Food Safety & Quality Field Officer (BML/South)

The Food Safety & Quality Field Officer will be responsible for conducting field visits, food safety inspections, quality assurance monitoring, corrective action follow-up, reporting, documentation, and coordination across assigned community kitchens and project sites. The position will support safe, hygienic, high-quality food preparation and distribution while ensuring compliance with food safety requirements, humanitarian principles, safeguarding standards, accountability commitments, and project procedures.

1. Community Kitchen Operations & Food Safety

• Conduct regular field visits and Food Safety Inspections across assigned community kitchens.
  
• Monitor daily kitchen operations to ensure compliance with approved food safety, hygiene, quality, and project requirements.
  
• Monitor food safety throughout receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, hot holding, packaging, transportation, and distribution.
  
• Ensure appropriate food handling, personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, waste management, and prevention of cross-contamination.
  
• Monitor food temperatures and storage conditions and ensure required temperature and monitoring logs are accurately maintained.
  
• Inspect food items upon delivery, as required, including quality, packaging, expiry dates, condition, and compliance with approved specifications.
  
• Ensure proper stock rotation practices, including FIFO/FEFO, and identify expired, damaged, contaminated, or otherwise unsuitable food items.
  
• Monitor the quality, portioning, packaging, and safe distribution of hot meals to beneficiaries.
  
• Immediately report any food safety concern, contamination risk, suspected foodborne illness, or serious non-compliance to the Project Manager.
  

2. Quality Assurance & Corrective Actions

• Identify food safety and quality gaps during kitchen inspections and recommend appropriate Corrective Actions.
  
• Follow up with kitchen teams to ensure identified non-conformities are addressed within agreed timelines.
  
• Ensure unsafe food products or practices are immediately reported and appropriately managed before meals are distributed.
  
• Monitor kitchen facilities, equipment, utensils, PPE, water supply, pest control, and general hygiene conditions.
  
• Support kitchen staff, caregivers, and volunteers in applying food safety procedures and good hygiene practices.
  
• Provide practical coaching and refresher guidance on food handling, hygiene, sanitation, temperature control, and cross-contamination prevention.
  

3. Monitoring, Reporting & Documentation

• Maintain accurate Food Safety Inspection checklists, temperature logs, receiving records, cleaning records, corrective action records, and other required documentation.
  
• Prepare regular field and Food Safety Monitoring reports highlighting findings, risks, corrective actions, and recommendations.
  
• Support the Project Manager in collecting and verifying information required for project and donor reporting, monitoring visits, audits, and evaluations.
  
• Maintain appropriate records and supporting documentation for food safety and Quality Assurance activities.
  
• Escalate recurring or significant food safety and operational risks to the Project Manager in a timely manner.
  

4. Coordination & Field Support

• Coordinate closely with the Project Manager, Procurement & Logistics, MEAL, Field Teams, and other relevant departments to support smooth project implementation.
  
• Communicate food quality or supplier-related concerns to Procurement & Logistics and follow up as required.
  
• Coordinate with community kitchen staff, caregivers, volunteers, suppliers, and other relevant stakeholders.
  
• Participate in project coordination meetings and provide updates on kitchen operations, food safety risks, and quality concerns.
  
• Represent the organization professionally during field visits, inspections, monitoring activities, and interactions with partners and communities.
  

5. Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) & Safeguarding

• Ensure food assistance activities are implemented in accordance with humanitarian principles, Safeguarding standards, and accountability commitments.
  
• Ensure beneficiaries are treated with dignity, respect, fairness, and without discrimination during meal distribution.
  
• Receive and appropriately refer beneficiary feedback and complaints through established feedback mechanisms.
  
• Uphold Safeguarding, PSEA, AAP, informed consent, Data Protection, and “Do No Harm” principles in all interactions with beneficiaries.
  
• Prioritize the health, safety, and wellbeing of beneficiaries, kitchen workers, caregivers, and volunteers.
  

6. General Responsibilities

• Comply with organizational policies, procedures, Code of Conduct, food safety requirements, and security protocols at all times.
  
• Immediately report any serious risk that may compromise beneficiary health, food safety, or project quality.
  
• Perform any additional duties assigned by the Project Manager and/or senior management relevant to the position.
  

Reporting & Collaboration

• Reports to: Project Manager and/or Senior Field Officer.
  
• Supervisory Responsibility: Community Kitchen Workers and Volunteers, as applicable.
  
• Works Closely With: Project Manager, Senior Field Officer, Field Officers, Procurement & Logistics, MEAL, PDQ, Finance, People & Culture, Safeguarding & AAP Focal Point, and Community Kitchen Teams.
  

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Safety, Nutrition, Public Health, Agriculture, Food Technology, Quality Management, or another relevant field.
  

Experience

• Minimum of 1 year of relevant experience in Food Safety, Food Quality Assurance, Food Inspection, catering, community kitchens, food production, or a related field.
  
• Proven experience conducting Food Safety Inspections, Hygiene Monitoring, and Quality Assurance checks.
  
• Previous experience in humanitarian food security programming, community kitchens, school feeding, or food assistance projects is strongly preferred.
  
• Experience monitoring food safety and quality throughout receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, hot holding, packaging, transportation, and distribution.
  
• Experience identifying food safety risks, non-conformities, contamination risks, and unsafe food products or practices.
  
• Experience following up on Corrective Actions and ensuring non-conformities are addressed within agreed timelines.
  

Food Safety & Quality Knowledge

• Good knowledge of Food Safety, Food Hygiene, Food Quality Assurance, Food Inspection, food handling, personal hygiene, cleaning, sanitation, waste management, and prevention of Cross-Contamination.
  
• Knowledge of Temperature Control, food temperature monitoring, storage conditions, temperature logs, and safe food storage requirements.
  
• Knowledge of food receiving procedures, quality checks, packaging requirements, expiry dates, food condition, and approved specifications.
  
• Knowledge of stock rotation systems, including FIFO/FEFO.
  
• Knowledge of food quality, portioning, packaging, and safe distribution of prepared meals.
  
• Knowledge of kitchen facilities, equipment, utensils, PPE, water supply, pest control, and general hygiene requirements.
  
• Ability to identify expired, damaged, contaminated, or otherwise unsuitable food items.
  
• Ability to identify food safety risks and recommend and follow up on appropriate Corrective Actions.
  

Certifications

• Recognized Food Safety/Food Hygiene certification is required.
  
• HACCP certification or formal training is strongly preferred.
  
• Additional training or certification in ISO 22000, GMP, GHP, food inspection, or Quality Assurance is an asset.
  

Monitoring, Reporting & Documentation

• Strong Food Safety Monitoring and field monitoring skills.
  
• Ability to conduct regular kitchen inspections and maintain accurate inspection checklists.
  
• Ability to maintain temperature logs, receiving records, cleaning records, corrective action records, and other food safety documentation.
  
• Strong Reporting skills, including preparation of field and food safety monitoring reports.
  
• Ability to document findings, risks, non-conformities, corrective actions, recommendations, and follow-up activities.
  
• Ability to support project and donor reporting, monitoring visits, audits, and evaluations.
  
• Strong Documentation and record-keeping skills.
  
• Strong Data Collection and information verification skills.
  
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  
• Familiarity with KoboToolbox or similar data collection tools is an asset.
  

Supervision, Communication & Coordination

• Ability to supervise and provide practical guidance to community kitchen workers, caregivers, and volunteers.
  
• Ability to provide practical coaching and refresher guidance on food handling, hygiene, sanitation, temperature control, and cross-contamination prevention.
  
• Good Communication skills with diverse stakeholders.
  
• Strong Coordination skills with project teams, Procurement & Logistics, MEAL, field teams, suppliers, community kitchen staff, caregivers, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
  
• Ability to communicate food quality and supplier-related concerns and follow up appropriately.
  
• Ability to participate in coordination meetings and provide clear updates on kitchen operations, food safety risks, and quality concerns.
  

Humanitarian, Safeguarding & Accountability

• Familiarity with Humanitarian Principles, Safeguarding, PSEA (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse), AAP (Accountability to Affected Populations), informed consent, Data Protection, and Do No Harm principles.
  
• Understanding of dignity, respect, fairness, non-discrimination, and accountability during food assistance and meal distribution.
  
• Ability to receive and appropriately refer beneficiary feedback and complaints through established feedback mechanisms.
  
• Commitment to protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of beneficiaries, kitchen workers, caregivers, and volunteers.
  
• Ability to immediately report serious food safety, health, safeguarding, protection, or operational risks through appropriate channels.
  

Languages

• Fluent Arabic communication skills.
  
• Good working knowledge of English.
  
• French is not required.
  

Core Competencies

• Strong Problem Solving skills.
  
• Strong observation and attention to detail.
  
• Strong organizational skills.
  
• Ability to identify risks and recommend practical solutions.
  
• Ability to work under pressure.
  
• Ability to travel frequently to community kitchens and project sites.
  
• High level of professionalism, integrity, accountability, teamwork, and attention to detail.
  
• Ability to manage multiple field activities and priorities effectively.
  
• Strong commitment to food safety, quality, safeguarding, accountability, and professional standards.
  
• Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams.
  

Equal Opportunity, Inclusion & Ethical Standards

• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, non-discrimination, and a safe and respectful workplace.
  
• Commitment to the highest standards of Safeguarding, PSEA, AAP, Data Protection, and Duty of Care.
  
• Commitment to reasonable accommodation and inclusive practices for applicants and employees with disabilities.
  
• Any breach of safeguarding or ethical standards is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or contract, in accordance with applicable organizational policies and procedures.