Recrutement de 01 Consultant for large scale food fortification and commercial complementary foods standards development in West Africa

Recrutement de 01 Consultant for large scale food fortification and commercial complementary foods standards development in West Africa

Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Dakar
Level: Consultancy
Location: Senegal
Categories: Nutrition
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Health

Background

ECOWAS in collaboration with the European Union and UNIDO embarked on developing the West Africa Quality Programme (WAQP) to enhance competitiveness and boost regional and international trade. To do this, ECOWAS has constituted a community quality council comprised of Regional Accreditation System (RAS) and community committees in the areas of metrology, standardization, technical regulation, and conformity assessment. The CQC subsequently undertook the development of a regional quality product mark to strengthen regional integration, competitiveness within the region and conformity to international trade standards. In 2021, ECOWAS adopted the ECOQMARK mark of quality contributing primarily to promoting quality of goods and services as well as consumer protection. The ECOQMARK if implemented as planned is an opportunity to improve the quality of fortified foods through their contribution to the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies for the most vulnerable groups. In that regard, ECOWAS is preparing to embark on the process of i) revising the harmonized standards of three food vehicles namely, edible oil, wheat flour and food grade salt, ii) drafting a nutrient profile model and regional norms for commercial complementary foods and including their certification with ECOQMARK for both.

It is against this background that UNICEF seeks to recruit a consultant to provide technical assistance to ECOWAS department of industry to develop proposed standards for review by ECOSHAM quality system.

How can you make a difference?

The assignment will be supervised by UNICEF’s regional nutrition specialist in charge of the prevention portfolio in collaboration with two ECOWAS bodies: West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) and the department of Industry and Private Sector Promotion. All deliverables will be submitted in electronic format. Bimonthly update virtual meetings with the supervisor will be organized to discuss issues that require special attention.

This assignment will be completed in collaboration with the department of industry at ECOWAS Headquarters in Abuja. However, field travel will be required to conduct face-to-face meetings with stakeholders in targeted countries (UNICEF will cover the travel costs). The selected consultant will use their own ICT gadgets and the relevant software to complete the assignment. The consultant will be responsible for internet and communication costs of remote collection of information from stakeholders. UNICEF will not be responsible for costs related to online meetings.

The assignment will start as soon as possible not later than 1st July 2023 and last for a maximum of 11.5 months.

The objectives of this assignment are to:

1. Conduct a desk review in concertation with National Standardization Bodies (NSBs) to compile a list of existing standards of; i) the three food fortification vehicles (wheat flour, edible oil, and food grade salt), ii) the 3 types of commercial complementary foods (Infant flours, dried ingredients, pureed meals and dry snacks), and review their alignment to the current global reference standard and best practices

2. Develop proposed harmonized standards for each of the three food fortification vehicles and types of commercial complementary foods based on the identified gaps above and in line with the relevant Codex Alimentarius updates and best practices

3. Submit the proposed harmonized standards to ECOWAS Standards Harmonization Model (ECOSHAM) system for review and validation by the Technical Management Committee (TMC)

4. Disseminate updates to the regional coordination platforms on the progress of development of norms and certifications

Duties and Responsibilities

The main role of the consultant is to support the ECOWAS Commission of Industry (and WAHO) to conduct the following

In concertation with the Technical Management Committee secretariat, compile a list of regional standards including those under development and assess their validity and alignment to the current global standards. This includes refers standards on the selected fortified food vehicles and types of commercial complementary foods
Develop proposed standards and certification mechanisms for each of the foods and build consensus within the community quality committees and develop a detailed workplan to update outdated regional standards for each of the selected foods
Provide technical assistance to the TMC and the relevant THCs to facilitate accelerated review and validation of the proposed standards
Participate in statutory coordination meetings on large scale food fortification and complementary feeding to provide updates on the progress of development of the standards and certification.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

An Advanced degree in Nutrition, Food Science and Technology or PhD in Public Health/Nutrition
A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience of in any of the following: food processing industry, food legislation, formulation of standards and legislations, etc.,
Experience of a track record in similar projects in the private sector is an asset
Excellent writing and presentation skills in English and or French
Fluency in English and French is required.
Core competencies

Ability to draft concise and informative documentation in French for a range of uses and users
Ability to analyze complex quantitative information and to draw out the key points and issues and to present these in a way that can be easily understood
Strong knowledge / experience in results-based management and results-oriented approach to project implementation
Strong inter-personal skills, communication, networking, and team building skills
For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Advertised: 19 May 2023 Greenwich Standard Time
Deadline: 08 Jun 2023 Greenwich Standard Time