Position Announcement: Science and Technology Advisor

July 13, 2021 — National Pork Producers Council

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) seeks a Science & Technology Advisor (Preharvest) to be responsible for the development and implementation of programs related to animal health, foreign animal disease, border and domestic biosecurity, and on-farm animal welfare. This is a technical position and not a registered lobbyist position.

Responsibilities

• Monitor, research, and analyze issues related to domestic, emerging, and foreign animal diseases. Review all proposed legislative and regulatory actions affecting these issues and prepare comments to be submitted on behalf of NPPC.
• Reports to and works closely with the NPPC Science & Technology Counsel who is NPPC's lobbyist on all science and technology issues and with NPPC's other Science and Technology Advisor who focuses mainly on post-harvest issues.
• Coordinates with national industry organizations, State Animal Health Officials and APHIS on development of preparedness and response plans for a foreign animal disease.
• Prepare and keep current concise and well written background papers on all issues related to program areas.
• Develops responses to OIE terrestrial code revisions and coordinates with USDA APHIS Veterinary Services OIE delegate.
• Coordinate with other DC office issue managers on matters that may overlap to ensure consistency in objectives, positions, and strategies including, in particular, the international affairs staff.
• Coordinate with Congressional Relations and Communications staff.
• Liaison with USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service on all regulatory actions relative to animal health and animal identification.
• Liaison with Customs and Border Protection on matters regarding legal and illegal importation of animals and animal products that may present a risk to animal health.
• Coordinate with the National Pork Board on animal health and antimicrobial use/resistance issues.
• As needed, assist NPPC trade staff in dealing with animal health and pharmaceutical issues that are raised as barriers to trade.
• Prepare recommendations on policy positions.
• Secondary responsibilities in the areas of food safety and human nutrition.
• Serve as a staff participant for the NPPC Animal Health and Food Safety Committee and participate in a supporting staff role on other NPPC committees as needed.
• Develop educational material for producers and veterinarians.
• Coordinate the Swine Veterinarian Public Policy Advocacy program.
• Provide technical advice with respect to regulatory oversight and international standard setting.
• Participate in long range planning regarding pork safety research and education.
• Participate and lead in coalitions that further NPPC objectives.

Other Responsibilities

Take on other assignments and projects which may be outside of primary issue area as needed. Other duties as assigned by the Science & Technology Counsel and the VP & Counsel Global Gov't Affairs.

Qualifications

• Must be self-motivated and able to work effectively without direct supervision.
• Must possess good research and written communication skills.
• Must work well with others, be flexible and be open to change.
• Must possess good organizational skills and able to handle several projects at one time with the ability to make sound decisions, as job responsibilities require.
• Must possess the ability to coordinate and plan multiple meetings and projects simultaneously.
• Must have a good working knowledge of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and database operations.

Travel

• Requires some travel (Approximately 10-20%).
• Must have a valid driver's license and passport.

Education and/or Experience

Applicants for this position must possess a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from a U.S. accredited university and have several years work experience in swine medicine or equivalent experience. A graduate degree or board certification is desirable.

Location

The position is based in the NPPC's Washington, DC Office.

To Apply

Go to https://nppc.org/about-us/careers/ and scroll down to click on "Science and Technology Advisor" under "Current Opportunities."