Empowering Livestock Keepers: How and why VWB/VSF is combating Antimicrobial Resistance
VWB/VSF is actively working to mitigate the risks associated with AMR. Our primary focus is on training Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs).
Vets Without Borders is looking for a skilled Value Chain Specialist to volunteer with CARE in Laos.
Download Volunteer Placement PDFVolunteer Placement Details
Position Title: Value Chain Specialist
Country: Lao PDR
Location: Dakchueng District, Sekong Province with some traveling to other CARE Program areas including head office in Vientiane Capital.
Partner Organization: CARE Laos
Duration: 3 – 6 months (possibility to extend up to one year)
Start Date: As soon as possible
Pre-departure Training: VWB/VSF and CARE Laos will provide orientation and training
Eligibility: Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada only
Language: English (essential)
Academic Requirements: Minimum Bachelor’s in social science, international development, community development, gender studies, 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.
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 Value Chain Specialist position is responsible to provide the technical support relevant to improve agricultural product and coffee value chains with target groups in Lao PDR.
Objectives
- Conduct a community needs assessment and assess the potential market for agricultural products and coffee specifically.
- Provide leadership and support for the target group(s) to process products and/or improve agricultural and coffee products
value adds. - Support the target groups to find access to markets for improved agricultural and coffee products.
- Facilitate relevant technical training as needed.
- Support the monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) and project team with the MEAL activities.
- Conduct case studies to gather human stories through coordinating with the project team and communication teams (at least 2 case studies by the end of the volunteer placement).
- Maintain a high standard of work in all project components and provide regular reports on progress of project activities.
All volunteers are expected to promote gender equality, environmental sustainability and good governance within their placement responsibilities.
Skills
Essential
- 4 - 6 years of relevant work experience in project management, preferably in an international development context.
- Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to addressing gender concerns, issues related to gender equality, women empowerment, gender-based violence, and experience of working alongside vulnerable groups.
- Understanding of human rights issues and rights-based approach to development.
- Representational skills including developing networks and relationships with key stakeholders.
- 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.
- Demonstrated organizational and time management skills, working in a team and the ability to work under pressure and to organize and manage workload to meet deadlines.
- Demonstrated characteristics in honesty, reliability, trustworthiness with the ability to maintain confidentiality.
- Functional level of both spoken and written in English (in communication, and reports).
- Proficient with Microsoft Office and social media publication such as Facebook pages.
Desirable
- Knowledge or experience in working on Women Economic Empowerment is an advantage.
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.
