Vets Without Borders is looking for a Health Specialist volunteer position for CARE International in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Volunteer Placement Details

Position Title: Health Specialist

Country: Lao PDR

Location: Vientiane

Partner Organization: CARE International

Duration: 6 months (flexible)

Start Date: June to September 2023 (or upon availability)

Pre-departure Training: VWB/VSF will provide training orientation.

Eligibility: Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada only

Language: English (essential). Willingness to study Lao as additional language.

Academic Requirements: Minimum bachelor's degree in health (Nutrition, Public Health or equivalent) or international development with specialization in health-related field

Fundraising: VWB/VSF encourages each volunteer to raise funds towards the organization’s operations.

Volunteer Terms & Conditions

VWB/VSF covers most of the costs of being an overseas volunteer, including:

Return airfare to placement country
Visa/permit costs
The cost of required vaccinations, anti-malarial medication, and overseas emergency travel health insurance
A monthly living allowance (MLA) that will be paid into the volunteer’s bank account in Canada. The MLA is designed to be sufficient to cover simple housing, basic food requirements, and other typical monthly living expenses.

Volunteer Application: Health Specialist, CARE, Lao PDR

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Our Commitment

Veterinarians Without Borders/Vétérinaires sans Frontière is an equal opportunity employer and values the diversity of our team.

We are committed to inclusive and equitable employment practices and strive to create a workplace that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion. VWB/VSF Canada welcomes applications from all qualified candidates, including members of racialized groups, Indigenous peoples, women, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity.

Please let us know if you require an accommodation and we will work with you to ensure an equitable hiring process. Thank you for your interest in VWB/VSF Canada.

Overall Goal

The Health Specialist volunteer supports the CARE International in Lao PDR Women’s Health Unit in the strengthening of capacity on One Health concepts related to green agriculture, the development of technical health IEC materials, and support the rollout of programmatic activities.

Objectives

Provide training and capacity building to CARE team on One Health concepts
Review relevant CARE strategies and policies and facilitate a session on identification of One Health in CARE’s programming
Support the design of one set of IEC materials related to green agriculture and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health or Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health
Support the rollout of Women’s Health programmatic activities in the areas of Social Behaviour Change Communication, activity monitoring, Advocacy, and M&E.

All volunteers are expected to promote gender equality, environmental sustainability and good governance within their placement responsibilities.

Skills

Essential

At least 2 years of experience working in the development sector
Background in designing high quality, participatory training courses or education materials for different levels of participants.
Demonstrated ability to plan and manage workflows independently and balance competing priorities to meet deadlines.
Experience in learning tasks quickly and ability to source information independently.
Demonstrated good interpersonal skills, sound judgment, planning, problem solving and team building skills.
Ability to work as a team member and contribute to group objectives and works effectively in a group setting.
Experience of working with different stakeholders/partners including the donors, government and international development partners.
Effective cross-cultural communication skills;
Commitment to the principles of volunteer cooperation and familiarity with participatory approaches to development, including the promotion of gender equality, good governance, and environmental sustainability.

Desirable

Experience in participating/supporting behaviour change programming or research and using the analysis to better inform and improve SBCC approaches, interventions, key messages, M&E frameworks, communications and advocacy strategies.
Previous international work/volunteer experience in Laos or other developing countries.

About the Project: VETS

Volunteers Engaged in Gender Responsive Technical Solutions (VETS), funded through the Volunteer Cooperation Program at Global Affairs Canada, will engage 190 volunteers to work with local partner organizations in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Volunteers will help create integrated animal health systems to increase the livelihoods and household nutrition of small-scale farmers. The VETS program utilizes the skills of volunteers to build local partner capacity to support community members, primarily women, to reduce poverty. Through improved production of livestock and crops, volunteers help improve family income and nutrition.

The VETS program is built around the One Health concept, which recognizes that the health of people, animals, and the natural environment are interconnected. This project promotes the production of more and better food and increased incomes from livestock, all the while promoting land rehabilitation and conservation for sustainable development.

Learn More About The VETS Project

About Veterinarians Without Borders

In the global south, more than 90 percent of food animals are raised by subsistence farmers. However, small-scale livestock producers, the majority of whom are women, have very limited access to quality and affordable animal health services.

Aside from the risks associated with the loss of valuable livestock that provides important protein and/or income for low-income households, zoonotic diseases that can be passed from animals to humans offer a very real threat to human health on a wider scale.

Veterinarians Without Borders/Vétérinaires sans frontières (VWB/VSF) works for and with communities in need to foster the health of animals, people, and the environments that sustain us. VWB/VSF works nationally and internationally to train animal health workers, increase food security, and improve animal and public health.

VWB/VSF provides overseas volunteer placements for veterinarians and other animal and public health professionals.

Learn More About VWB

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