National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Expert

The National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Expert will provide technical support to develop a comprehensive project proposal to enhance Nepal's phytosanitary system and strengthen its capacity to comply with international standards. The role involves conducting assessments, stakeholder consultations, and supporting project design and implementation planning to improve market access for key agricultural commodities.

Responsibilities

• Conduct desk reviews of national phytosanitary policies, PQPMC systems, value chain reports, and SPS-related projects to support evidence-based project formulation by providing gap analysis and needs assessment.
• Provide technical support in mapping and facilitating engagement with key stakeholders including government ministries, private sector, farmers’ groups, and research institutions.
• Collaborate closely with the International Consultant and Lead Technical Officer of the project.
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations including interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and meetings, and contribute to preparation of reports and technical documentation.
• Support field missions across citrus, medicinal herb, and indigenous food-producing districts to collect and analyze data and document SPS challenges and recommendations.
• Support project proposal development including objectives, activities, Theory of Change, Logical Framework, and risk mitigation ensuring feasibility and sustainability.
• Integrate crosscutting issues such as climate risks, gender considerations, and inclusion of smallholders and marginalized groups.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (PhD or Master’s) in agriculture, food science, plant protection, phytosanitary systems, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in SPS, phytosanitary systems, or food safety standards.
• Working knowledge of English.
• National of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal or resident of the country with a valid work permit.
• Application of logical framework (logframe) and theory of change in project design and results structuring.
• Design and implementation of data collection tools (questionnaires, surveys, interview guides) for multi-stakeholder inputs.
• Conduct of stakeholder consultations and structured interviews for evidence generation.
• Development of monitoring indicators and basic M&E matrices aligned with results-based management.
• Technical understanding of SPS/food safety standards (e.g., Codex, market access compliance requirements).
• Analysis of constraints related to food safety compliance in developing country contexts.
• Familiarity with project design in the agri-food/food safety sector (value chains, regulatory frameworks).
• Analytical writing for technical reports, proposals, and summaries in English.
• Familiarity with STDF project requirements/formats and exposure to UN/government procedures (asset).

Skills

• Phytosanitary Systems
• Food Safety Regulations
• Logical Frameworks
• Theory of Change
• Data Collection
• Multi-Stakeholder Consultation
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Result-Based Management
• SPS Technical Knowledge
• Food Safety Compliance Analysis
• Project Design
• Analytical Writing
• Codex Standards
• Market Access Compliance
• Survey Design
• Interview Guide Development
• STDF Project Requirements
• UN Procedures
• Government Procedures

Languages

English