Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Veterinary Program Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

A Veterinary Program Consultant provides technical leadership and hands-on support to public, private, and non-profit animal health programs. The consultant designs, implements, monitors, and evaluates veterinary and livestock health initiatives—ranging from disease surveillance and vaccination campaigns to capacity building, policy development, and emergency response. This role partners with government agencies, NGOs, academia, producers, and laboratory networks to translate evidence into operational plans, ensure regulatory compliance, secure and manage funding, and measure program impact using best practices in veterinary public health and One Health.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Field Veterinarian with program or outbreak experience
Veterinary Public Health Officer or Epidemiologist
Program Coordinator for animal health or agricultural development

Advancement To:

Senior Veterinary Program Manager / Program Director
Director of Animal Health Programs or One Health Programs
National or Regional Veterinary Technical Advisor

Lateral Moves:

Veterinary Epidemiologist (government or international agency)
Grant/Proposal Specialist for animal health programs
Laboratory Network or Diagnostic Services Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the design and implementation of animal health programs, including chapters for disease prevention, vaccination strategies, biosecurity, and control measures, ensuring alignment with national animal health plans and international standards (OIE/WOAH, FAO, WHO).
Develop program scopes, logical frameworks, theory of change, and detailed workplans with measurable outputs, outcomes, timelines, and resource estimates to support donor proposals and internal approvals.
Conduct comprehensive epidemiologic assessments and risk analyses for zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases; synthesize surveillance data to identify trends, hotspots, and intervention priorities.
Design and supervise active and passive disease surveillance systems, sample collection protocols, data flows, case definitions, and diagnostic confirmation pathways with laboratory partners.
Prepare, write, and manage competitive grant applications and donor reports; ensure timely deliverables, budget compliance, and narrative/financial reporting that meet donor requirements.
Provide technical mentorship and training to veterinary staff, para-veterinarians, community animal health workers, and extension agents on clinical protocols, surveillance, case management, vaccination, and outbreak response.
Coordinate multi-stakeholder engagements and partnerships with government ministries, NGOs, producers’ associations, wildlife authorities, and academic institutions to align program objectives and leverage resources.
Oversee program budgets, procurement plans, and vendor management; monitor expenditures against budgets and recommend reallocation to meet program priorities while ensuring compliance with procurement policies.
Lead outbreak investigations and emergency response activities, including rapid assessment, case management guidance, movement controls, emergency vaccination campaigns, and post-outbreak evaluation.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks; analyze program performance data and produce periodic evaluation reports with data-driven recommendations.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), clinical guidelines, diagnostic algorithms, and quality assurance protocols for field teams and laboratories.
Facilitate One Health collaborations and coordinate cross-sectoral interventions addressing zoonotic disease transmission at the human-animal-environment interface.
Design and implement behavior-change communication strategies for producers and pet owners, including training materials, job aids, campaign messaging, and community mobilization for vaccination and biosecurity uptake.
Manage field studies and operational research projects; develop protocols, ensure ethical approvals, supervise fieldwork, and translate findings into policy or practice.
Oversee sample logistics, cold-chain management, and laboratory coordination to ensure accurate and timely diagnostic results and effective data integration.
Provide technical input for policy development, regulatory frameworks, and standard setting related to animal movement, import/export controls, veterinary medicines, and antimicrobial stewardship.
Lead capacity assessments for veterinary services and laboratories; develop tailored capacity-building plans and measure gains through competency assessments and proficiency testing.
Prepare clear, high-quality technical reports, policy briefs, training manuals, scientific manuscripts, and presentations for diverse audiences including donors, ministries, and community stakeholders.
Support the adoption of digital tools for data collection, case management, and surveillance (mobile apps, GIS mapping, electronic reporting) and provide training to ensure data quality and usability.
Conduct regular field visits to supervise program implementation, validate data quality, mentor field staff, and adapt program activities in response to ground realities.
Provide regulatory and clinical guidance on animal welfare, humane handling, and veterinary ethics in program activities and community outreach.
Negotiate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and service agreements with implementing partners and vendors to formalize roles, responsibilities, deliverables, and timelines.
Implement antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance components, promote judicious use of antimicrobials, and provide training on AMR mitigation strategies within veterinary practice.
Support scaling-up successful pilot interventions through replication toolkits, costed rollout plans, and knowledge-sharing workshops.
Monitor and manage program risks (operational, reputational, safety) and develop mitigation strategies including contingency plans for security, supply chain disruptions, and disease emergencies.
Integrate gender, equity, and social inclusion considerations into program design and monitoring to ensure interventions reach vulnerable and under-served livestock owners and communities.
Act as the primary technical contact for external stakeholders during program evaluations, donor reviews, and external audits and implement recommendations to strengthen program delivery.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Serve as subject-matter expert in working groups, technical advisory committees, and multi-agency task forces.
Represent the program at national and international conferences, workshops, and technical meetings.
Train partner organizations on proposal development and program management best practices.
Support recruitment, onboarding, and performance evaluation of field and technical staff.
Maintain up-to-date inventories of equipment, vaccines, and critical supplies and coordinate redistribution when necessary.
Conduct periodic policy scans and landscape analyses to align projects with emerging regulatory changes and best practices.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Veterinary clinical skills and license/registration as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent; clinical diagnostics and case management expertise.
Epidemiology and surveillance design: case definitions, sampling strategies, outbreak investigation methodologies.
Program and project management: workplan development, Gantt charts, milestone tracking, risk management.
Grant writing, donor reporting, budget development and financial stewardship (experience with USAID, EU, DFID, BMGF or similar donors preferred).
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E): indicator definition, baseline/endline assessments, qualitative and quantitative methods, theory of change.
Laboratory coordination and diagnostic workflows: sample handling, cold chain, qPCR/serology basics, quality assurance.
Data analysis and visualization: Excel, R, Python, or equivalent; ability to synthesize surveillance and program data into actionable insights.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis for disease mapping and hotspot identification.
Digital tools for field data capture and case reporting (e.g., DHIS2, ODK, KoboToolbox, EWARS).
Policy development and regulatory knowledge: animal movement, import/export, veterinary drug regulation, and antimicrobial stewardship.
Training design and facilitation for adult learners; curriculum development and training-of-trainers (ToT) experience.
Biosecurity, biosafety and PPE protocols for field and laboratory staff.
Quality management systems and SOP development for clinics and laboratories.
Emergency preparedness and response planning, including contingency logistics and mass vaccination campaign management.

Soft Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication; ability to write compelling proposals and clear technical reports for diverse audiences.
Stakeholder engagement and negotiation; proven ability to build consensus across ministries, donors, NGOs, and community groups.
Leadership and team-building; experience mentoring multidisciplinary teams and local partners.
Problem-solving and critical thinking; ability to rapidly synthesize information and make operational decisions in the field.
Cultural sensitivity and community engagement skills; experience working in diverse and resource-limited settings.
Time management and adaptability; able to manage competing priorities and travel frequently to project sites.
Coaching and capacity-building mindset with patience and focus on sustainable skills transfer.
High ethical standards and integrity in program implementation and financial management.
Resilience and stress tolerance for deployment during outbreaks or emergencies.
Attention to detail and commitment to data quality.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) / BVSc or equivalent professional veterinary qualification.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree or higher in Veterinary Public Health, Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology, Tropical Veterinary Medicine, or related field (MPH, MSc, PhD).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Veterinary Medicine (DVM/BVSc)
Veterinary Public Health / One Health
Epidemiology / Biostatistics
Public Health / Global Health
Animal Science / Livestock Production
Microbiology / Diagnostic Sciences

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–12+ years of progressively responsible experience in veterinary clinical practice, animal health program implementation, or veterinary public health. (Mid-level: 5–7 years; Senior: 8+ years)

Preferred:

Demonstrated experience managing multi-year donor-funded programs, leading outbreak investigations, or serving as a technical advisor for government or international agencies.
Experience working in low- and middle-income countries, with field deployment during disease outbreaks, and with community-based animal health systems.
Proven track record in grant writing, donor reporting, and high-quality technical deliverables; publications or policy contributions a plus.