Assistant State Veterinarian

Overview

DEPT OF AGRICULTURE The Mission of our Agency is to protect the health and safety of Arizona consumers, advance and support Arizona agriculture, and safeguard commerce. Supporting farming, ranching and agribusiness in Arizona by protecting plants and animals, issuing agriculture and environmental licenses, inspecting farming practices and overseeing commerce standards and measurement devices.

Assistant State Veterinarian

Job Location:

Address:
Animal Services Division / State Veterinarian Office, 1110 W. Washington Street, #450 - Phoenix AZ 85007

Posting Details:
Salary: $93,600.00 - $ | Grade: 27 | Closing Date:
October 15, 2025

Job Summary:

The Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADA) is currently recruiting for a full-time Assistant State Veterinarian
; this position will report to the Arizona State Veterinarian in the Animal Services Division (ASD). This position will be responsible for Central Arizona and surrounding areas.

The Office of the State Veterinarian protects the livestock, poultry, and aquaculture industries directly, and the public indirectly, through the prevention, early detection, containment, and eradication of economically important livestock, poultry, and fish diseases. In addition, welfare of livestock is ensured by assisting the Livestock Inspection Program in the investigation and prosecution of cases of cruelty to animals. This Office watches over four areas: regulation of the importation of animals, control and eradication of livestock diseases, regulation of fish farming, transportation and processing and emergency response for both natural and manmade disasters affecting livestock.

The Arizona Department of Agriculture has a major role in protecting both Arizona citizens and the health and welfare of the state’s livestock industry. This position will enhance the capabilities of the Animal Health and Welfare Program through animal disease surveillance and response and support animal disease traceability grant programs. Developing knowledge and understanding of the Incident Command System (ICS), National Incident Management System (NIMS) and participation in training and Emergency Support Function-11 (ESF-11) response related to the Palo Verde Generating Station (PVGS) and animal disease or natural disasters affecting livestock as a part of an Incident Management Team (IMT) is expected.

This position may offer the ability to work remotely, within Arizona, based upon the department's business needs and continual meeting of expected performance measures.

The State of Arizona strives for a work culture that affords employees flexibility, autonomy, and trust. Across our many agencies, boards, and commissions, many State employees participate in the State’s Remote Work Program and are able to work remotely in their homes, in offices, and in hoteling spaces. All work, including remote work, should be performed within Arizona unless an exception is properly authorized in advance.

• Implement surveillance programs for avian and livestock diseases in order to better prepare and respond to livestock emergencies by reviewing, revising, formulating, affecting, managing and implementing policies and procedures related to foreign animal diseases (FAD).
• Ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment to determine training needs, design training materials and educational outreach to private veterinarians, tribal veterinarians and all other external or internal partners or other allied industry professionals. Training will include proper sample collection, preparation and preservation of chain of custody.
• Maintain confidentiality of risk assessments of agroterrorism threats and confidentiality of all records and financial data reviewed during investigation assessments.
• Establish regulations for the traceability of livestock to provide the necessary environment in which state animal health officials can guide the development of a modern animal movement and disease surveillance system. This will include the tagging system, distributing traceability literature, training field staff, and collecting/maintaining data.
• Supervision and evaluations of subordinate staff members.
• Po…