Consultant - Food Processing Quality Improvement and Certification at Mercy Corps Nigeria - 4 Openings

Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on humanitarian assistance, economic development, and conflict mitigation. With the ongoing insurgency in Northeast Nigeria causing the displacement of millions of individuals, Mercy Corps started its humanitarian response in 2014 to address the rising humanitarian needs. As the crisis has persisted, Mercy Corps’ strategy has also expanded to address the root causes of the conflict and seek to build the long-term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on governance, the recovery of markets and livelihoods, social cohesion and social protection, youth empowerment, and local conflict management.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant for Food Processing Quality Improvement and Certification

Locations: Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, and Yobe
Employment Type: Contract

Background

• The Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity (RRA) is a 5-year USAID funded program being implemented by a consortium led by Mercy Corps with support from IFDC and Save the Children across the states of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe in North-East Nigeria.
• The Rural Resilience Activity will facilitate economic recovery and growth in vulnerable, conflict-affected areas by promoting systemic change in market systems. This will ensure long-term improvements to markets that will sustainably move over 500,000 individuals out of chronic poverty.

Purpose / Project Description

• Agro-processing presents an important opportunity for inclusive economic transformation in the sense of benefitting a broad segment of the population, notably the poor and rural segments.
• Firms involved in food processing have an incentive to strengthen relationships with smallholders in their raw material supply chains to increase their productivity and improve the quality and reliability of supply.
• Evidence suggests an agri-business-led response is an effective way to reduce yield gaps, quality management and increase value adding processing, which in turn supports smallholder income and market resilience.
• Under the Food processing intervention, RRA seeks to increase competitive growth of agro-processing sector by building capacities of agro processors to meet food safety and quality standards in higher value domestic and export markets.
• The Activity envisions more competitive agro-processing and food trade markets that continuously invest in improved technologies and best practices to meet the demand for quality products and processed food items. RRA seeks to build capacities of food processors to achieve domestic and international standards through Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Good Handling Practices (GHP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), good aflatoxins management and obtaining standards quality.
• The Activity seeks to partner with leading consultants to build capacities of food processors to adopt models and practices that improve process management and acquire recognized quality mark from a standards body.
• In addition, RRA seeks to build capacity for local services that processors need to achieve standards by providing coaching and business mentorship to local consultants. By building out the availably of affordable high-quality business support services, agro-processors will be able to access the technical support they need across North East Nigeria.

Consultant Objectives

• The purpose this consulting service is to assist food traders and agro-processors adopt improved technologies and business practices needed to produce safe and quality processed food products.
• This will enable them to achieve quality certifications and sell to higher value markets domestically and internationally.
• This initial scope focuses on grain and cereals processing. RRA intends to build upon this work into other sectors next year:
  • Build capacity of processors on food quality and safety (including GMP, GHP, HACCP and quality management)
  • Increase food quality, fortification and safety awareness among identified food processors in at least 2 value chains.
  • Support processors to apply improved business management practices and technologies required to achieve improved quality management and standard certification.
  • Support at least 10 cooperatives (or 30 businesses) to achieve recognized quality certification from standards body.

Consultant’s Deliverables:

• The Activity intends to support and facilitate a process that leads to the increased and improved production of high quality and safe food products within two value chains in North East Nigeria.
• This will involve building capacity of selected food processors within these value chains to adopt processing practices that increase safety and quality of food traded and consumed.

The Consultant Will

• Build capacity of at least five (5) two-day standard training on food quality, safety and standards awareness training 10 cooperatives across 5 locations agro-processors that enable them to achieve higher quality standards and certifications.
• Facilitate certification for at least 30 members of the various agro-processors
• Develop a Technical and management capacity development plan for agro-food processors cooperatives that could be delivered to new members.
• Facilitate two learning and knowledge sharing events.

Required Experience & Skills
Education:

• At least Masters in Food Technology.

Experience:

• Prior experience in business consulting, supply chain management and export linkages
• Good understanding of business context of Northeast Nigeria
• Experience working with businesses and an ongoing engagement with Standards and Certification bodies
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills and pitch document development
• Demonstrated understanding of strengthening youth/women resilience through livelihoods.
• Commitment to and understanding of Feed the future Rural Resilience Activity aims, values and principles.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of the local language is an added advantage.

Technical Competencies:

• Excellent reporting and presentation skills.
• Excellent knowledge of and experience with humanitarian guidelines and principles.
• Willingness to travel and meeting deadlines.
• Ability to work in a multicultural and inter-sectoral environment.
• Ability to work collaboratively with the other activity team members.
• Ability to coordinate, direct and supervise others to achieve a common goal.

Mercy Corps, Responsibilities

• Mercy Corps will provide a list of state holders, project target information for NE and other relevant project documents.
• Mercy Corps will provide oversight support and initiatives as required
• The preliminary report will be sent to the MC team within 5 days of completion of data collection; the consultant will present preliminary findings of the assessment/profiling with a list of potential business sectors to MC.
• The consultant will conduct his/her work using his/her own computer equipment.
• Other miscellaneous costs directly related to the task will be supported with any cost needing prior approval from MC.
• MC can provide survey enumerators as may be required.
• Payments will be made quarterly: First instalment of 30% paid upon submission of mapping report; the remaining 70% will be spread across quarterly achievement of milestones.

In addition to the Technical and Financial Proposal, expressions of interest should include the following:

• For consulting teams and individual consultants, CVs of Consultant or members of the Consulting team demonstrating relevant qualifications, skills, and experience.
• Samples of evidence of previous experience in conducting similar assignments
• A work plan showing an indicative timeline for each part of the assignment
• Daily rate / fees.

Timeframe / Schedule:

• Estimated Commencement Date: June 2022
• Estimated End Date: July 2022
• Status updates / reporting

The Consultant will report to:

• The Senior Intervention lead and the Deputy Chief of Party.

Application Closing Date
21st June, 2022.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Application and CV to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the email.