International Consultant for capacity building on assessing the safety of foods

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For every child, the right to Nutrition and Development

Through its partnership with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMI), UNICEF contributes to strengthening preventive health services, promoting safe nutrition practices, building national capacity, and supporting evidence-based approaches that protect particularly mother and child and other vulnerable populations.

UNICEF supports the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan in advancing child health, nutrition, food safety, and health system strengthening initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes for women and children.

Food safety is an essential component of child survival, health, nutrition, and development. Ensuring that food consumed by children and other vulnerable population groups is safe and free from harmful levels of chemical and biological hazards is particularly important given the increased susceptibility of infants, young children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers to adverse health effects. Foods of animal origin, including milk, meat, eggs, and fish, may contain residues of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, when these products are used in animal production and appropriate withdrawal periods or good veterinary practices are not followed.

In the context of the National Mother and Child Health Strategy, national commitments to food safety and AMR control, strengthening laboratory capacity for antibiotic residue analysis will contribute to safeguarding children's health, reducing exposure to food safety hazards, and promoting access to safe and nutritious food.

The ability to accurately detect and assess antibiotic residues in food products is essential for effective food safety monitoring, ensuring compliance with applicable food safety standards, and preventing the consumption of food containing unsafe levels of veterinary drug residues. This is particularly important for foods consumed by or intended for children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.

The proposed consultancy will provide specialized international technical expertise to strengthen the capacity of the Public Health and Nutrition Centre to detect and assess antibiotic residues in foods of animal origin. The consultancy will focus on strengthening laboratory knowledge and skills, improving quality assurance and analytical practices, and supporting evidence-based food safety surveillance and decision-making.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this consultancy is to strengthen the national capacity of the Public Health and Nutrition Centre of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan to conduct reliable and evidence-based analysis of antibiotic residues in foods of animal origin, thereby enhancing food safety, protecting children's health, increasing consumer confidence, and supporting compliance with national and international food safety standards.

By enhancing laboratory capacity of the Public Health and Nutrition Centre of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry and ensuring compliance with food safety standards, the training will help protect children and other vulnerable groups from adverse health effects associated with antibiotic residues, reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance, and support healthier communities. Ultimately, this investment will contribute to improved public health outcomes, reduced disease burden, and lower morbidity and mortality associated with food safety risks and resistant infections.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: TOR for Lab trainig_for posting.docx

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education:

Advanced degree in Food Safety, Veterinary Medicine, Microbiology, Analytical Chemistry, Public Health, Pharmacy, or a related field.

• Work Experience:
• At least 3-5 years of experience in laboratory analysis of veterinary drug residues and food safety testing.
• Experience with laboratory quality management systems, quality assurance (QA), and quality control (QC) procedures.
• Previous experience delivering international or national laboratory training programs.
• Demonstrated experience supporting AMR surveillance, food safety systems, or One Health initiatives.
• Skills (optional):
• Advanced knowledge of veterinary drug residue analysis, including antibiotics, hormones, and other veterinary medicinal products.
• Expertise in analytical laboratory methods used for residue detection and quantification.
• Language Requirements:
• Written and oral communication skills in English required. Knowledge of Russian will be an asset.

Desirables:

• Knowledge of international food safety standards, Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), and relevant regulatory frameworks (Codex Alimentarius, WHO, FAO, ISO).
• Familiarity with laboratory accreditation requirements (e.g., ISO/IEC 17025).
• Understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety surveillance, and the One Health approach.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

[add the 8th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role].

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel.
Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.