Deputy Director (Plant Health Risk) | NAFSA

This position is being recruited by Pakistan Single Window (PSW) on behalf of the National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority (NAFSA). NAFSA is being established as a strategic national initiative to strengthen Pakistan’s agri-trade ecosystem through enhanced regulatory oversight, facilitation, and modernization of food safety and trade processes. The selected candidate will be part of NAFSA’s foundational team, contributing to the development of systems, processes, and institutional capabilities.

• Lead and manage NAFSA’s risk assessment function for plant health on scientific grounds.
• Conduct Pest Risk Analyses (PRA) and plant health risk assessments using approved methodologies and international best practice.
• Establish and maintain PRA frameworks and technical guidance for assessment of commodities, pathways, origins, and regulated pests.
• Undertake technical evaluation of commodities and pathways to identify pest risks and potential biosecurity threats.
• Ensure that all risks impacting Pakistan’s market access for plants and plants based products exports are timely identified and tracked.
• Ensure that all risks impacting plant health and quarantine in imports and inter provincial trade are timely identified and tracked.
• Identify scientifically justified phytosanitary risk mitigation options, treatment measures, and systems approaches to manage identified risks.
• Provide technical inputs for restrictions, prohibitions, emergency measures, and other plant health SPS decisions and regulations.
• Liaise with provincial agriculture/plant protection departments and laboratories to collect surveillance data and evidence required for PRA.
• Support recommendations for establishment/maintenance of pest-free areas, pest free zones, and areas of pest prevalence, including surveillance requirements.
• Draft technical opinions, briefs, and risk communication summaries for NAFSA leadership and the Scientific Committee.
• Contribute to crisis preparedness by supporting plant health components of national SPS crisis management planning.
• Oversee the development and periodic updating of scientific risk assessment frameworks, methodologies, and guidance including PRA for plant health.
• Ensure risk assessments support evidence-based SPS measures and regulatory decision-making, consistent with international standards and Pakistan’s obligations (e.g., WTO-SPS, IPPC, ISPM where applicable).
• Provide technical direction to the Operations Wing (OW) on translating risk assessment outputs into practical inspection, quarantine, surveillance, and certification protocols.
• Liaise with provincial departments, notified laboratories, academia, research organizations, and international counterparts to obtain data and scientific evidence for assessments.
• Support horizon scanning for emerging plant health threats and prepare rapid risk notes for management decision-making.
• Oversee development of system for data based analytics and risk assessments.
• Develop division work plans, allocate resources, mentor teams, and set KPIs to improve timeliness, quality, and uptake of risk assessments.
• Champion transparency, traceability, and auditability of risk assessment processes and ensure integrity of datasets and analytical outputs.
• Ensure performance of functions by sub-ordinates as per their respective job descriptions.
• Perform any other responsibilities assigned by the reporting officer in support of NAFSA’s mandate.
  

• Minimum Sixteen years of education (Master’s degree)(PhD preferred ) in Agriculture with specialization in Entomology, Plant Protection, Plant Pathology or a closely related field.

• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in plant health risk analysis, quarantine/biosecurity, plant protection, or SPS-related work.
• Working knowledge of IPPC and International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) and risk analysis approaches used by NPPOs.  Strong analytical, report-writing, and technical drafting skills.
• Ability to coordinate with provincial departments and technical institutions.
• Research publications in HEC-recognised journals (preferred).
• Experience of working in plant based risk assessment jobs and projects (preferred).