners, internal ECDC projects and science to policy developments?  

What will you do? 

You will work in the Vaccine-preventable Diseases and Immunisation (VPI) section in the Disease Programmes (DPR) unit.

Reporting to the Head of Section VPI, you will be part of a team of approximately 15, supporting the Centre’s work related to the surveillance and monitoring, scientific advice as well as prevention and control of vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation.

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

• Coordinate the development of scientific advice e.g. technical reports and guidance documents to support the EU/EEA Member States and the European Commission in the area of vaccine preventable diseases;
• Analyse, validate, interpret and disseminate surveillance and other epidemiological data related to vaccine preventable diseases, including vaccination coverage; 
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and participate in relevant ECDC networks to strengthen ECDC’s cooperation with EU/EEA Member States; 
• Contribute to monitoring of vaccine performance (e.g. vaccine effectiveness) and vaccination programmes in order to support generation of evidence for science-based recommendations; 
• Work with key stakeholders from the EU/EEA Member States and partner organisations to assess needs for ECDC support; 
• Contribute to the timely production of high quality and evidence-based rapid risk/outbreak assessments and other outputs in response to vaccine preventable disease threats; 
• Contribute to awareness raising (e.g. European Immunisation Week); 
• Support the disease network coordination, including preparation, organisation and follow-up of meetings; 
• Support project management of service contracts with external contractors; 
• Contribute to other activities of ECDC as required, within your field of competence including the 24/7 duty system.

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?

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*; 
• 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.

Selection criteria

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

• A University or post graduate degree within the field of medicine, biomedical sciences, public health, epidemiology or other field relevant to the position, alternatively, a post-graduate diploma from a Field Epidemiology Training Programme (EPIET or equivalent national programme);
• At least 3 years, following the award of the diploma, of professional experience acquired in positions relevant to the job description and related to vaccine preventable diseases;
• Public health experience in the area of vaccine preventable diseases at national and/or international level, including networking and communication with stakeholders; 
• Proven experience and skills in epidemiological data analysis using statistical software (preferably R) as well as writing reports; 
• Proven experience in project management; 
• Excellent level of English, both written and spoken. 

Additionally, we will assess the following competencies:

• Ability to take initiative; 
• Quality-driven; 
• Organisational skills and ability to manage responsibilities under routine conditions as well as under pressure; 
• Ability to work collaboratively in an international, multi-cultural team; 
• Excellent written and oral communication 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 € 4102,30 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.

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.

See 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.

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