Regional Food Safety and Quality Officer P4 – Panama

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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.

Are you a Food Safety Expert interested in further developing your professional experience while contributing to ending global hunger? Are you passionate about helping those in need? Would you like to join an international organisation investing in its people?

If so, an exciting & fulfilling career awaits you! Join our diverse and passionate team that works on varied and international projects directly contributing to saving & changing millions of lives around the globe.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications must be submitted by Monday, April 17, 2023 (17:59 EDT).

WHO WE ARE

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a highly prestigious, reputable & world’s largest humanitarian organization, operating in more than 120 countries and territories, bringing life-saving assistance in emergencies, building pathways to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change and supporting sustainable and resilient livelihoods for a world with zero hunger.

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.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: UN World Food Programme (WFP) and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

WHY JOIN US?

• 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 trainings, 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 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)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Food Safety and Quality Assurance branch (SCOQ) ensures that every food item WFP provides to the people we serve is safe and nutritious, thereby supporting WFP’s work to save lives and change lives. SCOQ focuses on instilling a culture of food safety and quality assurance across the organization and ensures that standards, policies, and procedures are embedded across the full length of WFP’s supply chain – from programme design to distribution.

SCOQ also guides the implementation of food safety and quality systems across all WFP operations, developing product and packaging specifications, leading product testing, conducting supplier assessments, managing food incidents, and researching new commodities to add to WFP’s evolving food basket. SCOQ also conducts food safety and quality risk assessments and provides governance and technical guidance from programme design to delivery. Furthermore, SCOQ chairs the New Foods Committee (NFC) and leads the implementation of FOSTER, an IT application developed to track and analyse food safety and quality-related data.

This job is located in Regional Bureau Panama and reports to the Chief, Food Safety & Quality Assurance (SCOQ) in Headquarters.

JOB PURPOSE:

Shape and lead the implementation of food safety and quality management systems at regional level, providing guidance and advice to RB/COs, in close collaboration with Food technologists and external partners. Job holders are responsible for partnering with the key supply chain functions to ensure an integrated supply chain approach to meeting the food assistance needs of beneficiaries.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Across the region, lead the dissemination and implementation of corporate policies and procedures on the WFP approach to food safety and quality matters, ensuring alignment with corporate Food Safety and Quality Assurance (OSCQ) priorities.
• Collaborate with other relevant services and divisions for the establishment of protocols for risk and incident management to enable rapid response to situations with food safety and/or quality and/or integrity concerns, to ensure food safety and quality is embedded in any food related WFP operation.
• Oversee the implementation of supplier* food safety and quality management in the region, including supplier assessment, audits and review of corrective actions implementation.

*supplier includes: food manufacturers, inspection companies, laboratories, transportation companies and warehouses

• Develop and oversee the establishment of field operations systems to support the prevention and mitigation of food safety and quality issues. Support Country Offices in the region with the development of risk matrix and mitigation actions related to their specific food operation, including production, CBT and any fresh food delivery to beneficiaries. Conduct periodic compliance review on risk level priority basis to guarantee adequate food safety and quality standards are met throughout operations.
• Lead incorporation of Food Safety and Quality within the various different nutritional programs to align these with the corporate food safety and quality assurance standards.
• Lead food safety and quality training within the region. This includes providing
• Lead food safety and quality training within the region. This includes providing traditional training, coaching and guidance as required, to enable awareness and high performance of staff in topics related.
• Build relationships and collaborate closely with external and internal counterparts, especially within key supply chain functions to implement food safety and quality policy and guidelines that maintain, monitor and verify food safety and quality along the WFP supply chain.
• Support and closely collaborate with food technologists at RB and CO levels (where applicable) and ensure regular group discussions on appropriate and context specific implementation of the food safety and quality assurance systems
• Oversee and prepare accurate and timely accounting, data collection and reporting, to inform supply chain planning and contribute to a WFP wide view of food safety and quality issues and activities, enabling informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development/implementation of global Food Safety and Quality IT systems.
• Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men.
• Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.
• Other as required.

QUALIFICATIONS AND KEY REQUIREMENTS

Education:

• Master’s Degree in Food Safety and Quality, or First University degree with additional years of experience in Food Technology or related technical area

Experience:

• At least 8 years of relevant progressively responsible experience in Food Safety and Quality matters

Knowledge & Skills:

• Ability to work independently while strongly adhering to a governing structure
• Theoretical understanding of Food Safety and Quality systems
• Embedded skills and mindset focused on risk assessment and risk management, action-oriented and comfortable to stand-alone
• Ability to analyse complex situations and recommend decisions among conflicting priorities, prioritizing the safety and quality of the food and final consumer
• Technical knowledge in food safety and quality systems and standards, HACCP, food technologies, and food processing
• Solid experience in risk management

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in the English language
• Fluency (level C) in the Spanish language

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

These are the common standards of behaviour that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Different expectations of behaviour are defined depending on your grade and role/responsibilities within WFP.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Mobility is and continues to be, a core contractual requirement in WFP. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed term as well as a rotational contract with a probationary period of one year.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards (http://icsc.un.org) including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance.

The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.

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 wfprecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

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WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

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