Quality Certifying Officer – Reusable Pads

The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely affected the entire world and Lebanon is no stranger to its devastating effects. This situation is coupled with the worst economic crisis that Lebanon has witnessed in its modern times. As in every challenging situation, women and girls are among the most vulnerable groups. In the case of Lebanon, a country hosting a wide community of Palestinian refugees and Syrian displaced people, these communities tend to suffer most. A report by Plan International published in April 2020 found that among more than 1,100 people living in vulnerable communities, 66 percent of adolescent girls reported they do not have the financial means to buy hygiene pads. More than half of these were Syrian refugees[1].

The UNFPA-commissioned study found that switching completely to reusable pads, which are washed after each use and can last up to five years, would reduce costs by up to 76 percent per year. As it firmly believes that period management should be a comprehensive, well-integrated process, UNFPA developed an information booklet with the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health program at the American University of Beirut Medical Center to raise awareness around periods and menstrual hygiene. Currently UNFPA is financing a partnership between SOS Children Villages' Lebanon and Days for Girls (DfG) Lebanon

• The production of sustainable, reusable menstrual pads in the form of complete kits by SOS CV Lebanon and DfG for the account of UNFPA
• The distribution of these kits to the most vulnerable population groups by UNFPA
• Provision of trainings and awareness raising sessions to women and girls recipients of these kits on the proper management of their periods
• At a subsequent later phase, monitoring and evaluating the project to uncover the impact of the kits' provision and identify lessons learnt and potential areas of weakness.

Expected Tasks

We are currently looking to recruit a quality certifying officer for the project described above. The quality certifying officer will be in charge of:

• Evaluating the quality of the reusable/washable pads by checking the quality of the row material and the final product
• The officer will ensure that the product is compliant with the Standards for reusable pads as per the attached document. In particular the products should be evaluated as conformed to established standards of:

1. Quality: sizes the sizes and absorbency
2. Packaging,
3. Instructions and
4.  Safety

• The officer will visit the facilities where the pads are produced to observe the different phases of the production and check conformity with standards
• The officer will deliver a final report with details on the quality of the washables pads produced and if needed recommendations to align with the above-mentioned standards

The tasks will require four to five working days.

Payment: $1,000 at the completion of the task

Required qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, Public Health or any related field
• Familiarity with hygiene items certification process
• Previous experience in certification or quality control of hygiene items production desirable
• Knowledge of Regulation and Conformity Requirements for hygiene items

[1] https://plan-international.org/news/2020-04-28-covid-19-girls-lebanon-left-struggling