Vets Without Borders has an open Animal Health Specialist position at SEND Ghana based in Tamale.

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Job Details

Job Title: Animal Health Specialist

Country: Ghana

Location: Tamale

Partner Organization: SEND Ghana

Duration: 6 - 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)

Academic Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in veterinary pathology/microbiology/animal nutrition or another 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: Animal Health Specialist, SEND Ghana

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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 Animal Health Specialist position is to increase the income and resiliency levels of smallholder farmers through the adoption of improved animal health practices with a strong emphasis on animal production and health management.

Objectives

Increase the knowledge and skills of smallholder farmers in animal production and health management for improved incomes
Enhance the capacity of beneficiary communities to control and manage zoonotic diseases
Increase the awareness and adoption of one health approaches and practices within project beneficiary communities
Strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers on animal production as an alternative livelihood source
Work with community members and established community groups to develop and implement a plan for building the livestock health and management capacity of the community
Promote and support women’s participation in animal production

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

Skills

Essential

Knowledge of and experience with small ruminant diseases and disease control, including livestock disease surveillance
Experience in community animal health and husbandry
Strong understanding of animal nutrition, with knowledge in small ruminant feed formulation
Demonstrable understanding of the use of locally available feeding materials for small ruminants
Effective cross-cultural communication skills
Commitment to the principles of volunteer cooperation and familiarity with participatory approaches to development, including the promotion of One Health concept

Desirable

Good understanding and knowledge of socio-cultural norms in Northern Ghana and ability to speak at least one widely spoken language in Ghana
1-3 years of relevant experience in program management in an international development/humanitarian context.

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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