ThaiNGO

Job title: Program Assistant

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Contract period: One year with a possibility of renewal

Start: As soon as possible after the candidate’s selection

BACKGROUND

The spillover of infectious agents from animals to humans in recent decades has had a significant impact on the health of humans, animals, and our environment. To minimize the impact of future pandemic threats, the Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) was established in 2011 to develop skillful and competent One Health (OH) workforce with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and its One Health Workforce Next Generation (OHW-NG) project.

Since its establishment, SEAOHUN has expanded network membership from 10 universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to 95 universities in eight countries, including the four founding countries plus Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and the Philippines. The expansion was made possible with the support of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), U.S. Department of State (DOS) through its Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), and USAID. Our university members come from multiple disciplines connected to the health of humans, animals, and the environment.

Our educational programs promote and facilitate collaborative activities and projects among the countries with an emphasis on improving One Health workforce capacity with cross-sectoral competencies to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to all hazards and emerging threats. Examples of our educational initiatives include the development of One Health core and technical competencies, curriculum development and strengthening, introducing innovative teaching methodologies such as One Health problem-based learning cases, building research capacity to provide an evidence-base for One Health advocacy, One Health student clubs, and scholarship and fellowship programs to support long-term capacity development.

In addition to the One Health Workforce Next Generation project, Strategies to Prevent (STOP) Spillover is also a USAID-funded project of SEAOHUN to anticipate and address threats posed by the emerging zoonotic diseases that pose the greatest risk of jumping from animals to humans. Tufts University, together with an international consortium of 13 partners, including Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN), icddr,b, and Africa One Health University network (AFROHUN), working collaboratively to implement the project in four countries in Africa and three countries in Asia.

The SEAOHUN Secretariat based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is the coordinating body for all of the country networks. The Secretariat manages subawards with the country networks, facilitates SEAOHUN Executive Board meetings and regional activities, fosters the establishment of One Health university networks in Southeast Asia, and partners with national, international and non-governmental organizations collaborating to build the next generation of One Health leaders. The Secretariat represents interests of its country networks at regional meetings/conferences/forums of Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Detect 1, Detect 5, and Zoonotic Disease packages, ASEAN+3 Field Epidemiology Training Network (FETN), the Regional Field Epidemiology Training Program for Veterinarians (R-FETPV), the Tripartite (FAO/OIE/WHO), among the others. SEAOHUN has partnered with Pfizer Thailand to address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Thailand, and with Chevron to strengthen One Health education in Southeast Asia.

For more information, you may visit https://www.seaohun.org/ and http://facebook.com/seaohun

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall supervision of the SEAOHUN Managers, the Program Assistant will support the SEAOHUN secretariat and its regional programs and activities of the One Health Workforce- Next Generation and STOP Spillover projects. S/he will undertake the following tasks:

• Assist the Program team on the development and implementation, including coordinating and organizing webinars and workshops, of SEAOHUN regional programs such as scholarship, fellowship, and student engagement.

• Serve as a focal person in maintaining a contact list and scheduling meetings with partners and participants.

• Assist Operations Manager to follow up and verify financial reports and supporting documents from the STOP Spillover partners.

• Assist the STOP Spillover Regional Lead Asia (RLA) on administrative, travel and logistics of implementing activities as required.

• Perform other tasks as assigned by the Managers and/or Executive Director for successful program implementation.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university. Master’s degree is preferred.

• At least one years’ work experience in working with multiple partners/stakeholders.

• Experience working with government agencies, intergovernmental agencies, academic universities, or NGOs is an advantage.

• Experience working in Southeast Asian countries is preferred.

• Experience in One Health is an asset.

• Proven effective communication skills in English, both in written and oral. This includes networking, negotiation, and diplomatic skills.

• Self-starting, ability to take initiatives and work with minimal supervision are required.

• Ability to work both independently and in a team in a multicultural environment is necessary.

• Skills in Microsoft Office/Google, email, and social media applications and Internet navigation are required.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates are invited to send an application letter, a resume or curriculum vitae in PDF format, and state a current and expected salary to secretariat+recruitment@seaohun.org using the subject line “Apply for Program Assistant”. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until filled with the first round of reviews on 17 March 2022. The candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The salary for this position will depend on qualifications and experience and in line with projects funds.

SEAOHUN is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and gender identity. While we respect all applications, only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

SEAOHUN Secretariat

119/85 Moo. 5, Suthep, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200, THAILAND Tel: (66) 52 010069