National Food Safety Policy Specialist

Overview

Support Sri Lanka's food control system implementation

You have:

• An Advanced university degree (a master’s degree or above) in Food safety, Public Health or any other field relevant to the subject matter of project
• Minimum of 08 years of relevant experience in management
• Minimum of 08 years work experience in food safety activities at country level with at least 05 years’ experience in food control fields, with high consideration given to specific experience in food law, regulations of food standards and related governance mechanisms
• Working knowledge of English, Sinhala and or Tamil
• The candidate must be a National of Sri Lanka

Organizational Setting

The FAO of the United Nations Sri Lanka implement EU funded project on supporting Sri Lanka's food control system to adopt better standards based practices in the agriculture and food sectors. The project aims at assisting the government to improve the food control system in line with international best practices for consumer protection. The National Food Safety Policy expert will contribute the implementation of this project

Reporting Lines

The National Food Safety Policy Specialist will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) Sri Lanka, the Lead Technical Officer, the FAO Legal Office and relevant FAO Technical Officers, in consultation with relevant government departments. He/she will interact closely with the national specialists and international consultants and will be supported by the project management unit (PMU).

Technical Focus

Result Area 1 - Food competent authorities operate an effective food control system in line with international best practices for consumer protection.

Tasks and responsibilities

His/her tasks include, but not limited to:

• Conduct a desk review of all previous studies, and current practices on food safety policy and regulation. • Conduct a situational analysis and identify areas for improvement in Institutional framework and supportive / conflicting roles of involved institutions, laboratory capacities, inspection bodies, participation of Codex standard development procedure and adoption of Codex standards, SOP and Operation manuals, food inspection services, training food inspectors and food handlers. • Analyze the information collected, identifying strengths and weaknesses, with special emphasis on policy issues and present draft report on each item to the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and other stakeholders according to the work plan. • Revise the draft reports taking comments of TAG into consideration. • Submit draft reports to Technical Advisory Group according to the workplan • Develop roadmap for transformation in consultation with TAG. • Develop Food safety Strategic framework in consultation with TAG. • Support the development and revision of the national legal report and draft legislation and, to this extent, work closely with the national legal consultant. • Collect data on foodborne diseases, food hygiene and food safety issues in Sri Lanka. • Validate the data/information collected by the other team members and collate the work. • Revise and finalize the draft reports incorporating the comments from the wider stakeholder validation workshop.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• An Advanced university degree/ (a master’s degree or above) Food safety, Public Health or any other field relevant to the subject matter of project • Minimum of 08 years of relevant experience in management • Minimum of 08 years work experience in food safety activities at country level with at least 05 years’ experience in food control fields, with high consideration given to specific experience in food law, regulations of food standards and related governance mechanisms • Working knowledge of English, Sinhala and or Tamil • The candidate must be a National of Sri Lanka

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/ Functional skills

• Experience in international development an added advantage. • Good understanding of agriculture/food related development issues and similar activities in Sri Lanka. • Demonstrated experience in working with government structures at national level and wider stakeholders and being well versed with national communication processes an added advantage. • Knowledge of UN administration and related procedures an advantage. • Proficiency in the use of office software packages and in handling web-based management systems; • Good communication skills with proficiency in written and spoken English, while oral skills in Sinhala and/or Tamil being an added advantage

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities 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.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: fao.org