Vets Without Borders has an open Animal Nutritionist volunteer position at Meru Dairy Co-operative Union, located in the central highlands of Kenya.

Volunteer Placement Details

Position Title: Animal Nutritionist

Country: Kenya

Location: Meru

Partner Organization: Meru Dairy Co-operative Union

Duration: 3 - 12 Months

Start Date: As soon as possible

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

Eligibility: Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada only

Language: English (essential), Swahili (desirable)

Academic Requirements: University/college degree in Nutrition or Animal Production/Science with specialization related to animal nutrition preferred.

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: Animal Nutritionist, Meru Dairy Co-operative Union, Kenya

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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 primary purpose of the Nutritionist volunteer position is to support development of strategies for enhancing and better utilizing available/potential feed resources and implementing good feeding and nutritional practices—both for animals and human beings in line with our One Health approach. The role will involve working directly with the community members and Meru Dairy Limited extension staff, together with the local coordinator and Africa Program Manager.

Objectives

Implementation of nutritional interventions and trainings
Maintain awareness of technical and scientific developments in animal nutrition and propose changes in existing feed formulations
Perform research to determine the effectiveness of dietary regimes on different types of animals
Ensure that all formulated diet plans and regimes are designed to maximize growth, reproduction, and health
Assess the nutritional and economic value of feeding systems and provide advice on bettering them
Raise community awareness and consumption of diversified, nutrient dense, fortified and nutritionally adequate foods
Training and capacity building support for Meru Dairy staff and volunteers

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

Skills

Essential

In-depth understanding of the technical (nutritional), institutional, and policy constraints affecting major livestock feeding systems in developing countries
Knowledge of and experience in the application of improved animal nutrition
Demonstrated knowledge on how to improve food and dietary diversity at intra-household level
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas
Effective cross-cultural communication skills
Commitment to the principles of volunteer cooperation and familiarity with participatory approaches to development
Promotes a knowledge-sharing and learning culture in the office

Desirable

1-3 years of relevant experience in the development of feed resources and improved animal nutrition
Previous international work/volunteer experience in Kenya an asset

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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