Grade 9
Maseru, Lesotho
Background:Land O’Lakes’ Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in dairy, animal nutrition, crop inputs and agricultural insights from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.
Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 36 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.
Project Description:STEPS aims to catalyze private sector-driven transformation enabling local poultry sector actors to access Lesotho’s strong end-markets and reclaim market share. STEPS will transform Lesotho’s poultry sector to enhance the profitability of value chain actors, increase meat and egg production and improve food security.
Leveraging existing opportunities and tools, STEPS will address constraints which limit production, productivity, and efficiency of local poultry egg and meat markets. A segmented approach takes into consideration the unique needs of local poultry producers, including subsistence farmers, and small to large scale commercial poultry enterprises engaged in production, processing, marketing, and retailing of eggs, meat, and processed poultry products. These actors will be engaged through the indigenous and dual-purpose poultry value chains, and the commercial broiler and layer value chains respectively. STEPS will identify pathways to further integrate and grow poultry, and poultry related business opportunities for women and youth.
Position Summary and Primary Responsibilities:The Food Safety and Value Addition Specialist is responsible, in close coordination with implementing partners, for designing, training, rolling out and monitoring the STEPS project’s food safety and quality system approach to build capacity of enterprises along the poultry value chain and sub-sectors (farm to fork) to comply with mandatory and International Voluntary Standards (IVS). The Food Safety and Value Addition Specialist will lead initiatives to explore national standards and policy to increase market access for locally produced poultry products. The Food Safety and Value Addition Specialist will link qualifying input providers and processors with financing mechanisms to strengthen their capacity to offer products and services which better meet end-market standards.
Primary Responsibilities:- Design, train, roll out and monitor the STEPS project food safety and quality system approach including integration in all capacity building material.
- Use the Global Food Safety Initiative’s (GFSI) Global Markets Program (GMAP) to support poultry producers, processors, and input providers (such as abattoirs, hatcheries, feed suppliers, laboratories) to build compliance through incremental steps with the aim to achieve full certification where required.
- Lead capacity building initiatives which improve project staff, partner institutions, producers’, processors and input providers capacity and know-how in food safety preventive controls such as Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and HACCP.
- Identify enterprises’ specific food safety, quality and certification needs and link these to specialized Technical Assistance.
- Support in assessing the impact of Mandatory National Standards on smallholder poultry farmers.
- Survey and identify existing input providers including laboratories, abattoirs, and processors.
- Support process to assess capacities of relevant local input providers, and implement actions to strengthen, build and improve quality, food safety, and reduce post-harvest losses through the GMaP framework.
- Link qualifying enterprises, processors, and input providers (such as abattoirs, hatcheries, feed producers, laboratories) with financing mechanisms and specialized Technical Assistance to support investment initiatives which add value and quality to products and services offered to meet end-market standards.
- Support Public-Private initiatives to review policy on foods safety, standards and certification which enhance production, retail, and consumption of locally produced poultry products.
- Other duties as assigned.
- The Food Safety and Value Addition Specialist will report directly to the Technical Director and has no direct reports. This position will be based in Maseru, Lesotho.
- Bachelor’s degree in food systems/science, nutritional sciences, food technology/bioprocessing and management, agricultural sciences or equivalent.
- Relevant food science/technologist trade body accreditation an advantage.
- Minimum five years’ relevant experience in the food/consumer/agriculture sector.
- Demonstrated practical experience, including training in food safety, quality, and certification.
- Knowledge of Lesotho’s food safety standards, and regulations.
- Qualifications in Food Safety/Quality/Certification an advantage.
- Applied experience in Global Markets Program (GMAP), Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and HACCP an advantage.
- Willingness to travel frequently to rural areas.
- Professional proficiency in English and Sesotho required.
- Must be a citizen of Lesotho.
To apply, please visit: Food Safety and Value Addition Specialist – Lesotho – Careers (avature.net)
Land O’Lakes Venture37 will never ask you for personable identifiable information, and we will never request money or payment during the recruitment or employment process.
Land O’Lakes Venture37 is an equal opportunity employer and an organization striving to help global communities thrive through agriculture. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status, among other factors. Our culture values a diversity of voices. So, bring us your unique experiences, your workstyle, and your dreams — they’ll only make us stronger.
