Head of Commodities

ROLE PURPOSE: 
The Head of Commodity role is a senior level position reporting directly to the Chief of Party. S/he will be responsible for planning and direct oversight and management of all call forwards (incoming food commodities from USDA & Local Regional Procurement-LRP), and warehouse operations of the Program Office. This role will help implement the set-up, scaling and management of the commodity and community mobilisation related programming in all Eight Districts of the PALAMA program in Sri Lanka. This includes but not limited to general commodity management functions, supervision of distribution and primary and secondary warehouse staff, execution of transportation contracts, working with school Principals, transporters and SC warehouse/distribution staff to ensure efficient flow of commodities to schools and student beneficiary populations, as well as all necessary commodity and community mobilisation reporting functions.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• In the consultation with the Chief of Party, implement the country logistics policies and procedures for the management of  both imported and locally procured commodities, including the following areas; pre-arrival requisites, transport and distribution, warehousing and stock management, GPS commodity tracking systems, and other CM assets.
• Identifying the requirement of locally procured food commodities and quantities as per the project planning and explore possible supplier sources accordingly with required volumes, quality parameters, lead times and cost efficiency.
• Provide supervision and coordinate all commodity and community mobilisation operations which include not limited to commodity management and accounting, joint distribution and monitoring, beneficiary registration, shipment coordination, transport management, food distribution, disposal of spoilt commodities as well drafting of commodity narrative and quantitative reports in accordance with USDA and SCI reporting standards.
• Foresee and proactively engage with field staff on commodity management and handling challenges and work closely with regional health authorities on any ongoing discussions as and when required.
• Identify 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.
• Coordinate 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, disposal of spoilt commodities, communication systems, and assets
• Work closely with the Supply Chain unit on the LRP process is in compliance with USDA and SCI standard procedures for tender, RFQ and Finance Rules and Regulations. 
• Coordinate with LRP independent delivery surveyors on schedules and quality specifications during the delivery. 
• Ensure a reconciled report of LRP commodities between the independent surveyor and warehouse managers for consistency. 
• Ensure that Save the Children’s minimum standards of CM procedures including safer warehouse management and commodity distribution processes, 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, port authorities, clearing and forwarding agents, surveyors, Import Control Department, Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI), Department of fisheries, Food Control Administration Unit and customs.
• Determine and oversee the requirements for the set-up of warehouses, including the provision and maintenance of handling, storage, and safety equipment and establish safety and security procedures for the warehouse and CM staff.
• Provide guidance to draw up   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 considering safeguarding practices, including modes of transport and identification of primary and secondary transporter, where applicable.
• Prepare and analyze 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.
• Ensure timely availability of pre-arrival approvals from SLSI, Import Control Department, Food Control and Administration Unit and Department of Fisheries on incoming commodities as per the relevant Gazette notifications.
• Work closely with TIM focal persons on the relevant updates and troubleshooting of the transactions related entries.
• Work closely with National Planning Department (NPD) on annual budget allocations for incoming commodity levies.
• Be the focal person with SCUS commodity operations teams on ongoing commodity management operations support and feedback.
• Knowledge of internal controls and processes as a budget holder for commodity management.

Reporting

• Compile and submit all narrative reports in a timely manner.
• Oversight of monthly commodity dispatches are entered into the Total Inventory Management (TIM) across all WHs
• Ensure Good Received Notes and Stock Releases are transacted in TIM timely
• Supervise the compilation of Recipient status reports (Monthly targets, absentees and monthly reports) from the master beneficiary database.
• Reconcile Commodity Status Report (CSR) from the database. This is to be compared to the physical CSR compiled by Warehouse Managers, highlighting any discrepancies between the two reports.

Supervisory Functions

• Manage 03 Senior Managers, and 5 Warehouse Managers as dotted line reports
• Coordinate with Field Managers and other Stream leads to rectify commodity related concerns. 
• Oversee all central commodity related logistics coordination and reporting. 
• Prepare and analyse the commodity pipeline- both imported and LRP, on a monthly basis. 

Essential

• Master’s Degree in Logistics Management, Supply Chain, Social Sciences, Economics, Business Administration, or related field, with at least 5 years of relevant work experience OR
• Bachelor’s Degree in any of the above disciplines with at least 10 years of relevant work experience.
• Experience with school feeding programs, with an in-depth knowledge of USDA regulations preferred
• Prior experience in commodity management and logistics coordination specific to food goods in the NGO sector, within complex/ large scale country programs
• Proven experience in all technical areas of logistics operations including procurement, transport/ distribution, warehousing and stock management, fleet management, asset management, communications, shipping and security
• Experience of working in remote field bases with limited infrastructure
• Experiencing in managing and supervising other stakeholders in logistics arrangements 
• Ability to synthesize and analyze 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
• Understanding of the political, social and cultural context of Sri Lanka preferred 
• Strong written and spoken communication and interpersonal skills in English and one local language 

Desirable

• Technical experience/training in specific areas of school feeding, food safety and food importation

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