Director General of ONSSA: call for applications

The post of Director General of the National Office for Food Safety

The Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries and Food Sovereignty has opened applications, by ministerial order, for the post of Director General of the National Office for Food Safety (Office National de la Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires). This is a senior public appointment governed by the rules applicable to appointments to high-level positions, which explains the demanding conditions and the dedicated commission that first screens the dossiers and then conducts a selection interview.

The call is open to candidates who meet the conditions set out in the order, whether they come from the public or the private sector, provided they hold Moroccan nationality, have confirmed professional experience and have actually exercised responsibilities. The post is not an ordinary executive role: it combines technical expertise in food safety with administrative and financial management capacity and the ability to negotiate with numerous institutional actors.

Key facts about this offer

• Recruiting administration: Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries and Food Sovereignty — Department of Agriculture.
• Post: Director General of the National Office for Food Safety.
• Employment type: Director or President of a public establishment.
• Announcement code: S 2206/26.
• Submission method: online submission on the administration's website.
• Application deadline: 16 November 2026 at 16:30.
• Salary: from 4500 to 6900 MAD per month.

The number of positions is not specified in the available information; the grade, scale and specialties are not stated separately either. No substitute figure or automatic count should therefore be presented as an official number of posts.

Eligibility conditions

Candidates must meet a set of legal and professional conditions, which are cumulative rather than alternatives:

• hold Moroccan nationality;
• have a high level of education, together with the qualifications and skills required by the duties and requirements of the post;
• have confirmed experience in the public or private sector of at least fifteen (15) years;
• have exercised responsibilities for at least five years as head of division or an equivalent position, in the public or private sector;
• be familiar with the strategy of the agricultural sector, particularly as regards food safety;
• be familiar with modern management techniques and with techniques for communicating with actors in the sector;
• have extensive experience in negotiation;
• possess qualifications in administrative and financial management.

The responsibility condition is precisely defined: at least five years as head of division or an equivalent position. It is therefore not enough to have held senior posts in general; the exercise of responsibilities at that level must be established.

Application dossier and required documents

The dossier contains several documents, some of which are mandatory in a specific format while others depend on the candidate's situation:

• the standard form annexed to the order of the minister delegated to the Head of Government in charge of the civil service and administration modernisation, duly completed and signed, setting out the candidate's qualifications, a summary of their professional career and the duties and functions they have performed;
• a concise curriculum vitae with a photograph, written in French;
• a copy of the national identity card;
• copies of diplomas and certificates; for candidates who do not belong to the ministry's staff, the equivalences published in the Official Bulletin must be provided for diplomas issued by foreign universities or by private institutions;
• any document proving that the candidate meets the conditions required for the post;
• an institutional project presenting the candidate's strategy, action programme and vision for improving the Office's performance, to be discussed before the selection commission.

The equivalence rule does not apply to every candidate: it concerns the specific category of candidates who do not belong to the ministry's staff and hold diplomas issued by foreign universities or private institutions. Candidates belonging to the ministry's staff are not subject to that requirement in the same terms.

The institutional project as a distinctive element

The dossier is not limited to administrative documents: it includes an institutional project setting out the action programme and the approaches intended to improve the Office's performance. Since this project will be discussed before the selection commission, it is an opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the Office's missions and of food safety issues, as well as the ability to translate sector strategy into practical action.

The application process, step by step

1. Prepare the complete dossier: signed standard form, French curriculum vitae with photograph, copy of the national identity card, copies of diplomas and additional documents proving the conditions.
2. Draft the institutional project that will be presented to the selection commission.
3. Register compulsorily through the administration's online portal and submit the dossier within the set deadline.
4. Check that you receive the email confirming receipt of the dossier; if not, or for further clarification, the dedicated telephone number may be used.

Immediately after submission, an email confirming receipt of the dossier is sent. If that message is not received, or for further clarification, the following number may be contacted: 0619288491.

Selection and interview

A commission appointed by order of the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries and Food Sovereignty, in accordance with the provisions of the decree of 11 October 2012, selects the dossiers that meet the application conditions and conducts the selection interview. It follows that reaching the interview stage first requires passing a screening of dossiers, and that the interview is an assessment stage rather than a formality.

The available information does not specify the duration of the test, its coefficients or any numerical eliminatory thresholds, nor is the test date announced. Details that have not been published should therefore not be assumed.

Nature of the duties and expected skills

The Director General exercises, on behalf of the State, the powers relating to consumer health protection and the preservation of plant and animal health. The role implements the Government's policy on the health safety of plants, animals and food products, from raw materials through to the final consumer, including materials intended for animal feed, with the possibility of giving an opinion when that policy is drawn up.

In accordance with the legislative and regulatory texts in force, the activities include supervising the health protection of the national plant and animal heritage and controlling plant and animal products or products of plant or animal origin, including fishery products, whether on import, on the domestic market or on export. They also include the health control of animals, their identification and movements, the application of regulatory texts on veterinary and plant health policing, and health risk analysis of food products and materials intended for animal feed.

The duties extend to controlling plant and animal diseases, food products and veterinary medicines, and issuing health authorisations or approvals to the establishments concerned, with specific exceptions for wholesale fish markets, fishing vessels, aquatic craft and units processing fishery products. They also cover the control of food additives, packaging materials, fertilisers and irrigation water, authorisation or registration of livestock farms, and the control of agricultural pesticides, seeds and seedlings and the approval of establishments that produce, import or export them.

In terms of relations, the post involves interaction with administrations active in the same sector, the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury of the Kingdom, cooperation organisations, research laboratories, the National Ports Office, the Autonomous Establishment for Export Control and Coordination, the National Seed Marketing Company, the Official Laboratory for Chemical Analyses and Research in Casablanca, the National Institute for Agronomic Research, and counterpart institutes and agencies in various African and international countries.

Managerial and behavioural skills

The job sheet lists managerial skills: leadership, organisation and optimal use of resources, analytical capacity, autonomy and problem solving, quality of communication and expression, management of objectives, supervision and team management, a quality approach, and building internal and external relations. It also lists behavioural skills: rigour and discipline, ability to listen, openness to change, quality of internal and external cooperation, proactivity and responsiveness, initiative, organisational awareness, and management of stress and complex situations.

The skills sheet uses numbered levels, from level one (basic) to level four (excellence), but the available information does not allow the level of each skill to be determined reliably; an unpublished distribution should therefore not be assumed.

Practical advice for preparing the application

This advice is indicative and adds no official conditions, but it helps to structure the dossier:

• Check the cumulative conditions first and make sure you can establish 15 years of experience and at least 5 years as head of division or an equivalent position.
• Write the curriculum vitae in French with a photograph and ensure it is consistent with the information in the standard form.
• Gather copies of diplomas and pay attention to the equivalence rule for candidates who do not belong to the ministry's staff and hold foreign diplomas or diplomas issued by private institutions.
• Allow sufficient time to draft the institutional project, since it will be discussed before the selection commission.
• Complete the online submission before 16 November 2026 at 16:30 and keep proof of submission.