Partners in Food Solutions (PFS) Recruitment 2022

Applications are invited from interested and suitably qualified candidates for Partners in Food Solutions (PFS) Recruitment 2022.

Partners in Food Solutions (PFS) is a growing consortium of world-class companies — General Mills, Cargill, Royal DSM, Bühler, The Hershey Company, and Ardent Mills — that mobilizes and remotely transfers employee expertise to small and growing food companies in Africa.

Job Title: Technical Services Lead

Core Competencies:

Keen sense of business strategy, understanding of business operations best practices
Understanding and informed point of view on the African business environment for agri-businesses
Ability to build trusting relationships in a versatile, flexible manner with a diverse set of stakeholders
Listens and incorporates new feedback, learnings, and data in a cycle of continuous improvement
Experience using design thinking to launch products or services for African consumers or businesses
A clear understanding of the requirements and business case for obtaining certifications most often requested by our high-potential clients:
HACCP
BRC
ISO 22000
In-country food safety standards

Role & Responsibilities:

Lead in the execution of our end-to-end international food safety certification service, serving in partnership with Program Managers as a trusted advisor on certification and technical-related matters.
Develop and maintain professional working relationships with the PFS headquarters team, African field staff, corporate partner volunteers, and clients interested in certification in order to gain critical input and collaboration around PFS technical service design and delivery
Serve as the operational point of contact and accountability with our partners across several African markets who we formally incorporate into our certification service offering
Coordinate information about existing and upcoming technical services, keeping key documentation up to date in PFS’ online systems, including, but not limited to:
Client financing details
Quarterly reports from clients
Impact metrics including fiscal year progress toward targets
Pipeline for upcoming service requests from clients
Leverage the PFS innovation model, data from PFS clients, and input from PFS staff and stakeholders to optimize the current client financing operations and contribute to the design of a cohort-level service offering for PFS high-potential clients
Serve as a thought leader on the technical needs of small and mid-sized African food companies, leveraging first-hand professional experience, up-to-date industry information, and a broad network
Report on spend on budget and forecasting
Regular travel in Africa, and potential for periodic travel to the US and Europe.
Perform other duties as assigned that further the operational or strategic value of PFS business services

Required Skills & Experience:

Candidates applying should possess the following requirements:

Candidate must be an experienced food safety auditor and trainer (essential)
Must have experience with auditing and implementing local and international food safety certifications (HACCP, FSSC 22000, BRC, etc)
Between 5 to 10 years of working experience in food processing, preferably with at least 2 years in manufacturing plants with Quality Control experience.
B.Sc. in Food Science, Food Technology, or related courses. Master’s degree preferred.
Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) as well as worker safety, and social and environmental sustainability.
Strong project management skills with the ability to use Salesforce for project management.
Must have strengths in creativity and innovation – the ability to ideate around creative solutions to client technical needs
Must be both a Thinker and a Doer – the role will require being both a strategic thinker and performing many big and small tasks.
Highly developed interpersonal and relationship-building skills with strengths in cross-cultural communication and agility
The high degree of comfort in working in creative environments and working cross-functionally with other teams
Proven track record in providing technical solutions to food processors by utilizing excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English. Proficiency in French is optional.
Good computer skills in business software (Google Drive, Gmail, Zoom, Salesforce, Excel, and PowerPoint).