Hatchery Officer

About the role

Uzima Chicken is hiring a Hatchery Officer in Westlands, Nairobi. The role oversees the entire hatchery process, from egg reception and storage through incubation and the production of Day-Old Chicks (DOCs), while maintaining biosecurity, quality control and hygiene standards.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee receiving, inspection, grading, sorting and storage of hatching eggs, ensuring proper temperature and humidity control.
• Oversee egg setting, pre-warming, transfer, candling and hatching, and monitor incubation parameters such as temperature, humidity, CO2/ventilation and egg turning.
• Monitor hatchery machine performance and help achieve production targets.
• Select, grade and quality-control Day-Old Chicks; conduct breakout analysis of poor hatchability and recommend corrective actions.
• Ensure biosecurity and quality control programmes are implemented and improved continuously.
• Monitor vaccine storage, handling, thawing and vaccination procedures, including vaccinator accuracy.
• Maintain hatchery hygiene, cleanliness and environmental management, and coordinate preventive maintenance of equipment.
• Handle hatchery waste according to established procedures and keep accurate records of eggs received, set, hatched, DOC produced and DOC wastage.
• Prepare weekly, operational and regulatory reports and monitor compliance with government, veterinary, biosecurity and hatchery standards.
• Coach and train hatchery staff and work with breeding farms and other departments to improve productivity.

Required profile

• B.Sc. in Veterinary Medicine or equivalent, licensed by the Kenya Veterinary Board and in good standing.
• Experience in poultry production, hatchery operations or a related veterinary role is an added advantage.
• Good understanding of poultry health, hatchery management, incubation and biosecurity.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment and meet operational targets.

Required skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and other computer applications.
• Analytical, reporting and problem-solving skills.
• Communication, leadership and team-management skills.