Working equine welfare internship

Salary: £12 per hour for 85 hours, spread over 6-12 weeks according to intern availability.

Location: Remote working, with possible visit to the Brooke office in Central London if   required.

Contract type: Internship (paid).

Job reference: ID1503

Role: The role will involve creation of summary documents on specified working equine welfare issues, which should include information on welfare significance to the animal, possible causation and means of resolution.  Welfare issues may include, but are not restricted to: behavioural anomalies (fear, aggression, apathy); eye problems; harness-related injuries; spinal pain; abnormal mucous membranes; hoof abnormalities; firing; ectoparasites.  

Please refer to the attached specification for further information on the role and criteria.

Closing date for applications: 12:00 on Thursday 6th August 2015.

Telephone interviews will be held on: Monday 10th - Tuesday 11th August 2015. 

Anticipated start date: Week commencing Monday 14th September 2015.

To Apply: Please submit applications in Microsoft Word format to recruit@thebrooke.org, responding to the following questions, and including your contact details (email and telephone number). Please note, applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom, as evidenced by appropriate passport/visas.

1. Please explain why you wish to intern at the Brooke and what attracted you to this position specifically. 

2. Please indicate how you meet each of the required competencies for this position referring to the numbered list above, providing examples of relevant past experiences.  

3. Please mention any additional experience you feel may support your application for this position.

4. Please indicate your time and travel availability (days and hours; remote and central London office), and the start and end dates of the time period during which you would be available. 

5. Please mention any additional information that may be relevant for the Brooke to consider/be aware of, or any aspects of the internship on which you would like clarification.  

The Brooke

The Brooke is an international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in the poorest parts of the world. We provide veterinary treatment and community education programmes across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Last year, we reached more than 1,100,000 working horses, donkeys and mules benefiting more than five million people.

The Brooke’s vision is a world in which working horses, donkeys and mules are free from suffering.

The Brooke strives to promote equality of opportunity.

Working equine welfare internship position – Development of equine welfare information resources

Description

The Brooke’s Welfare Assessment Advisor is seeking assistance from an intern to develop additional equine welfare information resources for use by staff throughout the Brooke’s countries of operation.  

Background to relevant work area

The Brooke strives for evidence-based programming, and a key element of this is collecting animal-based data, obtained through assessing the welfare of the working horses, donkeys and mules we work with.  These data are used for numerous purposes, such as ascertaining the prevalence of various welfare issues in different working equine populations, prioritising key issues to address through project activities, and monitoring the impact of our work on the animals’ welfare status.

To facilitate improved understanding of these welfare data and application to programme activities by international staff, additional information resources on pertinent equine welfare topics would be beneficial.      

The role and tasks

The role will involve creation of summary documents on specified working equine welfare issues, which should include information on: welfare significance to the animal, possible causation and means of resolution.  Welfare issues may include, but are not restricted to: behavioural anomalies (fear, aggression, apathy); eye problems; harness-related injuries; spinal pain; abnormal mucous membranes; hoof abnormalities; firing; ectoparasites. 

The intern will have opportunity to input creatively into the design, structure and aesthetics of the resources, with the aim of making these visually appealing, interesting and accessible, both in electronic and printed form.  The end users of the materials will not be native English speakers, therefore concision, clarity, simplicity and use of visual aids will be important. 

Tasks will include:

-          Planning the structure and content of the information resources in conjunction with the Welfare Assessment Advisor.

-          Researching welfare issues and collating pertinent information from a range of sources.

-          Summarising key points of information in a clear and concise manner.

-          Referencing external (to the Brooke) information sources where relevant.

-          Incorporating photographs to illustrate associated text.

-          Formatting the information resources to ensure suitability for printing.

Applicants must have adequate access to a computer and internet connection with sufficient capacity to enable them to complete these tasks.

Applicants should be aware that the role will necessitate exposure to images of equine welfare problems which may be distressing. 

Benefits

The intern will benefit by:

- Having the opportunity to make a valuable and lasting contribution to the learning of Brooke international staff, and thus supporting them to help working equine animals. 

- Gaining detailed insight into working equine welfare issues, an area of animal welfare not widely accessible in the scientific or lay literature. 

- Learning about animal-based welfare assessment methodologies used within the Brooke, and ways in which findings can be utilised.  

- Gaining experience in gathering, collating and producing information resources on a scientific topic creatively.

- Increasing understanding of the operations of an international non-governmental organisation. 

- Making contacts within the equine welfare field.

- Gaining experience in document production and formatting.

Payment

The intern will be compensated at a rate of £12 per hour, for a total of 85 hours of work.  If deemed necessary, occasional visits to the Brooke’s London office may be requested, at mutually-agreed times, for which reasonable UK travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the Brooke’s expenses policy. 

Availability

The work can be done remotely, and the intern will not be required to be based in the Brooke office in London.  The 85 hours of work can be spread over a 6-12 week period; specific working days and times can be agreed to suit the availability of the intern, through discussion with the Welfare Assessment Advisor. 

Training and supervision

The internship will be under the supervision of the Welfare Assessment Advisor, a member of the Brooke’s Animal Welfare and Research Team.  As this staff member often travels abroad to the Brooke’s countries of operation, the intern should be capable of working independently after initial direction has been provided, checking in with the Welfare Assessment Advisor at mutually-agreed times as required.  Should the Welfare Assessment Advisor be unavailable for a period of time, additional support will be provided by the Welfare Assessment Development Officer.

The intern will be supported with:

-          Initial meeting and more detailed discussion of tasks.

-          Periodic discussions (in person or remotely depending on location of intern) to review progress, assist with any difficulties, advise on next steps, clarify any queries, and other support as required.

-          Review and editing of documents.

-          Provision of photographic materials from the field, insight and suggestions related to the specified welfare problems.

-          Access to existing relevant Brooke resources.

-          Facilitation of liaison with other Brooke staff (e.g. welfare assessors abroad) for input when useful.

-          Referral to Brooke UK UT support if required for technical assistance.

-          Explanation of the Brooke’s Standardised Equine Based Welfare Assessment Tool (SEBWAT).

-          Explanation of the Brooke’s work internationally.

Required competencies

1.       Knowledge of equine animals, for example, behaviour, basic anatomy, health concepts.

2.       Knowledge of animal welfare principles.

3.       Ability to research information from various sources but particularly scientific/veterinary literature, critically appraise its validity, and assimilate into alternative formats.

4.       Excellent standard of English comprehension and writing.

5.       Ability to produce creative and interesting communication materials (including necessary IT skills).

6.       Ability to adapt communication styles for people who are not native English speakers.

7.       Ability to work independently.

Application

1. Please explain why you wish to intern at the Brooke and what attracted you to this position specifically.
2. Please indicate how you meet each of the required competencies for this position referring to the numbered list above, providing examples of relevant past experiences. 
3. Please mention any additional experience you feel may support your application for this position.
4. Please indicate your time and travel availability (days and hours; remote and central London office), and the start and end dates of the time period during which you would be available.
5. Please mention any additional information that may be relevant for the Brooke to consider/be aware of, or any aspects of the internship on which you would like clarification. 

Deadline

Please submit applications in Microsoft Word format to recruit@thebrooke.org before 12:00 on Thursday 6^th August 2015.  The proposed date for telephone interviews is Tuesday 11^th August 2015, and the proposed start date is the week commencing Monday 14^th September 2015.