One Coordinator per district holds technical responsibility for what is made in that district s five ARCs and how safely it is made - process standardisation, food safety, quality assurance, shelf-life, packaging and statutory licensing of each facility. This is the technical conscience of the project: the person who decides whether a batch goes to market.
Responsibilities
1. Process, Product and Quality
- Develop and document SOPs, process flows, recipes, yields and product costing for each assigned value chain
- Establish QA protocols, in-process checks, batch records, traceability and the inventory register at every ARC
- Plan and interpret shelf-life studies and accredited-lab testing; set storage and distribution conditions
- Specify, commission and maintain processing equipment; run preventive maintenance and calibration
2. Food Safety and Licensing
- Support each operating Cluster Level Federation, SHG or enterprise group to obtain and maintain FSSAI registration or licence in its own name for its own premises. No food business under this project will operate on a licence held by any other entity.
- Serve as, or train and certify, the Food Safety Supervisor at each facility; deliver FoSTaC-aligned hygiene and food safety training
- Establish and rehearse product recall, complaint handling and non-conforming product procedures, and ensure compliance with FSSAI labelling, legal metrology and packaging requirements
3. Capability Building and Coordination
- Train Centre-cum-Cluster Coordinators and women entrepreneurs in production, quality and hygiene practice
- Work with the Sales & Marketing Officer to meet buyer specifications on quality, grammage, packaging and delivery
- Maintain production, quality and equipment records for the project MIS
Education & Experience
- Tech / M.Tech / M.Sc. in Food Technology, Food Science, Food Processing, Food Engineering or Dairy Technology
- 3-5 years in a food processing unit, common facility centre or food QA/QC function, with hands-on plant-floor experience - not laboratory experience alone
- Has obtained an FSSAI registration or licence and faced a food safety audit or inspection
- FoSTaC-certified Food Safety Supervisor, or willing to certify within three months of joining
- Experience in dry and low-moisture categories - spices and masalas, snacks and farsan, papad, pickles, millet and bakery - preferred; SHG-run unit experience is a strong advantage
Skills and Competencies
- Working Marathi essential, with Hindi and English
- Can teach a process to a first-generation entrepreneur who has no technical vocabulary
- Firmness on food safety, including the willingness to reject a batch and be unpopular for it
- Methodical on batch records, deviations and corrective action; two-wheeler with valid license