Expert in Infectious Pig Diseases

Do you want to play a key role, as a national expert in viral swine diseases, in protecting the Dutch livestock sector against outbreaks of infectious diseases such as African swine fever? In this position, you will work at the interface of animal health, diagnostics, research and policy. You will collaborate with government authorities and national and international partners on the prevention, early detection and control of viral swine diseases. During disease outbreaks, you will advise the government and other stakeholders and, where needed, provide scientific expertise to support communication with the media.

The role
Within the Department of Viral Infections and Pathology at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), we are looking for an expert in viral swine diseases. You will work within the Statutory Research Tasks Program for Contagious Animal Diseases (WOT-BD) and focus on notifiable and legally controlled swine diseases, including African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and Aujeszky’s disease. As an expert, project leader and Head of the National Reference Laboratory for these diseases, you will play a key role in their surveillance, monitoring and control. You will serve as the primary point of contact for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) and provide strategic direction for diagnostics, diagnostic strategies and the scientific development of this field.

You will be responsible for:

• heading the National Reference Laboratory for African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), Aujeszky’s disease and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS);
• having final responsibility for veterinary diagnostics and laboratory investigations within the WOT-BD program;
• acting as the scientific expert on notifiable and legally controlled viral swine diseases;
• developing and maintaining the strategy for the diagnosis, surveillance, prevention and control of notifiable and legally controlled viral swine diseases;
• advising the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LVVN) and (inter)national stakeholders on animal disease policy and outbreaks;
• providing solicited and unsolicited advice on animal health issues;
• building and maintaining a national and international network in veterinary virology and animal health;
• securing scientific research projects in the field of swine diseases and swine health, in collaboration with various national and international partners;
• managing projects and staff as a project leader within WBVR;
• carrying out diagnostic tests for suspected notifiable animal diseases at the Lelystad site;
• contributing to collaboration between departments within WBVR during crisis and outbreak management;
• ensuring compliance with national and international animal health legislation and regulations.

On-call duties
You will be part of the team responsible for the on-call standby service. In this role, you will be on call 24/7 for several weeks each year (5 to 7 weeks) to respond to suspected cases of disease outbreaks.

In the event of a suspected case, you will work together with a small, specialised team and perform the required diagnostic tests. You will play an important role within WBVR's crisis organisation, in which there is close collaboration between different departments. Through this state of preparedness, we comply with national and international legislation, contribute to the early detection and control of notifiable animal diseases in the Dutch livestock sector, and help create a society in which animals and humans can live together in good health.

WOT-BD
The WOT-BD supports the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) and its affiliated agencies on issues related to infectious animal diseases, zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance. This is achieved by carrying out statutory research tasks assigned to Wageningen Research by the Dutch government and the European Union.

Your team
At WBVR in Lelystad, you will contribute to diagnostics and research on infectious animal diseases with clear societal impact.

Within the Viral Infections and Pathology (VIP) department, you will be part of a multidisciplinary team with expertise in viral pathogens, animal models, immunology and pathology. You will work closely with experienced researchers, laboratory technicians and biotechnicians, as well as with the Head of the WOT-BD programme at WBVR.

Requirements

• a degree in Veterinary Medicine or a university degree in a relevant Life Sciences discipline;
• a PhD in (swine) infectious diseases, virology or a related field;
• a strong affinity for laboratory diagnostics, quality management, and the coordination and leadership of projects;
• an affinity for networking and acquiring research projects;
• excellent verbal and written communication skills in Dutch and English;
• strong collaboration skills and the ability to motivate others;
• key competencies for this position include customer orientation, proactivity, scenario thinking, project leadership, problem-solving ability, quality awareness, flexibility and resilience.

Important to know
The work will be carried out, in part, in facilities that are subject to an additional quarantine restriction after leaving the premises, in accordance with EU regulations. This means that you are not permitted to keep cloven-hoofed animals. In addition, for 72 hours after carrying out these activities, you are not permitted to have contact with such animals or visit poultry production farms.

Finally, we would be interested to know whether and how you used AI in preparing your application. We kindly ask you to briefly address this in your motivation letter.

Contract terms

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment . A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• there is a strong focus on vitality;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8,3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between € 4.045,- and € 6.228,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 11). As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended, if possible within (company) organizational circumstances, on good performance.

We encourage development and internal mobility within our organization. Our recruitment and selection policy sets out the conditions that apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions, we are happy to help.