Job Summary

Position Name: Consultant - Food and Nutrition

Reporting Line: Sr. Program Manager - THR

Location: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Positions: 1

Project Context

PCI India is supporting strengthening of Take Home Ration (THR) Programme across Uttar Pradesh with focus on improving production systems, quality assurance mechanisms, food safety compliance, hygiene standards, and strengthening operational systems across all THR production units.

The consultant shall support quality monitoring, food safety systems, audit readiness, regulatory compliance, and continuous quality improvement across THR production units.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

- NFSA 2023-Complied THR Recipe
- Provide technical facilitation and expert inputs for development, refinement and standardization of the NFSA 2023-complied THR recipe.
- Support technical consultations, formulation trials, validation and documentation related to the recipe.
- Support standardization of the agreed recipe for implementation across THR units.

- Market-Viable Recipe Formulation and Product Development

- Support end-to-end formulation and refinement of market-viable THR recipes/products.
- Support ingredient selection, formulation trials, technical optimization and product feasibility.
- Design/facilitate consumer testing and use findings to improve formulation and product acceptability.
- Support pricing/costing analysis and development of an appropriate market strategy.
- Document formulation, testing and market-development learning.

- SOP Development and Standardization

- Prepare SOPs for the NFSA 2023-complied THR recipe and the market-viable recipe/product.
- Develop practical guidance covering recipe standardization, preparation/process requirements, quality checks, documentation and relevant food-safety practices.
- Support orientation and adoption of SOPs by THR units and relevant functionaries.
- Review and update SOPs based on implementation learning and technical findings.

- High-Risk Audit Support and Compliance

- Provide technical support for implementation and follow-up of high-risk audit requirements across THR units.
- Coordinate with relevant teams and functionaries across the 204 THR units on audit preparedness and compliance.
- Review food-safety,



quality, hygiene and process gaps and support corrective actions.
- Track and support closure of audit observations through regular technical follow-up.
- Strengthen checklists, guidance notes and technical tools required for audit readiness.

- Nutrition and Food Safety

- Provide technical guidance on nutrition and food-safety aspects of THR production and handling.
- Support review of nutritional quality and consistency of THR products against agreed requirements.
- Provide inputs on hygiene, food handling, storage, processing and quality practices.
- Support identification and mitigation of nutrition and food-safety risks at THR units.
- Provide technical inputs for training and capacity building on nutrition and food safety.

- Technical Capacity Building

- Assess technical capacity gaps among THR functionaries and relevant teams.
- Facilitate training, orientation and practical demonstrations on recipe standardization, nutrition, food safety, SOP implementation and audit preparedness.
- Provide technical mentoring and troubleshooting support to THR units.
- Develop simple technical guidance and knowledge materials as required.

- Technical Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

- Coordinate with UPSRLM, THR units, SHGs, PCI State Team, technical partners and relevant government stakeholders.
- Facilitate technical consultations and follow-up on recipe, nutrition, food-safety and audit-related issues.
- Provide technical inputs for programme review meetings, presentations and reports.
- Undertake field visits as required to provide technical support and validate implementation.

- Documentation, Learning and Continuous Improvement

- Document formulation trials, consumer testing findings, technical decisions, implementation learning and positive practices.
- Identify opportunities to improve product quality,



nutritional value, acceptability, food safety and operational feasibility.
- Capture lessons and recommendations for scale-up and replication across THR units.

- Undertake other food, nutrition, food-safety or product-development responsibilities assigned by the Reporting Manager and aligned with the consultancy.

Key Deliverables

- Review existing THR recipes, technical documentation, food-safety practices, SOPs and high risk audit-readiness status.
- Map key technical requirements, gaps and priorities related to nutrition, food safety, recipe standardization and audit implementation.
- Initiate technical facilitation for the NFSA 2023-complied THR recipe.
- Develop workplan for market-viable recipe development, consumer testing, pricing and market strategy.
- Initiate coordination with 204 THR units on priority food-safety and audit issues.
- Submit monthly technical report covering baseline findings, priorities, actions and next-month plan.
- Support refinement and technical standardization of the NFSA 2023-complied THR recipe.
- Develop/strengthen protocols for recipe trials, quality checks and documentation.
- Initiate market-viable recipe formulation and formulation trials.
- Develop tools/framework for consumer testing and product acceptability assessment.
- Review priority food-safety and nutrition gaps and provide recommendations.
- Support high-risk audit preparedness through technical guidance and coordination.
- Submit monthly technical report and management update.
- Continue trials and refinement of the NFSA 2023-complied THR recipe and implementation guidance.
- Conduct/coordinate consumer testing of the market-viable recipe/product and analyse feedback.
- Refine formulation based on consumer testing and technical findings.
- Initiate costing/pricing analysis for the market-viable recipe/product.
- Develop draft SOP for the NFSA 2023-complied THR recipe.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.

📌 Consultant- Food and Nutrition (New Delhi)
🏢 PCI India
📍 New Delhi