Commodity Officer - BSFP at Save The Children

Role Purpose

• This role will lead or coordinate the set up or scale up of emergency response commodity management functions and responsibilities and will supervise and manage CM staff, under the supervision of the Country Logistics Manager.

Key Responsibilities

• The main responsibilities of this post will vary according to the terms of reference for each assignment. 
• The post-holder is likely to undertake roles such as Emergency Commodity Manager and Commodity Logistics Coordinator for a particular field base, or Procurement/Transport/Warehousing Coordinator.

Key Areas of Accountability

• Identifying 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.
• Coordination of 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, stevedores, port authorities, clearing and forwarding agents, surveyors, and customs.
• Determine requirements for and then set-up 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, onâ€site/endâ€use monitoring and reporting as well as a community feedback/complaint mechanism.
• Prepare and analyse 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.
• The post-holder will comply with all relevant Save the Children policies and procedures with respect to child safeguarding, safety and security, code of conduct, equal opportunities and other relevant policies.
• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.

Qualifications and Experience
Essential:

• Prior experience in commodity management and logistics coordination specific to food goods in the NGO sector, within complex/large scale country programs and in emergency response/humanitarian environments
• Proven experience in all technical areas of logistics operations including procurement, transport/distribution, warehousing and stock management, fleet management, asset management, communications, and security
• 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
• Cultural awareness, with strong written and spoken communication and interpersonal skills in English and French

Desirable:

• Technical experience/training in specific areas of food safety and food importation
• Technical experience/knowledge in various types of humanitarian intervention e.g. Health, WASH, Food Security
• Fluent in English and Hausa