Job description

1.  Job Purpose    
Veterinary Specialist will assist veterinary lead for animal health & wellbeing, ensuring that illness is detected early, and proper treatment is administered to the livestock. This position requires medical proficiency and keen focus on minimizing cost/casualty among livestock by delivering proactive diligent medical care and attention. The incumbent, along with his team, will be responsible for the health, treatments, hoof trimming and fertility of all animals on the farm and will be on call for emergencies
2.   Main Tasks & Accountabilities
Task    Description
Veterinary Management    •    Follows herd health protocols for healthy herd of dairy cows.
•    Maintain a clean and safe working environment for the area within his/her control.
•    Ensure biosecurity protocols are in place all the times.
•    Ensure herd Vaccinations are followed as per SOP.
•     Assists in veterinary tender of medicines.
•    Ensure 24x7 veterinary coverage to the herd.
•    Perform herd walks daily to ensure the health aspects of the herd.
•    Examine animals to diagnose their health problems.
Clinical Care    •    Diagnose and treat animals for medical conditions.
•    Identify and treat mastitis, lameness, and other animal health problems
•    Treat and dress wounds.
•    Perform surgery on animals
•    Euthanize animals if required
Palliative care    •    Understand and implement good practice for animal health and welfare 
•    Ensure moving and handling animals is done in an acceptable, quiet and calm way
•    Educate team and staff about general animal care, medical conditions, and treatments
Medical Records    •    Order and maintain an adequate stock of all vet drugs and equipment
•    Keep records of all mastitis treatments given and ensuring animals are marked according to the farm systems manual
•    Record other treatments as required
•    Observe cows in season / cows calved
•    Observant when with the cows, documenting any information that may be useful, for example, cows that look like they may be coming in season
Live-stock Management    •    Ensure all pre-breeding cows/heifers are ready to breed on time.
•    Ensure Artificial Insemination is carried correctly and timely.
•    Prescribing care during and after mating
•    Prescribing care during calving
•    Assisting with delivery
•    Assisting with calf rearing and young stock
•    Assisting with the management of dry stock, including bulls as required
Animal Health & Welfare    •    Supervise regular trimming of hoofs 
•    Helping implement good practices of animal health and welfare; ensure unwell animals are identified and treated quickly as per farm protocols, and all animals moved/handled in an acceptable, quiet and calm way
•    Emphasize identifying and treating mastitis, lameness and other animal health problems on priority
•    Demand reporting any incidences of bloat or suspected bloat immediately, and all unwell animals to self as part of daily report
•    Sharing animal health report with herd manager highlighting details of all unwell animals
Maintain a Tidy Workplace    •    Store medical tools and equipment away in the correct place where they belong, as soon as practical after finishing the task 
•    Dispose of medical waste appropriately 
•    Complete all other tasks required to maintain a safe and healthy workplace and environment
People management and reporting responsibilities    •    Schedule shift changes and days off, and maintain discipline within the veterinary department
•    Perform, physically (not computer generated), punctually the monthly livestock count.
•    Continually update a diagnosis and treatment manual.
•    Liaison with management and other line managers (as part of cross function team) for efficient running of the department.
•    Participate in management and supervisory meetings as and when required.
•    Produce end of month departmental report, on time, and as required by the management.
•    Ensure accurate and up to date, daily, weekly, monthly records as required by the management. 
•    Ensure tasks are understood by the team members, and performed responsibly and diligently
•    Help others in the team if needed; Support relief staff in their duties
Other Tasks    •    Comply with all Company policies and procedures. 
•    Perform all the other tasks and activities as assigned. 
Quality, Health, Safety, Security & Environment    •    Responsible and be in alignment with the safety rules and procedures as per MAZOON QHSE Policy.
•    Ensure all relevant quality, health, security, safety, and environmental policies, procedures and controls are adhered to so that employee safety, legislative compliance, delivery of high-quality service and a responsible environmental attitude can be guaranteed.
•    Ensure that incidents and hazards are reported in a timely manner and reduce consumption of natural resources to assist in protecting the environment and ensuring a healthy and safe work environment.
Be a Team Player    •    Effective communication within and outside the team.
•    Create a supportive environment for the team members.
•    Contribute to the team, letting others know information that may be useful or important.
•    Help to create a fun, supportive work environment.
3.  Main Contacts and Working Relationships
Internal     All Department Heads and Line Managers.
External    Stakeholders, customers, agencies etc.
4.   Person Specification  (Qualifications, Knowledge & Experience)  

Education Level –    Minimum Requirement    •    Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree at an accredited college of veterinary medicine
Professional    Qualifications
    •    Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) degree at an accredited college of veterinary medicine

Work Experience    •    Overall experience of 6 years or more with dairy cows
•    Strong understanding of the Middle East culture
Job Specific Skills    •    Ability to work in adverse weather conditions 
•    Manual dexterity: veterinarians, must control their hand movements and be precise when treating injuries and performing surgery
•    Compassion: Veterinarians must treat animals with kindness and respect and must be sensitive when dealing with sick livestock.
•    Decision-making skills: Veterinarians must decide the correct method for treating the injuries and illnesses of animals. Deciding to euthanize a sick animal, for instance, can be difficult
•    People Management skills: Manage a small veterinarian team and carry out all management responsibilities   including setting personal objectives, career counselling and reviewing performance.   
•    Problem-solving and diagnostic skills: Veterinarians need strong problem-solving skills to figure out what is ailing animals and excellent diagnostic skills to determine the effects of drug therapies.
•    Interpersonal skills: Strong communication skills to discuss their recommendations and explain treatment options to herd manager and give instructions to their staff.
•    Must be comfortable around large animals.
Generic Skills
    •    Team player with excellent organizational and time management skills.
•    Must be alert, strive for accuracy, and have ability to exercise independent thinking and judgment, be a self- motivator, and attention to detail
•    Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
•    Integrity, discretion, and loyalty
5.   Position Location  

•    To be based at Al Sunainah or any Mazoon farms within Oman