In celebration of International Women’s Day, we wanted to share the inspirational story of Ioana Dobre, one of the many successful women we have at Eville & Jones.

Ioana Dobre has been a valued member of the Eville & Jones family for five years now and, with great ambition and a lot of work, she has achieved remarkable success and progressed within the company within a short space of time. Since starting her Eville & Jones journey as an Official Veterinarian (OV), Ioana has worked across official controls and export certification, before accepting her current position as Business Development Manager.

To celebrate her success, we would like to share her story.

After graduating from the University of Bucharest in 2013, Ioana started her career in veterinary medicine. With a dedication to animal welfare, Ioana worked as a veterinary surgeon in a poultry farm in Romania before moving to the Sultanate of Oman taking a voluntary position at a veterinary practice with an animal rescue charity.

Hearing about the great opportunities we have to offer at Eville & Jones, Ioana was convinced to begin a career and new life in the UK. Ioana commented, “When I was volunteering for the animal rescue charity, I noticed two of my friends held positions at Eville & Jones. They posted fabulous pictures that had me wondering; ‘what is this job that they’re doing in England, it looks great!’ I contacted the recruitment team, and they told me all about the company and about the work of OVs and MHIs (Meat Hygiene Inspectors). With that, I was convinced to make the move to England and join the team.”

After the successful completion of the Official Veterinarian course in Glasgow, Ioana began her career as an OV. Working in abattoirs in the north of England, Ioana demonstrated excellent skills and strong ambition which did not go unrecognised by her colleagues. Seeing Ioana’s potential, Juan Avilla suggested that a move into Eville & Jones’ export services would be beneficial to her career. Eager to develop her existing skills and industry knowledge, Ioana decided to join our growing team of export vets.

Dedicated to bettering her skills, Ioana was promoted to role of Area Resource Manager (ARM) and later onto the role of Area Veterinary Manager (AVM) before being offered the position she holds today. As our Business Development Manager, Ioana is responsible for new business acquisitions, requirement changes for existing customers and overseeing commercial customer relations.

Ioana observed, “Since I began this role back in 2020, the number of customers that we deliver our services to has increased from 155 to 229. Also, the number of EOVs and CSOs we have working with us in our export service has grown significantly, from 42 to 152 employees. We have signed contracts with one of the UK’s top retailers, one of Europe’s largest frozen food exporter and Europe’s largest food and beverage producer. Our customers trust that we deliver quality services, and our growing number of contracts is a testament to this.”

With her success within the company, Ioana reflected upon her development with Eville & Jones. She believed that each position aided in the development of valuable skills which she was then able to build upon as she moved within the business.

Ioana identified the value of her previous experience, stating that her “in-depth and hands-on knowledge” has been widely appreciated in her current role as Business Development Manager. Having such a wealth of experience within the public health industry has been a real asset towards identifying and actualising new business opportunities; it has been a helping hand in gaining customer trust.

We asked Ioana to share her experience as a woman in the meat industry. She said, “Working for Eville & Jones, I feel fully supported. Diversity is such a core strength of the business, and each employee is given equal opportunities to succeed. For the five years I have worked for the company, I have found my career to be consistently rewarding and have had the opportunity to have a work/ life balance and flexible working. I trust in the management team and value the culture that we have within the business. It is a culture of understanding, understanding of families and the understanding that everybody within the company has different needs. Equally, the management team recognise that there can be challenges for women within the meat industry and there are many women in management roles who are dependable and dedicated to supporting their teams. If you are a woman who is interesting in breaking into the meat industry, I have no doubt that Eville & Jones will support you.”

We would like to thank Ioana Dobre, and all the women at Eville & Jones for playing such a key role in veterinary public health. Safeguarding the welfare of millions of animals, ensuring food is safe to eat and enabling international trade to continue unfettered.