Consultant Food Technologist – CSTII

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP’s values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

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WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

Job Title: Food Technologist CSTII

Type of Contract: Consultant

Duration: 11 months

Duty Station: Tulear, Madagascar

Vacancy Number: One

Deadline for Application: October 08, 2024

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

One of the ten countries most vulnerable to disasters worldwide and the most cyclone-exposed country in Africa, Madagascar is facing an emergency level crisis. Four years of consecutive droughts have left families in the south of the country unable to feed themselves.

At least 1.14 million people in Southern Madagascar need emergency food and nutrition assistance and about 14,000 people are experiencing famine-like conditions. Madagascar is the only place in the world where famine-like conditions have been driven by climate, not conflict.

Supply Chain plays a key role in scaling-up WFP emergency responses and in supporting a transition to resilience and recovery programmes, including the implementation of the Home-Grown School Feeding.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES :

This position, based in the Tulear field office, will report administratively to the Head of the field office Tulear while functionally reporting to the Head of Supply Chain in Antananarivo

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

• Establish and implement protocols and tools relating to food technology issues, such as food safety and quality and food product optimisation, ensuring alignment with WFP procurement and supply chain strategy, policies and plans.
• Review and provide advice on the procedures for mitigating and documenting food quality and safety issues e.g. during food transit and storage in warehouses.
• Establish and implement protocols and tools in country offices that enable rapid response to situations with food safety concerns.
• Provide technical guidance and input to country offices in the design and implementation of medium scale and/or relatively straight forward food assistance programmes, ensuring compliance with WFP food and safety regulations.
• Lead and motivate a small team of staff, providing coaching, training and guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
• Develop and deliver training modules to WFP staff and external stakeholders on the key areas of food technology, such as quality control, food processing, loss prevention and mitigation, to build local capacity in the processing and/or production of specialized nutritious foods.
• Prepare accurate and timely reports that inform food risk assessment and management, and contribute to a WFP wide view of food technology activities, enabling informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
• Build relationships and collaborate with counterparts in key supply chain functions to establish standard operation procedures, protocols and tools that maintain, monitor and verify food safety and quality along the WFP supply chain.
• Build productive relationships and partnerships with counterparts in UN agencies, NGOs, governments and the private sector to enhance WFP capacity to respond effectively to levels of under nutrition.
• Conduct rigorous quality assessments of potential food suppliers, including smallholder farmers, retailers and hot meal suppliers ensuring compliance with established food safety standards and protocols to guarantee the delivery of safe and high-quality products.
• Keep current on emerging developments and cutting-edge research on the areas of food safety and quality and/or food product optimization in order to leverage the opportunities to incorporate industry best practices.
• Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.
• Other as required.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES:

Food Quality Management: Guides team on the principles of matching food types with local needs and capabilities across the supply chain (e.g., storage capacity) to optimize impact of WFP resources.

Research & Development: Demonstrates ability to oversee research that assesses the health status of a population and the link back to basic nutrition requirements and needs.

Commodity Knowledge: Utilizes in-depth knowledge of food product optimization and broad knowledge of best practices, techniques and processes to provide technical guidance to country offices in design of food assistance programmes.

Incidence & Risk Communication Management: Educates unit/region on the appropriate procedures for handling and communicating risks as they emerge in a timely and safe manner.

Ethics & Compliance: Drafts plan for audit queries and process improvements in line with ethics/compliance standards, donor requirements, and operating procedures.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Has worked in emergency response capacity.
• Has worked with counterparts in supply chain function.
• Has experience monitoring and assessing food safety and quality issues.
• Has experience building strong external relationships.
• Has experience working on developing food assistance programmes.

STANDARD MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Education :

Advanced university degree in Food Technology, Health Sciences, Food Control, Nutrition or other related field, or First University degree with an additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Relevant experience:

With an Advanced university degree, at least five (05) years of relevant experience at a professional level

Language:

International Professional: Fluency (level C) in French language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: English

Deadline for Application: October 08, 2024

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at [email protected]. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
• Please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.