Internship – The take-up of official recognition of Animal Health Status – Data Integration Department – WOAH HQ

Internship – The take-up of official recognition of animal health status - Data Integration Department

Context

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH – founded as OIE) is a leading intergovernmental organisation representing 183 Members worldwide. Through its activities, WOAH makes a decisive contribution to improving animal health, protecting animal welfare and strengthening Veterinary Services. The Organisation provides transparent information on world's animal health situation, and promotes international standards, particularly in terms of the safety of trade in live animals and animal products. More information can be found on WOAH's website.

Joining WOAH means taking part in the development of one of the leading international organisations, recognised and associated with other multilateral institutions, in the field of worldwide health. It means helping to build a global approach to health, combining animal and human health in a "One Health" approach. It means joining teams motivated by the impact of their actions, the sense of their collective commitment and their recognised professionalism in their respective fields of expertise.

Since 1998, the World Organisation for Animal Health has the mandate from the WTO to officially recognise disease-free zones or countries for trade purposes. The procedure for the official recognition of animal health status by WOAH is voluntary and applies currently to six diseases. More information can be found on the dedicated webpage.

In this context the Data Integration Department is offering a Master thesis project for a motivated student interested in global animal health data, analytics, and policy. The project will require the student to be available on-site in Paris, France. Based at WOAH's headquarters in the historical centre of Paris, the student will benefit from a truly international environment, close supervision by WOAH experts, and exposure to a wide professional network of scientists, policy-makers, and partner organisations. These projects offer an exceptional opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the interface of science, data, and global policy, while contributing to work with tangible global impact

Job Description

Positioning and reporting

Under the authority of WOAH's Deputy Director General (International Standards and Science), and the direct supervision of the Head of the Data Integration Department (DID) with functional reporting to the Scientific Officers of DID and Status Department.

Internship purpose- Master thesis project - The take-up of official recognition of animal health status

The purpose of this internship is to investigate factors affecting the
choice to apply or not for official recognition by WOAH of a country's
animal health status. It will involve quantifying and characterising the issue, analysing its statistical associations with variables related to animal disease (including WAHIS data), trade, and national regulations. Depending on starting date the intern will support the design and implementation of an open-ended survey to explore the benefits and challenges. The intern will contribute to both data analysis and qualitative research to support evidence-based insights.

Missions and activities

• Survey countries that have an official animal health status recognised by WOAH, to identify the main drivers for application (or not), evidenced benefits and identify areas of improvement to enhance the benefits brought to recognised countries.
• Quantify and characterise the situation, especially the non-use cases of official recognition of animal health status, mainly using WOAH's dataset. Assess the reasons for non-engaging in the process of official recognition of animal health status by WOAH.
• Study the statistical association between the non-take-up/take-up of status recognition and various variables characterising the animal health, trade and regulatory landscape.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience

Minimum Required qualifications

• At least one year studying at Master level (or equivalent) in veterinary sciences, epidemiology, animal science, international policies, agricultural economics, statistics, data science or other relevant fields to the area of this subject matter.

Technical skills:

• data analytics with R or python, descriptive statistics, survey theory, social science
• Analysis and problem solving.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Excellent knowledge of English, both spoken and written.

Interpersonal skills:

• Ability to work in an agile way and deliver at pace.
• organisation skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Team player who can integrate well into the department and is willing to commit to supporting the development of Observatory outputs

Additional Information

Working conditions

The post is a full-time position based at the WOAH Headquarters in Paris. It requires long hours in a seated position at a computer.

Salary:
800 euros/Month

Duration:
4 to
6 months- Starting date flexible from February 2026 to April 2026.

General Information

WOAH places high value on a multicultural and positive work environment.

WOAH is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified candidates, irrespective of their origin, gender, opinions or beliefs.

If you are interested in the position, please complete your application online at the latest by January 10th, 2026.

APPLY HERE