Catholic Relief Services Project Manager - Post Harvest and Food Safety Jobs in Uganda

Project Summary

The Vines Project, implemented by CRS Uganda, is a five-year, $13 million Food for Progress project that will make Uganda the world’s next leading supplier of high-quality vanilla. Vines will leverage the expertise of CRS and its partners to enhance the production of safe, pure vanilla and develop sustainable market links with US vanilla companies, directly transforming the lives of 16,200 farmers, 836 supply chain actors and create 15,820 new jobs to reach 32,856 vanilla stakeholders. The Vines strategy reflects best practices in sustainable development and will leave Uganda with a robust vanilla farming community resilient to the boom/bust nature of the market and a cadre of private sector agricultural extensionists to support more sophisticated production, processing, and marketing needs.

Job Summary

As the Post-Harvest and Food Safety Manager you will lead the project’s efforts at understanding, improving and ensuring consistency of postharvest quality of vanilla by minimizing premature harvest and improving processors’ buying and processing methods. You will consult, organize and establish procedures to ensure the testing and quality systems of Uganda vanilla exports comply with international food safety standards. You will also lead the program’s efforts to establish digital traceability systems and oversee the design and delivery of training on all aspects of quality and food safety. You will liaise directly with overseas partners, educating them on Uganda’s processes and
supporting processors to implement recommendations to improve food safety, product quality, handling and storage, inventory, curing management, packaging, compliance with FSMA/HAACP, warehouse organization, vanilla certifications, traceability as well as contribute to branding Uganda vanilla in the international market.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Under the guidance of the COP, provide leadership, supervision, and oversight of all program activities that facilitate enhanced international marketing through more rigorous food safety systems, improved packing, and post-harvest methods for Ugandan vanilla, ensuring efficient and effective project implementation including the timely completion of high-quality work plans, accurate reports, and other mandated deliverables.

• Work with the COP and M&E Manager in preparing project work-plans with clear objectives and achievable benchmarks, reflecting strategic long-term and short-term priorities.

• Collaborate with capacity strengthening staff to develop capacity building training to support partners in the areas of vanilla processing, food safety and traceability;

• Ensure adequate linkages to local public and private sectors stakeholders;

• Provide technical leadership to program activities related to vanilla processing, quality and food safety, and traceability systems;

• Assist growers, traders and processors to adopt new technologies and techniques to enhance vanilla quality;

• Strengthen the linkages among actors in the vanilla value chain and foster cooperation on production, processing and export of premium vanilla;

• Identify and mitigate program risks;

• Ensure the quality and appropriateness of activities to achieve the target indicators in a cost effective, timely, and sustainable manner;

• Assist with the hiring, orientation, and training of the Postharvest and Food Safety team and build a technically strong, well supported, cohesive and motivated team;

• Provide direction and technical advice through quarterly coaching sessions and daily support;

• Perform any other duties as assigned by the COP.

Basic Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field including food science / safety / quality and
technology, international development, agriculture, economics, business, and/or food logistics, with a Masters preferred.

• A minimum 10 years demonstrated experience in quality control or food safety, preferably with private sector companies or US Government or other similar development projects focused on agribusiness and trade.

• A minimum of 2 years working with smallholder farmers, farmer groups and/or processors, preferably in the vanilla sector.

• Proficient in project management, creating action plans, timelines and working with third parties to ensure actions are completed.

•

Working knowledge on implementing quality standards with experience in HACCP
management, preferably with a background in the creation of HACCP programs, GAPs, GMPs, GHPs.

• Practical experience in developing risk assessments, evaluating risks, prioritizing risks and offering solutions to reduce risk.

• Some knowledge / experience of auditing against a standard, preferably FDA, FSMA, GFSI standards.

• Capability of running trials of processing techniques, testing and presenting conclusions to all groups within the supply chain, recommending next steps and decision making from results.

• Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including national and local government, donors, community-based organizations, and local and international private sector.

• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy a plus.

• Experience in training various levels of supply chain personnel from farmers to collectors, operators to processors.

• Strategic and strong critical thinker and creative problem-solver with ability to make sound judgment based on available data and drive decisions.

• Able to work under pressure, meeting deadlines and objectives, with shifting priorities.

• Working experience of motivating and leading teams

• Independent, proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented.

• Proficient in Microsoft office with strong knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Ability to learn and utilize new technology or applications quickly and be able to train others on system. Familiarity with digital supply chain management systems preferred.

Required Languages – English, total fluency with strong written capacity.

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 50% within Uganda.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity

• Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Builds Relationships

• Develops Talent

• Strategic Mindset

• Accountability & Stewardship

Supervisory Responsibilities: Supervise two field technical staff.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: Chief of Party, Partner Organizations, Head of Programs.

External: Government, Peer Agency, Farmer Groups, Private Sector Organizations.

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

How to Apply

NOTE: Please submit cover letter, CV and three work references (names and contact information only) to

ug_recruitment@crs.org December 10th , 2020 at 5pm.

To apply, please follow these instructions exactly otherwise your application will NOT be considered:

• Large files and/or scans of documents will lead to rejection of your application, in the
subject line of the email, copy and paste -PROJECT MANAGERPOSTHARVESTAND
FOODSAFETY only.

• All applications that do not contain this exact subject line will be rejected and not read.

ONLY SELECTED CANDIDATES THAT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED.

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