Process Specialist at TechnoServe

Requisition Number: PROCE01921
Job Category: Operations

About the Project 

• Prosper Cashew is a five-year, $26 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Food for Progress Program that aims to catalyze investment for the West African cashew processing sector.
• Over the next five years, the project will strengthen and revive existing cashew processing facilities across Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria and support the development of new processing facilities and other value chain enterprises as part of the project’s overall goal to increase the share of raw cashew nut that is processed in the region from about 8% to 50%.
•  Over five years, Prosper Cashew will improve the capacity of 60 processing units who source cashews from approximately 34,000 farmers, facilitate $497 million of investment in the cashew sector, and generate $1.5 billion in cashew kernel sales. The project expects to create more than 26,000 new jobs (at least 50% for women) and indirectly benefit more than 133,000 women, men, and children in West Africa.
• A key component of the project will be to strengthen and increase commercially viable cashew enterprises through technical support. The project will build processor capacity in business management, financial management, investment facilitation, HR and workforce management, marketing, and supply chain development. It will also identify and address specific constraints related to particular sections of cashew processing (raw cashew nut drying, warehousing, calibration, steam cooking, shelling, oven drying, peeling, grading, fumigation, packing, and storage) and provide support to processors to install food safety management systems, support the introduction of traceability, and support the introduction of environmental practices and effective waste management.

Primary Purpose and Function

• Reporting to Technical Support Lead, the Process Specialist will provide processing support to a portfolio of approximately five medium to large-size processors (with a minimum annual installed capacity of 5,000 MT) with an objective to assist them to achieve improved productivity, capacity utilization and efficiency.
• S/he will identify the gaps in existing processing of partner cashew processors and suggest a plan to improve their productivity, efficiency, and capacity utilization to ultimately lead to cost optimization.
• S/he will support implementation of a tailored action plan with each processing unit to address those gaps as per agreed goals and milestones.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide technical support to processors to build robust capacity processing units to address specific constraints related to particular sections of cashew processing (raw cashew nut drying, warehousing, calibration, steam cooking, shelling, oven drying, peeling, grading, fumigation, packing, and storage)
• Assist processors to optimize the grade parity of cashew kernels and minimize the losses
• Compile, analyze, and report data on progress of processing units with key internal and external stakeholders
• Lead the training and development programs of processors staff as well as key participants of the broader cashew processing ecosystem
• Ensure that women and other disadvantaged groups are sustainably integrated into processing activities
• Support processing units to attain their traceability objectives through the introduction of batch processing
• Support processors to implement improved environmental practices, including effective waste management
• Support the establishment of processing units for cashew byproducts
• Oversight of processing efficiency and productivity improvement.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Technology
• A minimum of 5 - 7 years’ experience in food processing
• Experience in cashew processing in Nigeria
• A minimum of 3 years’ production/process manager experience
• Experience training individuals and teams with diverse backgrounds for performance improvement.

Preferred Qualification:

• Experience in large cashew processing unit (10,000-15,000 MT capacity)

Languages:

• Proficiency in spoken and written English is required
• Knowledge of local languages is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills
• Excellent oral/written communication and presentation skills
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and meet demanding deadlines
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Strong interpersonal and team-building skills
• Thorough knowledge of cashew kernel grades and its various optimization
• Proficiency in MS Office & presentation skills are required
• Willingness to spend up to 40% of time travelling domestically &/or relocate in Nigeria.