Food Safety and Quality Officer P3 - Kinshasa, DRC

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

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).

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

DRC is largely dependent on agricultural activities with 80 million hectares of arable land and 50% of the continent’s water resources. The agricultural sector is responsible for over 60% of DRC’s workforce, 70% of which is composed of women.

The WFP DRC CO, based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, is looking to fill a position of Food Technologist within the Supply Chain Unit to support the design and implementation of projects within various programmes of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) - capacity strengthening of local partners in various areas of work such as smallholder farmer, local fortification and food processing, local procurement, and post-harvest losses management.

THE ROLE

Lead the implementation of food safety and quality management and/or food product optimisation initiatives within a CO. Job holder will be 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, 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.

• 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.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

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.

Experience:

At least 5 years professional experience in the following:

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

Language: Fluency (level C) in English and French languages.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This is an International Professional position and candidates must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.
• 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. This position is open to both internal and external candidates.​
• WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel, visa and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance. For more information, visit https://icsc.un.org/.
• The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Kinshasa, DRC.
• Please note that internally, these positions will be referred to as "Food Technologist P3".
• This recruitment might be used to fill other positions in other locations.

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 global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

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 global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org 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.