Director, Logistics and Commodity Management, USDA, Food for Education

The project must be designed to align closely with the current objectives of the local government. Specifically, the project goals will be to work with the government by initiating a school-feeding policy where partners must adhere to the planning, implementation and management of the National School Feeding Program. There should also be strong linkages to the school garden component in country which encourages the Home-Grown School Feeding Program. At a minimum, this program should collaborate and align with both the Feed the Future and Let Girls Learn initiatives so that activities are complementary and create sustainability.

Please note that the position is contingent upon receipt of the award from the donor.

Essential Duties, Responsibilities and Impact

• Identify requirements for necessary staffing, commodity management (CM) systems and processes for efficient management of food items and set up appropriate systems and processes to meet requirements, including distribution, post distribution monitoring, and software applications. This includes designing and implementing a monitoring system and troubleshoot to fix system malfunctions when necessary.
• Coordinate commodity logistics; implement the country logistics policies and procedures for the management of the supply chain, including one or more of the following areas; procurement, transport and distribution, warehousing and stock management, management of vehicle fleets, communication systems, and assets
• Ensure that Save the Children’s minimum standards of CM procedures and country policies are implemented and adhered to in the area of responsibility, supporting relevant staff as required
• Understand import procedures and regulations governing humanitarian aid relief in the form of food commodities and know port operations and procedures; work effectively with shipping agents, port authorities, clearing and forwarding agents, surveyors, and customs
• Determine requirements for the set-up of warehouses, including the provision and maintenance of handling, storage, and safety equipment and establish safety and security procedures for the warehouse and CM staff.
• Draw up the warehouse layout and establish procedures for smooth receipt, storage, and dispatch of commodities. Monitor food quality and adhere to warehousing best practices, including good housekeeping, ventilation, use of pallets, proper stacking, fumigation, and rodent control.
• Determine and periodically assess transport needs for delivery of commodities to secondary warehouses and/or final distribution points, including modes of transport and identification of primary and secondary transporter, where applicable.
• Identify, verify, and register recipient beneficiaries and institute a beneficiary tracking mechanism. In doing so, the post-holder will establish criteria for selection of final distribution points and set up memorandum of understanding with community stakeholders.
• Set up the distribution process, including forming the distribution committee, on‐site/end‐use monitoring and reporting as well as a community feedback/complaint mechanism.
• Prepare and analyze the commodity pipeline, monitor the burn rate, and forecast commodity requirements.
• Establish a system to submit accurate and timely reporting to the donor and headquarters.

Required Background and Experience, Skills and Behaviors

• Master’s Degree in in Social Sciences, Economics, Business Administration, Logistics Management or related field
• Minimum of five years’ experience in Administration, Commodity Management, and Logistics with three years’ experience in Title II commodities management as a Senior Manager
• Experience with Food Aid programs especially Title II, with an in-depth knowledge of USAID Regulations
• Prior experience in commodity management and logistics coordination specific to food goods in the NGO sector, within complex/large scale country programs
• Proven experience in all technical areas of logistics operations including procurement, transport/distribution, warehousing and stock management, fleet management, asset management, communications, and security
• Technical experience/training in specific areas of food safety and food importation
• Experience of working in remote field bases with limited infrastructure
• Experiencing in managing and supervising others in logistics
• Ability to synthesize and analyses information, and make clear, informed decisions
• Ability to build relationships quickly with a wide range of people, both internally and externally
• Strong planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities