Job vacancies at Ethiopian Veterinary Association (EVA)

About the Ethiopian Veterinary Association (EVA)

The Ethiopian Veterinary Association (EVA) is a non-political, non-profit, membership-based professional organization operating in Ethiopia, with registry number 0495, in accordance with Proclamation No. 1113/2019. With a steadfast commitment to safeguarding the rights and interests of its members, EVA is dedicated to advancing the veterinary profession and driving the growth of a robust, competitive livestock industry in Ethiopia.

The Association actively engages in policy advocacy, knowledge development, and the dissemination of best practices to support Ethiopia’s livestock sector. Currently, EVA boasts more than 2,000 members working in diverse areas of veterinary science, creating a strong professional network dedicated to improving animal health, advancing veterinary standards, and contributing to national development.

The RESTORE Project (Livestock Services in Conflict and Drought Affected Areas of Ethiopia (RESTORE)) is funded by the European Union (EU, represented by the European Commission) and aims to sustain recovery of the livestock system from the conflict and drought-induced crises. The project seeks to enhance overall productivity and improve the marketing of livestock products, with a strong focus on strengthening animal health services through reliable, integrated public and private veterinary service delivery.

With financial support from the RESTORE project, EVA intends to conduct a study titled “Bridging Animal Welfare Practices with Productivity and Livelihood Outcomes in Small-Scale Beef and Poultry Systems in Ethiopia.”

Background and Rationale

Ethiopia holds Africa’s largest livestock population, with more than 244 million animals, including cattle, poultry, goats, sheep, donkeys, camels, and horses, equivalent to 95 million Veterinary Livestock Units (VLU). The sector contributes significantly to the national economy: 25.3% of GDP, 45% of agricultural GDP, 20% of export earnings, and provides livelihoods for around 80% of the rural population, as well as employment opportunities for millions. Veterinary services play a crucial role in improving animal health and welfare, thereby reducing poverty and strengthening rural livelihoods.

Animal welfare is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Building efficient, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems requires integrating welfare issues into governance at all levels. In Ethiopia, however, animals face serious welfare challenges across production systems. Government policies have largely emphasized boosting the output of priority commodities, with limited attention to animal welfare.

International trade regulations have increasingly emphasized the role of animal welfare in market access and competitiveness. Recognizing this, the Government of Ethiopia recently ratified the Animal Health and Welfare Proclamation (No. 1376/2025). This creates an enabling environment for integrating animal welfare into the national Agriculture and Rural Development Agenda. Including the “Bounty of Basket Initiative”.

To achieve meaningful change, robust evidence is needed to clearly demonstrate the socioeconomic benefits of improved animal welfare, particularly within poultry and cattle production chains.

While commendable efforts have been made, especially through welfare charities, to generate evidence about the welfare practices in working equines, comparable information largely lacks for other farm animals, such as beef and poultry production. Such evidence is urgently required to provide a strong basis for integrating animal welfare into national food and agriculture strategies, leading to welfare-centered livelihoods and sustainable systems where animals are treated with dignity and care.

General scope of the Assignment

The assignment involves evaluating current animal welfare practices within selected beef and poultry production. Specifically, it seeks to address the following core issues:

1. Assess animal welfare practices along selected beef cattle and poultry production: Detailed assessment of current welfare practices will be made at all levels across poultry production lines, such as at the farm level, marketing or sale yards, transportation, and slaughter using sound scientific methods. Similar assessments will be made at all levels across the beef cattle production lines, such as at the feedlot/farm level, marketing or sale yards, transportation, and slaughter, using sound scientific methods.
2. Assess the effects of poor animal welfare practices: In-depth analysis to be conducted on the consequences of poor animal welfare along the stated productions, focusing on the prevalence of mortalities, morbidities, unfit animals, injuries, and associated financial loss; and
3. Formulate actionable recommendations: Actionable recommendations to be made based on the findings of the assessments to help policy makers and stakeholders make evidence-based decisions.

Expected Outputs (Deliverables)

• Incept Report: Outlining background and rationale, objectives and scope of the assignment, clearly defined methodologies/approaches, data collection tools, deliverables/expected outputs, analysis tools, and a detailed action plan.
• Consultancy Report: A detailed report entailing an in-depth analysis of the status of animal welfare practices and the effects of poor animal welfare along selected beef and poultry production, and recommendations for sustainable integration of animal welfare.
• Presentation at Validation: Presentation of the findings at stakeholders’ validation workshop, organized in-person or using a virtual platform. And revise the report based on the comments and recommendations forwarded during the validation workshop;
• Submit an electronic and hard copy of the clean, final report to the EVA secretariat office.

Methodology/Key Tasks

To achieve the expected outputs, the consultants shall define and/or adopt various rational approaches, including but not limited to the following approaches and tools:

• Define methodology: Establish clear objectives for the assignment, design data collection formats/templates, outline the study approach, methods, work plan, and data analysis techniques. Separate templates and data collection sheets should be prepared for each production.
• Analyze current welfare practices: Thoroughly assess animal welfare practices along selected beef and poultry production in Ethiopia. This includes breeding and rearing sites, feeding and fattening, animal health management, transport to slaughter, and Slaughter and carcass production. The analysis should also cover evaluating stakeholder awareness of animal welfare needs and examining barriers to integration.
• Develop recommendations: Provide actionable, evidence-based recommendations tailored to the Ethiopian context for improving animal welfare across the two production types.

Organizational Relationship and Reporting

The consultants will be accountable to the EVA-RESTORE Project Coordination Unit, with the. assigned tasks carried out in close collaboration with the Project team. The CEO and the Executive Board of EVA shall provide the overall guidance and leadership to realize the objectives of the assignment.

The assignment is expected to take a total of 100 (hundred) working days. Progress reports should be submitted on the 50th day and 95th day to the contracting authority (EVA-RESTORE Project team). A first draft report must be submitted on the 90th day of the assignment, per contractual agreement.

The consultant/s shall present the study findings at a review meeting and internally review the draft report. Following this, a national consultative workshop shall be organized to further enrich and validate the consultancy report. Finally, the consultants shall incorporate the inputs and submit the clean report to the EVA secretariat.

Team Composition, Qualification, and Experience

Composition: Candidate consultants should possess a strong expertise and practical knowledge of Ethiopian livestock production, extension systems, and veterinary services. Applicants should be in a team involving 2 or more consultants. Individual applications are not accepted.

Qualification and Experience

• A team leader should possess a PhD, and other team members should have at least an MSc/MVSc in veterinary medicine or closely related fields.
• The team leader must have a minimum of 17 years of demonstrated experience as an expert and/or a leader in the fields, including research, development, academic, or a combination of them.
• The other members should have at least 13 years of professional experience in the relevant professions.
• Both or at least the team leader should have a demonstrated experience in conducting similar studies, and must be familiar with M&E approaches and tools, socio-economic analysis of the livestock Production chains.
• A demonstrated record of animal welfare concepts, international animal welfare standards, the link between animal welfare and international trade and human wellbeing, and methods/tools for assessing welfare situations.
• Strong analytical skills, creativity, and delivering results under tight deadlines