Organizational Capacity Building Specialist

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:

The Transforming the Assessment and Inspection of Food Businesses in Egypt (TAIB) project is a five-year $8.5M project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will expand domestic and international trade of Egyptian food products through supporting the establishment and scale-out of a new government entity, the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA). TAIB will provide technical and financial support to NFSA that is responsive to the evolving needs of the nascent regulatory authority. Assistance will be aimed at harmonizing Egyptian food law and regulations and international standards, implementing robust inspection systems, managing outbreaks, conducting science-based risk assessments, monitoring Egyptian food safety systems, and reducing food borne illnesses.

This project will be based primarily in and around Cairo with the potential for technical assistance to NFSA branch offices and other key food industry stakeholders throughout the country.

Position Summary and Primary Responsibilities:

Under the leadership of the Deputy Chief of Party, the Organizational Capacity Building Specialist will be responsible for planning and technical delivery of activities that will build the administrative and organizational capacity and quality of management of NFSA and other stakeholders in the food sector. This position will coordinate closely with national and international experts to develop and implement an organizational capacity building plan that focuses on building NFSA’s administrative policies and procedures and institutionalizing a quality management system. In addition, the Organizational Capacity Building Specialist will contribute to the development of key operational documents including strategic and annual work plans. As part of TAIB’s efforts to improve the food safety ecosystem across Egypt, the Organizational Capacity Building Specialist will also provide demand driven support to strengthen the operational effectiveness of key stakeholders in the food sector. The position will be responsible for monitoring the progress of NFSA in implementing organizational development activities and recommended suggestive actions as required to the Deputy Chief of Party and Chief of Party.

The primary responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Support NFSA to develop an administrative polices and procedural manual.
• Support NFSA to develop an organizational chart and job descriptions.
• Support NFSA to develop SOPs for their main processes.
• Work with NFSA’s management to introduce, provide training on and develop a quality management system (ISO9001:2015)
• Coordinate technical assistance assignments to the project in close collaboration with in-country participants, core project implementation partners, and HQ project leadership.
• Work with NFSA to design and implement an internal audit system.
• Support NFSA to update their website.
• Collaborate with the Inspector Capacity Development Specialist to develop effective tools, methods, and systems to ensure that the inspection processes are of the highest quality.
• Collaborate with the Food Policy and Regulatory Affairs Specialist to develop internal processes for developing a modern regulations development structure.
• Creates standards within NFSA to measure quality results and to drive continuous improvements.
• Support NFSA to develop an auditable quality management and inspection system.
• Provide demand driven support to key stakeholders in the food sector to improve their operational and organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Provide technical input into the development of project annual work plans and ensure achievement of project goals and targets.
• Participate in regular project management communications (teleconference, written monthly status updates, etc.) with Land O’Lakes HQ.
• Monitor activity budgets to ensure that expenditures are within approved budget parameters and meet appropriate financial reporting and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure project activities comply with LOL policies.
• Other duties as assigned by the Deputy Chief of Party or Chief of Party.