National Product Designer

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FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) contributing to food and nutrition security, economic prosperity, and job creation by ensuring the economic, social and environmental sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. FISH4ACP is implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
FISH4ACP seeks to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of ten fisheries and aquaculture value chains in ten OACPS member countries, making sure that economic improvements go hand in hand with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness. It will pay special attention to small and medium-sized businesses, because of their potential to deliver economic and social benefits, particularly those for women and youth.
The FISH4ACP activities for the Lake Tanganyika sprat, sardine, and perch value chain (VC) in the United Republic of Tanzania were officially launched by the multi-stakeholder partnership Committee (MSP) on 16 May 2022 in Kigoma. An initial priority for the MSP falls under Outcome 1 – VC actors adopt improved processing and cold chain techniques. This Outcome includes activity 1.1.3: Pilot/demonstrate improved drying, /smoking and cold chain equipment/inputs with suppliers and processors, which is the focus of this Terms of reference.
To transport fish from boats to processing activities and to vendors, fishers and processors are currently using a type of wooden box, available in the region and co-opted it for their businesses. These basic wooden boxes do not fit the precise needs value chain actors have and represent food safety concerns. With improvements in the design specifically based on the needs of those who use these items on a daily basis, as well as an upgrade in materials to plastic instead of wood could lead to improvements in the handling of fish in the region. It has been estimated that the retail price of a plastic box would not be too much higher than that of the wooden ones and provide users with a longer life span. Moreover, as no manufacturer is currently producing such an item, efforts will need to be made to demonstrate an applicable design and ready market for the product to encourage local manufacturers to eventually supply the item. As such, this intervention needs to work on developing the supply and demand side of proposed box. To achieve this the affordability and availability of the final product must be considered. The starting point is developing a prototype that takes both the manufacturer and users’ needs into consideration.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work closely with the FAO Tanzania. All reports will be submitted directly to the FAO Representative, Dar es salaam, Tanzania and upon request to the Project Management Unit (PMU) on dates as may be mutually agreed during the contract negotiation.

The reports and product will be reviewed by a peer team to be constituted from FAO experts and Government representative. The final report shall be submitted both in English and Kiswahili languages and submitted in soft copies.

Technical Focus

In close coordination with FAO Representative, Tanzania, the National product Designer will lead and coordinate the collation, provision, designing of intended products and exchange of information related to the decisions taken by the FAO project and provide timely advice, analysis, reporting, information management and general support to FAO Tanzania and FISH4ACP PMU. He/she will work closely with the FAO Representative Tanzania and consult the selected project partners to ensure that current findings and actions that are being delivered for FISH4ACP are further enhanced and integrated through this assignment.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Conduct rapid assessment, with key stakeholders (fishers and processors) of the existing wooden and plastic boxes that are currently in use in Lake Tanganyika fisheries and come up with an improved design mock-up/ prototype that better suits the needs of its users and food safety standards, keeping in mind affordability and availability of supplies.
• Develop box specifications for carrying fish (onboard and offboard) and produce the agreed prototype by FAO Tanzania, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and FISH4ACP Project committee (MSP).
• Propose innovative ideas and present the prototype idea (based on the existing wooden boxes used in the lake) to FAO, discuss on the proposed design with users/ customers (Lake Tanganyika stakeholders) and incorporate feedback.
• Finalize the Design based on the feedback on the agreed sample prototype and develop manufacturing costs as well as a potential market price per unit.
• Recommend and document the material selection linked to the design for the manufacturing purposes, based on the national and international standard requirements on the sustainable use of plastic products for the environmental conservation.
• Conduct a rapid study for the marketing of the product and identify the potential national producers based on their ability and willingness to supply such products to fisheries communities of the Lake.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Plastic engineering, Marketing, Business administration, social science, or related studies.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in plastic or Fiber or metal product design for production with innovative designs skills,
• Working knowledge of English and Kiswahili.
• National of Tanzania.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Sample work of clear and mature style of the design and its mould, demonstrating an understanding of the product based on the requirements of FAO/Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF) and fisheries stakeholders.
• Experience in plastic or metal products production/manufacturing from conceptualization of the design with knowledge of product marketing processes (local and regional) to both customers and producers/manufacturers.
• Be able to persuade the consumers, manufacturers, and local product suppliers on the effectiveness of the products compared to the existing products in the market.
• Experience in conducting rapid need assessment to potential consumers and manufacturers based on the requirement of the sector.
• Proven Knowledge of food processing and handling industries especially those involving cold chains of agricultural/ fisheries products.

Selection Criteria

• Creativity with the use of software such as Adobe Design Premium, AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, SketchUp, Libre CAD tools etc.
• Experience in product Marketing especially those related to production of Agriculture products.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
• For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

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