June 12, 2023 Update: We have now concluded this hiring process, which resulted in us hiring one candidate to be our new Welfare Standard Lead—if you're curious, see our upcoming newsletters for more information. As of today, all candidates who have applied should have heard back from us. Thank you for your interest!

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A core part of FWI’s theory of change is working collaboratively with aquaculture farmers to make improvements that meaningfully improve the lives of fishes. To this end, we are seeking a Fish Welfare Standard Lead/Manager to supervise our ground team in developing, trialing, and implementing farm welfare improvements for Indian major carp.

 

This role is suited for someone with experience conducting scientific research, ideally field research in aquaculture, animal welfare, marine biology, or global development. Work here will be challenging, interdisciplinary, and largely unprecedented—and we think, for the right candidate, the opportunity to not only develop welfare standards in understudied species farmed in large numbers, but to also see them directly implemented at scale, will be extremely rewarding.

The successful candidate will be designated either Lead or Manager, based on their prior experience and current ability to lead a whole department. For differences in responsibilities between the two designations, see How You Will Improve Fish Welfare.

 

Criteria Notes - Before you read further. . .

• We are hiring for this position internationally (and thus you do not need to be Indian to apply for this role), although you must a) travel to India for at least 3 months (does not have to be continuous) throughout the year to supervise our ground operation, and b) work the rest of the time work on a time zone compatible with India Standard Time (i.e. be based in anywhere but the Americas).

• While we favor more experienced applicants, we think this role would also be an amazing opportunity to upskill for less experienced ones (who would receive the Manager designation).

• For more questions, see our FAQs below.

 

Application Deadline: Rolling*

 

* The original application deadline was April 23, although to encourage more candidates to apply we have since changed the deadline to rolling. Candidates who applied prior to the initial application deadline have a higher likelihood of acceptance than candidates who apply after. If you're still considering applying, note that the sooner you apply the higher your chances of acceptance will likely be.

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Who We Are 

Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) is a relatively new organization whose mission is to improve the welfare of fishes as much as possible. We focus specifically on farmed fishes, or fishes raised in aquaculture.

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In India, we are currently working with around 90 fish farms as part of our Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture. Through this program, we estimate that we have already improved the lives of 1.13 million fishes, though we intend to have a much greater impact in the coming year. Learn more about our plans and our organization in our blog.

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How You Will Improve Fish Welfare

• Develop, trial, and implement welfare improvements for farmed Indian major carp in semi-intensive pond farming systems. For an example of the sort of trial you might run, see here.

• Supervise a team of 2–5 ground staff members.

• ​Train staff on monitoring and evaluation of fish welfare.

• Analyze the data of trials and provide regular reports to management on the status of our welfare standards development.

• Develop and maintain relationships with academics for research collaboration.

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The Welfare Standard Lead designation would be tasked with setting the direction and growing the entire Welfare Standard department, while the Manager designation would focus more on managing staff as they execute research and trials.

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Qualifications

Required Criteria

You must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for this position:

• Bachelor's degree in a natural science, particularly marine biology, animal welfare science, or aquaculture; OR in a global development field.

• Field research experience.

• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience with statistical analysis software, such as R.

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Additional Required Criteria for Welfare Standard Lead

• 3 or more years of management experience.

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in a natural science or global development field; OR additional 3 years of management experience.

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Ideal Criteria

We will favor candidates who meet some or more of the following criteria, although these are not required:

• Experience working with fish welfare or aquaculture.

• Experience in conducting surveys.

• Ability to speak Telugu.

• Personally committed to improving the lives of farmed fishes.​

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The Fine Print

• Location: Hybrid (Andhra Pradesh, India, for at least 3 months of the year; remote at other times).

• Position Status: Full-time.

• Benefits: Flexible hours, health insurance offered for Indian applicants.

• Start Date: ASAP, with some flexibility.

• Pay: Commensurate with need and experience (with significant variance based on cost-of-living expenses—see FAQs below).

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Equal Opportunity Policy

FWI is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We encourage people of every color, orientation, age, sex, gender, ethnicity and ability to apply. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, and we will endeavor to make adjustments throughout the process where possible.

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How to Apply

Please complete this form.