Senior Food Safety Officer (Scientific Advice and JECFA Secretary)

Job Description

Organizational Setting

The Food Safety and Quality Unit of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department supports the strengthening of systems of food safety and quality management at national, regional and international levels. This involves providing scientific advice on food safety issues, support to programmes of capacity development and facilitation of effective communication and access to information by all Member countries on food safety and quality issues. It is a recognized global leader in the provision of scientific advice on food safety issues to support the establishment of international standards for the safety and quality of foods.

The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (JECFA) is one of the Joint FAO/WHO expert committees providing food safety scientific advice to the Codex Alimentarius Commission and to Member Countries. JECFA has a joint secretariat led by an FAO Secretary and a WHO Secretary.

Reporting Lines

The Senior Food Safety Officer (Scientific Advice and JECFA Secretary) will report to the AGDF Head.

Technical Focus

Food Safety Risk Assessment and Provision of Scientific Advice on Food Safety.

Key Results

Leadership and technical expertise for the planning, development and implementation of the FAO Programme on the provision of food safety scientific advice in accordance with Departmental priorities and FAO Strategic Objectives

Key Functions

• Leads a multi-disciplinary team on the provision of scientific advice on food safety, coordinates and participates in Organization-wide, cross-Departmental project teams and working groups, and provides technical leadership and secretariat services on technical scientific advisory bodies;
• Implements and monitors the programme of work on the provision of scientific advice on food safety in accordance with the principles and procedures for the provision of scientific advice and other relevant procedures necessary for safeguarding the integrity of FAO’s scientific advice outputs;
• Leads periodic reviews of the methodologies used by the scientific advice bodies to undertake their safety/ risk assessments and oversee the update and maintenance of the relevant databases, website and rosters;
• Analyzes global trends on the evolution of food safety issues in particular in terms of the occurrence and distribution of contaminants in the context of contributing to the overall FAO programme of work on food safety;
• Designs and oversees initiatives aimed at generation of data to inform the elaboration of scientific advice to support the development of international instruments;
• Analyzes country specific requirements in the areas of food safety risk analysis to provide critical input into the FAO Strategic Objectives, Programme of Work, work plans and the supporting budgets and/or resourcing strategies;
• Leads the development of training materials and other technical documents related to science-based and risk-based approaches to food safety decision-making and the implementation of the related training programmes and collaborates in providing technical backstopping to, and ensuring the quality / effectiveness of capacity development and knowledge sharing activities within member countries;
• Provides technical advisory services to Member Countries and technical support to Decentralized Offices in the development and implementation of their programmes of work related to food safety risk analysis;
• Represents the Organization at international/inter-governmental meetings in particular the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies, and conferences, facilitates effective communication between the FAO scientific advice programme and the Codex Alimentarius, advocates strategic partnerships and best practices and develops and negotiates effective working relationships with international and national partners;
• Supports resource mobilization activities for the programme of food safety scientific advice in accordance with the FAO Corporate strategy.

Specific Functions

• Implements the work of JECFA related to safety/ risk assessments of food additives;
• Coordinates and supervises the work related to safety/ risk assessments of contaminants, natural toxins and residues of veterinary drugs in foods;
• Oversees the provision of technical advice and assistance in the event of chemical food safety emergencies.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Food science, Food technology, Pharmacology/Toxicology, or a related subject
• Ten years of relevant experience in safety/risk assessment of chemicals in food, including at least 5 years experience in leading such work at national, regional or international level
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian

Competencies

• Results Focus
• Leading, Engaging and Empowering
• Communication
• Partnering and Advocating
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
• Strategic Thinking

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is essential
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in relation to the safety/ risk assessments of food additives
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in relation to the use, occurrence and analysis of chemicals in foods and the assessment of associated food safety risks
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in relation to the work of Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies
• Ability in managing human resources and programmes
• Excellent communication skills in English, both oral and written, are considered a strong asset.

About the Organization

An intergovernmental organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts - to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO's mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy.