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Job Description
*Please note that only American citizens and green card holders may apply for this assignment. Land O’Lakes International Development is pleased to offer a volunteer position for someone with expertise in new product development for cheese in Lebanon for the Farmer to Farmer Program. Key Experience and Qualifications: * Educational Background: Have a University degree in food technology with practical experience in the Dairy Sector * More than 10 years of practical knowledge and experience in cheese processing with focus on one or more of the following types: Feta, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda, Provolone … * Training Skills, including training in group settings * Good writing and computer skills * Sufficiently physically fit, with appropriate medical clearance * Familiar with conducting trainings through translators/interpreters Requirement of the Program: Only U.S. citizens or Green Card holders are eligible to apply. Start Date: ASAP Length of Assignment: 20 days, flexible Country: Lebanon; Region: Baskinta, Mtein and Mchikha, Mount Lebanon Type of Assignment: Volunteer position. Your time is donated and all expenses such as airfare, lodging, meals and an interpreter are paid. Assignment Summary: The host organizations are small dairy processors, some of whom have been in the local market for many years now, are mostly family-owned businesses that inherited the know-how from their predecessors, not always being backed-up by scientific technical knowledge. These dairy processing facilities are currently producing several types of local cheeses and other dairy products including Akkawi, Halloumi, Double Cream, Labneh, Kishk, Shanklish, Ayran (Salted and hydrated yogurt) in addition to fresh milk and other dairy products sold mainly to local communities and to Lebanese market. On average they process 400 Liters of milk per day. The increase in the demand for locally produced white and yellow cheeses especially with the taxes levied on imported dairy products, pushed the host organizations to produce new types of cheeses that have high local demand and are usually imported. Still, these dairy facilities lack the knowhow on the production of some types of cheeses, namely, Feta, Kashkaval, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Gouda, Provolone or any other types of cheeses that could be produced and present high marketability. Thus these hosts are requesting a volunteer expert to come and assess the facility capabilities, check their current production and train them on the production of these new types of cheeses. The cheese market in Lebanon comprises a wide range of products that are classified mainly into three broad categories: white cheeses, processed cheeses and natural cheeses. The market for white cheeses includes a wide array of local products such as Halloumi, Baladi, Moujadali, Jebneh Helwe and Naboulsi. Moreover, an important range of imported white cheese products is also present on the Lebanese market. In addition, processed and yellow cheeses like Mozzarella and Kashkaval have a major market share and are mainly dominated by international brands. It is important to note as well that the demand for local white cheese is gaining importance especially with the taxes levied on imported dairy products. In fact, these imported dairy products carry a high tax that makes them less competitive on the local market. Thus the host organizations are requesting a highly qualified volunteer with an extensive knowledge and expertise in cheese production. The volunteer expert is expected to assess the current production of the dairy facilities that are requesting this assignment and train the owners/employees on developing new types of cheeses such as Cheddar, Feta, Gouda and Provolone, Kashkaval and Mozzarella, which will increase their profitability. Objectives of the Assignment The objective of the assignment is to: * Assess the current cheese production facilities and operating procedure in order to improve the quality of the products and extend their shelf life. * Train the host on new types of cheeses that have high marketability in the Lebanese market. Tasks to be performed: 1. U.S.-based. The volunteer is encouraged to bring any media or training materials such as manuals, journals, literature, DVD/video that will serve as good resource materials for training and for the library of the host organizations and Land O’Lakes office in Lebanon. 2. In-country activities/tasks. The volunteer will complete the following activities in-country: a. Attend orientation meeting at Land O’Lakes Beirut Office; b. Meet with each host organization’s owner/technical staff to become familiar with their current problems and future plans c. Evaluate the current status of the existing cheese production and storage facilities to provide recommendations for improvement where needed d. Evaluate the available equipment and suggest new types if needed e. Recommend hygienic procedures to be followed by the host and workers f. Assist and train the host organization on the production of new varieties of cheeses (as described above) while ensuring high quality products and appropriate shelf life for each type g. Provide recommendations to the F2F Program staff on potential follow-up assignment with the hosts h. Write a final report summarizing observations and recommendations, as well as follow-up plans. The final report is discussed in the section on deliverables below i. Attend a debriefing session with F2F Lebanon Country Director and host organization staff members to provide feedback and discuss the recommended future plans to follow up on volunteer recommendations and capture impact. Deliverables Each volunteer must submit a Final Report to the F2F Program, which includes the following sections: A. A summary of tasks and observations from site visits B. A list of 5-7 specific and actionable recommendations for the host organization(s): The recommendations are very important to the program as we use them to track host adoption of recommendations and the impact on hosts’ farms and businesses. These recommendations will be reviewed during the debriefing session with country staff at the end of the assignment and the volunteer may make revisions to them in their Final Report C. A section listing the assignment objectives above and how they were met or why they were not met. Outreach Upon return to the United States, the volunteer is requested to communicate his or her F2F experience. Outlets to share the volunteer experience include home groups (e.g., civic and religious groups, professional associations, etc.), workplace presentations, local newspapers, community or workplace newsletters, personal blogs and social media sites. It is important to give recognition to USAID for funding F2F. At least two outreach events are requested and should be communicated to Sadie Paschke at [1] spaschke@landolakes.com and Diane Bruns at [2] dmbruns@landolakes.com. Volunteers will receive occasional surveys requesting information about completed outreach activities during each period. How to apply: Qualified applicants are requested to submit resumes as soon as possible. Please visit our career portal at [3] https://lol.avature.net/careers to apply for this opportunity. If you would additionally like to submit a cover letter, please include it with your resume. You will be contacted, if considered for this assignment or if additional information is needed. Thank you for your interest. ReferencesVisible links1. mailto:spaschke@landolakes.com2. mailto:dmbruns@landolakes.com3. https://lol.avature.net/careers