Banana Ripening Consultant

About Palladium

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 3,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

Palladium Americas

Our Americas’ business team has brilliant and passionate colleagues working in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America as well as the Caribbean, fulfilling projects and assignments for clients from institutions, corporations, governments, and foundations based in the Americas. We have offices in Washington, DC, New York City, and Raleigh-Durham, NC.

This Opportunity

Ter Onum is a fruits and vegetable processing/dehydrating, packaging, and distributor company established in 2016, which has around 180 employees. The company’s supply base and distribution network include hundreds of farmers and retail chains/shops in Ashgabat. Using their self-developed IT platform “Hasabym,” Ter Onum monitors market prices, demand/supply levels, inventory levels, and expected yields and provides market analytical products for the government. Ter Onum exported tomatoes and melons to Russia, Central Asian countries, the UAE, and Austria. Ter Onum also increased imports of various fruits and vegetables in recent years. In this regard, the company pays special attention to improving operations and expertise in handling perishable goods, like bananas, which require unique technologies and practices to deliver to consumers with minimum deterioration in quality.

As part of this work, the Banana Ripening Consultant will provide Ter Onum technical assistance in improving the company’s banana-ripening processes, including pre-ripening and post-ripening operations. The consultant will be responsible for advising the company on optimizing, managing, and overseeing all aspects of its warehouse ripening program to ensure Ter Onum meets domestic customers’ ripening requirements and expectations.

Location

The location of this position is remote/virtual.

You and Your Career

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and if you have work experience in agri-food processing and storage, banana ripening processes, and container and warehouse operations, we are interested in hearing from you.

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start. We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision

The consultant will work with Ter Onum staff and report to the Palladium Home Office and Turkmenistan Office personnel.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

1. Evaluate the company’s current operations, help identify areas of improvement, and provide expertise on adequately managing banana handling and ripening activities, including conducting quality inspections, developing ripening cycles, actual ripening, and post-ripening handling.

2. Consult on the following and other related areas:

• Inspection and control of bananas upon arrival and when unloading
• Storage and arrangement of unripe bananas in a warehouse
• Pre-ripening points
• Ripening
• Post-ripening storage and banana handling
• Weight-loss norms
• Instructions for sellers and retailers on properly handling, arranging, and displaying bananas (rows, pallets, temperature, humidity, shelf life) on shelves.

Deliverables

Consultancy report containing:

• Recommendations providing adequate technological expertise on the above-mentioned points.
• If necessary, recommendations on purchasing additional equipment to optimize the company’s banana ripening process.
• Technical instructions for retailers on banana handling, developed in collaboration with Ter Onum’s technologist

Key Competencies Required

• At least a bachelor’s degree in a related field
• Minimum of 10 years of work experience in agri-food processing and storage
• Experience in banana ripening processes
• Experience in container and warehouse operations
• Ability to understand color progression during the banana ripening process
• Demonstrated excellent analytical, writing, and reporting skills
• Fluency in spoken and written English. Fluency in Russian will be an advantage

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred

• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams with a focus on social inclusion
• Experience reporting to multiple lines
• Creativity, agility, and team spirit
• Excellent communication skills

Level of Effort

It is anticipated that the total inputs will take up to 30 days from August 2022 to October 2022.

Application Closing Date

July 25, 2022

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion – Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at [email protected] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding – We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.