Quality and Safety Standards Specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO Coordination Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip Programme is currently implementing the Multi-donor Agribusiness Programme (MAP) entitled “Reform and Development of Markets, Value Chains and Producers’ Organizations”, and the Japan funded project entitled “Promoting economic growth and social stability in vulnerable agricultural communities in the Tubas governorate”. The Multi donor Agribusiness Programme (MAP), which is funded by Denmark, the Netherlands, the European Union, Switzerland and Spain, seeks to enable Palestinian agriculture to generate better income, trade and welfare following an integrated value chain development approach towards more market-oriented, competitive and profitable agribusiness.

Reporting Lines

The Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the Head of Office, technical and functional supervision of the Head of Programme, the direct supervision of the Project Manager, and in close day-to-day collaboration with the Agribusiness and Marketing Specialists and other related staff from FAO and its partners.

Technical Focus

Good knowledge and experience in the application and certification process of different quality and safety marks.

Tasks and responsibilities

In support of two of the programme activities with the overall purpose of supporting producers, processors and other value chain actors towards applying quality and safety standards for fresh and processed food in the Palestinian context, and supporting the development of guidelines for quality standards and improved delivery of quality assurance, certification and marking services, FAO is seeking the services of a highly qualified candidate to support its ongoing intervention to provide tailored capacity development assistance on market oriented food quality improvement to 40 agribusinesses towards obtaining the Palestinian Safe Products Marks for fresh fruits and vegetables, and to continue/finalise the development of guidelines to operationalize Palestinian safe products marks for the identified agribusinesses, in addition to building the capacities of PSI to implement their new certification scheme. Under the overall supervision of the Head of Programme , the direct supervision of the Project Manager, and with guidance and close consultation with the Agribusiness and Marketing Specialists, the subscriber will perform the following tasks: – Support at least 40 agribusinesses towards applying Palestinian Safe Product Marks for fresh fruits and vegetables: • Based on the work done so far, finalize the identification of needed training and coaching for the nominated list of agribusinesses that will be shared by FAO, to help them apply the Palestinian Safe Product Mark for their selected product, in consultation with PSI. • Fine-tune and conclude the consultations with MoA, PSI to prioritize and deliver the tailored trainings and coaching to the selected agribusinesses considering their speciality products, to qualify them to apply the Palestinian Safe Product Mark. • Evaluate the readiness and commitment of the nominated agribusinesses to apply and comply with the Palestinian Safe Product Mark. • Based on the evaluation of the nominated agribusinesses, submit a list of at least 40 ready and committed agribusinesses to be supported towards applying the standards and obtaining the Palestinian Safe Product Mark. • Provision of support to the selected agribusinesses including linking them with PSI to undergo the process of Palestinian Safe Product Mark certification. – Capitalizing on the work done by FAO so far with PSI, continue and finalize the development of guidelines for quality standards and improved delivery of quality assurance, certification and marking services, based on an assessment report prepared by FAO, which includes the design and capacity needs for establishing the national quality certification system at PSI:

• Finalize the drafting of required guidelines (technical specifications and/or standards) for at least 25 products that will be identified based on the List of 40 nominated agribusinesses in task I, in consultation with FAO and PSI. • Deliver tailored technical support and training to PSI staff based on the capacity assessment implemented by FAO, to qualify them to implement the new certification scheme for the Palestinian safe mark certification.

– Support and participate in the implementation of an awareness campaign targeting agribusinesses on market potential of applying quality and safety standards • Produce two explanatory videos (5-10 minutes each) presenting on detail how to acquire Palestinian safe and / or quality product marks. One video will target producers and farmers, focusing on fresh products, and the other will target food processors, focusing on elaborated/packaged products. These videos will be recorded in collaboration with the selected implementing agency. • Deliver one or two (depending on demand) Questions and Answers videos (10-15 minutes each), addressing the questions received after the spread of the first videos. These videos will be recorded in collaboration with the selected implementing agency.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in food sciences, agriculture, marketing, trade or any other related field; • At least 7 years of relevant experience in agrifood quality and/or safety standards and certification process; • Working knowledge of English and Arabic languages.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in documenting and reporting on project activities; • Computer/word processing and standard office software skills; • Ability to travel to and within the West Bank and Gaza Strip • Excellent knowledge of the applied international and Palestinian standards and certification schemes; • Excellent communication skills;

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated experience in conducting previous similar assessments in the field of agrifood safety and quality standards. • Demonstrated experience in working with companies and/or agribusinesses to assist them in obtaining Palestinian quality/ safe marks.