Food Control Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is the specialized agency of the United Nations for food, nutrition, agriculture, and forestry. FAO’s global vision is for a world free from hunger and malnutrition where food and agriculture contribute to improving the living standards of all, especially the poorest, in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner.

FAO's Subregional Office for the Caribbean (SLC) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing, and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional food, agriculture, and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RLC), in Santiago, Chile. SLC is located in Barbados and is responsible for 13 countries of the subregion.

FAO has been building an understanding within the CARICOM member countries of the internationally recognized good practice in the design and management of national food control systems. Support is also being provided to strengthen the role of the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency to act as a catalyst to achieve increased south-south cooperation among CARICOM member countries in relation to food control and to bolster national food safety and consumer protection.

Reporting Lines

The candidate will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Barbados and under the direct technical supervision of the senior food safety officer, responsible for the assessment in Barbados. He/she will work in close collaboration with the Project coordinator, and with the International Consultants leading the national food control system assessment and the national team in FAO, as well as the focal points in the different competent authorities.

Technical Focus

The candidate will support the implementation of the food control system assessment, in particular they will engage in a mentoring role for the focal points to gather the required information, as well as provide all necessary support to plan, organize, implement and report on the inception and strategic planning workshops, as well as the focal points training workshops.

Tasks and responsibilities

The candidate will undertake the following tasks:

• Finalize the country profile based on the draft to be provided at the inception of the consultancy by FAO • Assist in the organization of the inception workshop (support the identification of relevant competent authorities/agencies to be invited; follow up, if necessary, to obtain nominations for the workshop; assist, if necessary, in the identification of the venue and provide support for the purchasing of services by FAO) • Identify relevant stakeholders in the food chain (beside competent authorities) to be invited to the first session of the inception workshop such as academia, consumer organizations, and private sector associations (e.g., Dairy/Meat/Poultry/Sugar products representatives, Importers/exporters associations...) • As necessary, provide support to the national government focal points to ensure that the relevant stakeholders are aware of the purpose of the inception workshop and will participate effectively; • Support and participate in the inception workshop together with the international assessors; if necessary, assist in the logistic and administrative aspects of the workshop; • Contribute to the draft report of the inception workshop to be developed by the international consultants; • As a follow up to the inception workshop, support in contacting focal points (and/or relevant units) and ensuring the collection of relevant data to be reported upon by the national authorities. • Collect and validate data submitted by CAs in the reporting tables and, with the international assessor(s), follow up with national authorities to clarify any point and seek further data as necessary; • Collect and review the additional evidence from national authorities, as necessary for the assessment and forward to the International assessor(s); • Support the elaboration of the schedule for the validation mission by the lead assessor and confirm appointments with focal points and relevant units in the competent authorities and other relevant stakeholders; • Support the implementation of the validation mission by the International assessor(s), facilitating contacts and taking notes from meetings; • Review and provide feedback on the draft assessment report developed by the international assessors; • Coordinate the collection of feedback from competent authorities on the draft assessment report; • Support the organization of the strategic planning workshop: identification of participants, setup of program and coordination with the national coordinator and FAO office - ensuring participation by high level executive on the last workshop day; • Support the implementation of the priority setting workshop, take notes and contribute to the workshop report; • Contribute to the final assessment report, incorporating the findings of the final workshop.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in food technology, nutrition, public health, veterinary public health or related fields • A minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in food safety and food control functions • Working knowledge of English • National of Barbados

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Ability to write reports in English