Program Officer Dairy Value Chain

This role is for one of Weekday’s clients

Salary range: Rs 1000000 - Rs 1400000 (ie INR 10 - 14 LPA)

Min Experience: 3+ years

Location: Guwahati, Assam, Patna, Bihar, India

JobType: full-time

We are looking for a technically skilled and experienced Program Officer - Dairy Value Chain to support strategic initiatives focused on expanding milk procurement, establishing and strengthening Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCSs), improving chilling and processing infrastructure, and enhancing milk productivity and quality systems.

The role requires a strong technical background in Dairy Technology, along with hands-on experience in dairy processing, milk procurement, chilling operations, quality assurance, and value-added dairy products. The candidate will play a key role in aligning procurement expansion with processing capacity, infrastructure development, operational efficiency, and commercial viability.

The ideal candidate should be capable of coordinating with dairy cooperatives, milk unions, government departments, infrastructure partners, and private processors to drive sustainable growth across the dairy value chain.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

1. Dairy Expansion and DCS Formation

• Support the planning, formation, and operationalisation of new Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCSs).
• Conduct feasibility assessments for potential DCS locations based on milk production potential, farmer density, and infrastructure availability.
• Facilitate farmer mobilisation, registration, governance structures, and operational readiness.
• Establish milk procurement systems, including testing protocols, quality-linked payment mechanisms, and record management.
• Strengthen the institutional capacity and long-term sustainability of newly established DCSs.

2. Milk Procurement Growth and Aggregation Strategy

• Develop and implement strategies to increase milk procurement volumes across targeted geographies.
• Strengthen milk aggregation through DCSs, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs), cooperatives, and other producer institutions.
• Identify and address operational challenges in procurement, logistics, milk collection, and quality management.
• Align procurement expansion with processing capacity and market demand.
• Monitor procurement growth targets, including litres per day (LPD), and farmer participation and retention metrics.

3. Processing and Chilling Infrastructure Strengthening

• Assess infrastructure requirements and gaps across Bulk Milk Cooling Units (BMCUs), chilling centres, transportation networks, and dairy processing plants.
• Support the expansion and optimisation of chilling capacity in high-growth dairy clusters.
• Improve dairy plant utilisation through effective procurement alignment and operational planning.
• Conduct feasibility assessments for new chilling units and processing capacity expansion.
• Ensure effective coordination between upstream milk collection and downstream processing capacity.

4. Milk Productivity and Quality Systems

• Support the implementation of milk productivity improvement initiatives aligned with procurement expansion.
• Strengthen clean milk production practices at the farmer and DCS levels.
• Monitor key milk quality parameters, including fat, Solids-Not-Fat (SNF), Methylene Blue Reduction Test (MBRT), and adulteration control.
• Integrate quality assurance practices into milk procurement and aggregation systems.
• Support the implementation of standardised milk testing and quality monitoring procedures.

5. Value Addition and Commercial Strengthening

• Support the scaling and optimisation of Value-Added Dairy Products (VADPs) in line with milk procurement growth.
• Strengthen product mix, production yields, and margin realisation strategies.
• Ensure quality compliance and process standardisation across value-added dairy product operations.
• Identify opportunities to improve processing efficiency and commercial performance.

6. Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate with the Animal Husbandry Department, Dairy Development Department, milk federations, and district authorities.
• Engage with milk unions, dairy processing plants, cooperatives, infrastructure partners, and private processors.
• Facilitate review meetings, technical consultations, and stakeholder coordination activities.
• Build effective working relationships to support dairy infrastructure development and value-chain expansion.

7. Monitoring, Reporting, and Performance Analytics

• Monitor and report on key programme indicators, including:
• Number of new DCSs formed and operationalised.
• Increase in milk procurement volumes, measured in litres per day.
• Chilling and processing capacity utilisation.
• Improvements in milk quality parameters.
• Farmer participation and retention.
• Develop dashboards, analytical reports, and performance updates for internal and donor reporting.
• Support data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement of dairy expansion strategies.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Dairy Technology is mandatory.
• Minimum 3+ years of hands-on experience in dairy processing, milk procurement systems, chilling operations, or dairy plant management.
• Practical experience in dairy plant operations, including pasteurisation, homogenisation, and standardisation.
• Understanding of BMCU and chilling centre operations.
• Experience in dairy quality assurance systems, including fat and SNF testing and adulteration control.
• Exposure to procurement-linked processing scale-up and value-added dairy product (VADP) production.
• Experience in production process optimisation and dairy plant capacity utilisation.
• Familiarity with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations and dairy compliance standards.
• Strong coordination, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to align milk procurement growth with infrastructure requirements, processing capacity, and commercial planning.

Experience working with milk unions, dairy federations, cooperatives, or large-scale dairy processing units will be preferred.

Must-Have Skills

• Dairy Technology
• Dairy Plant Operations
• Milk Procurement Systems
• Dairy Processing
• Chilling Operations
• Quality Assurance

Good-to-Have Skills

• Pasteurisation
• Homogenisation
• Standardisation
• BMCU Operations
• Cold-Chain Management
• Value-Added Dairy Products (VADPs)
• FSSAI Compliance
• Processing Capacity Planning