Veterinarians Without Borders has an open Animal Nutrition Advisor volunteer position with our partner, Meru Dairy, in Kenya
Download Volunteer Placement Description PDFVolunteer Placement Details
Position Title: Animal Nutrition Advisor
Country: Kenya
Location: Meru
Partner Organization: Meru Dairy Cooperative
Duration: 3 months (flexible)
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: Degree and/or relevant experience in nutrition, animal science, veterinarian studies or a related field
Fundraising: VWB/VSF encourages each volunteer to raise funds towards the organization’s operations.
Volunteer Support Package
VWB offers you an incredible experience to take part in an international volunteer experience where you will expand your personal and professional skills while contributing to global development. VWB commits to supporting you throughout your volunteer journey and will cover the majority of the costs involved in being an overseas volunteer, including:
- Return airfare to placement country
- Pre-departure training
- In-country orientation upon arrival in country of placement
- Return airfare to placement country
- Visa/permit costs
- The cost of required for vaccinations and anti-malarial medication
- 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.
- Debrief after the placement
Placement Goals and Responsibilities
As the Animal Nutrition Advisor based in Meru, Kenya, you will support Meru Central Dairy Co-operative Union to develop strategies for optimizing animal feed resources and practices in line with the local context. You will share best practices in animal health and nutrition whilst considering the environmental impact, in line with Meru’s One Health approach.
As part of your role, you will:
- Assist in developing and leading trainings on animal health and nutrition to build the capacity of staff members on these key topics
- Share resources on technical and scientific developments in animal nutrition and collaborate with the partner to suggest optimal feed formulations which maximize growth, reproduction and health whilst minimizing the environmental impact
- Support in researching the effectiveness of dietary regimes on different types of animals in the area
- Support in raising community awareness and consumption of diversified, nutrient dense, fortified and nutritionally adequate foods whilst considering income constraints
- Promote gender equality by reviewing all placement activities through a gender lens. Training on gender equality will be provided.
- Ensure an environmental and sustainability climate action lens is applied throughout the placement by considering environemntal impact of animal nutrition and feeds.
- Promote human rights by promoting inclusive activities and ensuring the rights of marginalized individuals are protected where applicable during the placement.
- Participate in pre-assignment training
- Submit reports as required by the partner organization and by VWB
Required Experience and Skills
- Degree and/or relevant experience in nutrition, animal science, veterinarian studies or a related field
- Experience in technical (nutritional), institutional, and policy constraints affecting major livestock feeding systems (in developing countries considered an asset)
- 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
- Minimum two (2) years relevant professional experience in your field of expertise
- A commitment to gender equality, One Health principles, and international volunteering
- Flexibility, adaptability, excellent interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity
- Experience with group facilitation and trainings, including content development considered an asset
- Experience living and working internationally considered an asset
Working Conditions
- Handling large animals
- Should be comfortable being driven on gravel/murram roads.
- Lifting and carrying light weight items related to animal health practice
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.
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.
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.
