FAO recruits 01 Food Composition Tables Specialist
Job Description
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT: 1901780
Food Composition Tables Specialist
Closure Date: 01/Aug/2019, 9:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit: FRZAM
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level: N/A
Primary Location: South Africa
Duration: 40 days (When Actually Employed)
Post Number: N/A
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality
People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply
All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization
Organizational Setting
The FAO Sub regional Office for Southern Africa is supporting the governments of Zimbabwe, Zambia and other countries in developing national Food Composition Tables under various projects.
Food Composition Tables (FCTs) are a key element in gathering the scientific evidence for developing FBDGs. FCTs provide the crucial information of the contribution of various foods to dietary requirements. FCT also strengthens the linkages between food science, food consumption, nutrition outcomes and decision-making. FCTs are detailed sets of information on the nutritionally important components of foods and provide values for energy and nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals and for other important food components such as fibre. FCTs are the basis of almost all aspects of nutrition. They are essential to calculate nutrient intakes or to formulate diets and food labels. This information is used to understand the relationship between nutrient intake and nutrition outcomes, to prepare dietary guidelines and to define nutrient requirements and to determine nutrition adequacy.
FAO coordinates the International Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS), a worldwide network of food composition experts aiming to improve the quality, availability, reliability and use of food composition data. Through the INFOODS, FAO supports member countries to develop and publish FCT.
The post is home based with travel to five Southern African countries.
Reporting Lines
The Food Composition Tables consultant/PSA will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and the FAO Representatives for Zimbabwe and Zambia. The FCT expert will work under direct supervision and guidance of the SFS Nutrition Officer and the and under the technical supervision and support of the FAO Nutrition Officers in the various support countries with technical backstopping from the Nutrition and Food Systems Division in HQ and the Regional Office for Africa (RAF). The FCT expert will work under guidance of FAO and in close collaboration with the Zimbabwe, Zambia and other country FCT Technical Committees.
Technical Focus
Food Composition Tables and nutrient analysis, food consumption, dietary assessment, and human nutrient requirements.
Tasks and responsibilities
The incumbent will take a lead and provide guidance in the following work related to development of FCTs:
Conduct preliminary technical work required to start the food composition process and develop a proposal for funding the FCT work. The specific tasks to be undertaken includes:
Conduct consultation of FCT Technical Committee and define their requirements. Agree on the food and / or food groups, nutrients and parameters to be included in FCD.
Identify Users of food composition data
Define overall objectives for FCD and Assess priorities for the country
Collect existing information on available FCD
Obtain Qualitative and Quantitative Information on the Socio-cultural Context of Food Consumption:
Evaluate Existing Information: Identify, review and evaluate available FCD, published and / or unpublished in-country and data from other countries that may be applicable to Zimbabwe. Compare against user requirements and identify new information needs
Develop a full proposal for development of food composition tables (incl. food sampling and analysis, recipes development, compilation and publishing).
Support development of FCT following the following FAO approved steps, working in close collaboration with FAO SFS Country offices and the country FCT technical committees:
Establish a list of foods and nutrients for the FCT/FCDB (this should be done together with potential users).
Collect available analytical data within the country (scientific literature, universities, laboratories etc.)
Update the knowledge on food composition of the collaborators, but specifically that of the main compilers (e.g. by using the FAO/INFOODS e‐Learning Course on Food Composition Data, or the FAO/INFOODS Food Composition Study Guide and/or by participating in a training course)
Compile the existing data into the archival database of a software application (e.g. the FAO/INFOODS Compilation Tool)
Complete the dataset in the reference database (e.g. complete missing values, borrow data from other sources, extrapolate values from similar foods, aggregate or calculate values) according to international standards (e.g. INFOODS standards and guidelines)
Check the quality of the data, again using international guidelines (e.g. FAO/INFOODS Guidelines for checking food composition data prior to publication of a user table/database (2012) )
Get the data peer reviewed (e.g. by FAO, Rome or experts of INFOODS network)
Select the data to be published, put them into the previously decided format and add introduction, index and necessary annexes (based on FAO/INFOODS Guidelines for checking food composition data prior to publication of a user table/database (2012)
Publish the database/table and post it also on the INFOODS website e.g. as PDF and Excel file to make it widely available
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum requirements:
Advanced university in degree: a PhD or Masters in Food Science, Food Technology, Human Nutrition, Analytical Chemistry or related fields.
Minimum of 5 years of experience in working on human nutrition.
Practical experience at in Food composition Data compilation, (sampling, identification, coding, chemical analysis and food matching) and compilation (preparation of a software for data entry and data management)
Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of a second UN language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese Russian) for a COF.REG. Working knowledge of English is sufficient for PSA.SBS.
FAO core competencies:
Results focused
Teamwork
Communication
Building effective relationships
Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement
Technical/functional skills:
Work experience in one or more of the technical fields (Food composition Tables, Food composition Data compilation, (sampling, identification, coding, chemical analysis and food matching);
Relevant training in Info Foods and FCT.
Previous working experience in the African or in low and middle income countries.
Experience in planning and delivering capacity development training, as well as developing relevant teaching materials;
Demonstrated excellence in oral and written presentation skills in English;
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work well within multi-sector and multi-agency working groups;
Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications
Candidates should upload language certificate/s when submitting their application.
For more information, visit the FAO employment website
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.
We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline
If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org
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