Nutrition Specialist (Multi-sectoral response)- UNICEF

Job Description

Job no:	550770
Contract type:	Temporary Appointment
Level:	P-3
Location:	Sudan
Categories:	Health and Nutrition
Advertised:	05 May 2022 E. Africa Standard Time
Deadline:	18 May 2022 E. Africa Standard Time

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children’s rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfil their potential – to the benefit of a better world.

For every child, www.unicef.org/sudan

Sudan, surrounded by the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and South Sudan, positioned next to East, West, South and North Africa, is surrounded by complex conflicts in an unpredictable, volatile and rapidly evolving region. Sudan is by size the third biggest country in Africa, with a diverse population of around 42 million people. Sudan’s children make up half of the total population, and the past two decades have seen their lives significantly improve: fewer girls and boys are dying before their fifth birthday, primary school attendance is increasing, immunization coverage is high, and the country remains polio-free. Still, millions of children continue to suffer from protracted conflict in Darfur, the Kordofan, and the Blue Nile, from seasonal natural disasters, malnutrition and disease outbreaks, and from under-investment in basic social services. More than three million of Sudan’s school-aged children are not in the classroom. UNICEF has been in Sudan since 1952 and continues with a presence in 12 of Sudan’s 18 states

How can you make a difference?

I. Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, nutrition, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

II. Job organizational context:

The Nutrition Specialist is to be used in the Sudan Country Office (SCO), where the Nutrition Programme is a component of the Country Programme. The Nutrition Specialist reports to the Nutrition Manager, who is at level 4. 

Purpose for the job

Under the leadership of the Nutrition Manager, the Nutrition Specialist will support the development and preparation of the nutrition programme, coordinate with other UNICEF programmes to ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization, and provide broader support for the planning and implementation of the UNICEF multi-sectoral nutrition plan.  In particular, the Nutrition Specialist will provide technical guidance and operational support throughout the planning and programming processes to facilitate the achievement of concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition through UNICEF programming and also through a coordinated multisectoral response.  The role will considerably increase capacity within UNICEF, the government, and partners to plan, coordinate and implement a multisectoral approach to nutrition in Sudan.

III. Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Strengthen multi-sectoral nutrition coordination and partnerships

• Promote and support a comprehensive nutrition governance mechanism to facilitate improved multisectoral collaboration and align humanitarian and development goals for nutrition in line with the multisectoral nutrition plan.
• Support the continued development of a functional and broad-based multisectoral coordination mechanism at national and sub-national levels, including providing technical support, actively sharing information and knowledge, and supporting the follow-up of actions identified in meetings.
• Prepare communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances and support fundraising for nutrition in line with the multisectoral nutrition plan.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency discussions, ensuring that UNICEF’s position, interests, and priorities are fully considered and integrated with any inter-agency approaches and collaboration.
• Support development and planning of multisectoral nutrition approaches 
• Support the regular updating of a multisectoral nutrition situation analysis to ensure comprehensive and current data on maternal and child nutrition is available to guide nutrition planning.
• Contribute to the development/revision and implementation of policies and procedures to support the effective and efficient implementation of multisectoral nutrition approaches by UNICEF and other stakeholders.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programme development to ensure an integrated and harmonized approach with other key UNICEF sectors and UN partners for an effective multisectoral response to nutrition.
• Technically support the development of multisectoral approaches to improve nutritional status through early childhood development and for school-age children and adolescents.
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues, government counterparts, and partners to develop sectoral plans to implement key activities in line with the multi-system nutrition responses.
• Contribute to resource mobilization to implement multisectoral nutrition approaches such as the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting, early childhood development and school-age/adolescent nutrition.
• Provide technical and operational support for the implementation of multisectoral nutrition approaches
• Participate in discussions with partners, government counterparts and other nutrition stakeholders, including through multistakeholder platforms, to promote the implementation of a multisectoral response to nutrition.
• Draft nutrition-relevant policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management information and use.
• Support capacity building of government counterparts and partners to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable results in line with the multisectoral nutrition approaches.
• Technically support the implementation of multisectoral approaches to improve nutrition, such as through early childhood development, the Global Action Plan on Child Wasting, and for school-age children and adolescents,
• Monitoring, knowledge management and reporting
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to develop a monitoring framework for the multisectoral nutrition plan to strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results. Support periodic analysis based on information available to benchmark progress towards the goals of the multisectoral nutrition plan and programs over time.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and determine required action, based on the findings, to achieve results at both national and sub-national levels.
• Contribute to regular and mandated programme reports for management, donors and/or partners to keep them informed of programme progress.
• Support the improvement of knowledge management for nutrition – ensuring that critical research, policies, best practices and other documents are available to all nutrition stakeholders.

IV. Impact of Results

The support provided by the Nutrition Specialist to the development, planning and implementation of the nutrition programme, the integration, coherence and harmonization with other UNICEF sectors, and overall support for planning and implementation of the multisectoral nutrition plan contributes to and accelerates the national development efforts to improve the nutritional status of mothers, infants and children in the country. This, in turn contributes to maintaining and enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to continue to provide programme services to mothers and children that promote greater social equity in the country.

VI. Recruitment Qualifications

Education:         

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required:  nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health, social & developmental sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.

Experience:       

A minimum of five years of professional experience in a developing country in one or more of the following areas is required: nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care.

 Experience in health/nutrition programme/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

Language Requirements:             

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Advertised: 05 May 2022 E. Africa Standard Time
Deadline: 18 May 2022 E. Africa Standard Time