Nutritionist (Abuja) at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Nutritionist, NOB

Ref Id: 106291
Location: Abuja

Organizational Context

• This job is found in Regional Bureaux (RBs), Country Offices (COs), Area/Field Offices (AOs/FOs). Job holders typically report to a Nutritionist or Programme Policy Officer.
• At this level, job holders are expected to demonstrate responsibility and initiative to respond independently to various queries with only general guidance. There is a requirement to use judgment in dealing with unforeseen operational problems on a daily basis. Job holders are expected to manage resources and coach and coordinate support staff.

Job Description/Purpose

• WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.
• Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.
• To provide support to WFP Nigeria nutrition programmes and activities to contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of WFP beneficiaries.

Key Accountabilities (not all-inclusive)

• Support the Head of Nutrition Unit for overall implementation of WFP Nigeria nutrition programmes, which includes supporting implementation and monitoring of all nutrition activities within the WFP Area and Sub-Offices.
• Provide WFP Nigeria nutrition representation through active participation in relevant nutrition and food assistance co-ordination forums, workshops and trainings, and participate in regular meetings with government authorities, partners, and all other relevant stakeholders, as required.
• Contribute to the development of WFP Nigeria nutrition projects and activities, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with wider nutrition policies and guidance.
• Provide project management support to specific and defined WFP Nigeria nutrition projects and activities, ensuring a co-ordinated approach with wider programmes/projects that complies with WFP standards and procedures.
• Develop and co-ordinate WFP Nigeria nutrition data gathering and monitoring/assessment systems ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained.
• Track and analyse nutrition data to provide input into WFP Nigeria reporting activities and contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting on nutrition activities that enables informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
• Liaise with WFP Nigeria implementing nutrition partners (internal and external) to monitor ongoing projects, ensuring effective collaboration, timeliness and efficiency, and highlight potential risks to project delivery.
• Support the identification of potential WFP Nigeria nutrition partners and partnership negotiations to ensure a collaborative and holistic approach to meeting nutrition needs.

4Ps Core Organisational Capabilities
Purpose:

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People:

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
• Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance:

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
• Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
• Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership:

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
• Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

Functional Capabilities

• Knowledge of Nutrients: Utilizes knowledge of vitamins and nutrients to understand the causes of malnutrition, the relationships between the different types of malnutrition, and is able to articulate the UNICEF conceptual model.
• Situation Analysis and Evidence Assessment: Able to appropriately interpret the nutrition situation, analyze primary causes of malnutrition, define limitations to the analysis (e.g. seasonality) and prepare an overview of the food security and nutrition situation in country.
• Knowledge of Public Health: Has foundational knowledge of the core public health sciences (i.e., biostatistics, epidemiology, social science, environmental health, and prevention of chronic and infectious disease and injury) in order to assess a country’s/region’s health situation.
• Knowledge of Food System: Ability to analyze how food systems influence the diets of vulnerable groups and identify how and where food systems may contribute to specific nutrient gaps.
• Applying Programme & Policy Standards: Leverages nutrition knowledge to provide technical advice to governments to design and implement country nutrition programmes that follow international and WFP agency standards and guidance.

Standard Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Post graduate degree in one or more of the following disciplines: Nutrition, Public Health, and/or relevant Public Health and Nutrition field.
• Language: Fluency (level C) in English language.

Knowledge:

• Current knowledge of the latest developments, guidelines and standards, and technology in the field of nutrition, especially in the prevention and treatment of maternal, neonatal and child undernutrition.
• Demonstrated capacity in community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) approaches.
• Demonstrated well-prepared analytical work, well-managed programmes, and proven teamwork abilities, including communication and advocacy skills.
• Concise and informative writing skills, good communication skills, ability to plan and organize work under tight deadlines, and ability to work independently and efficiently.
• Excellent computer skills in Word processing, Excel, PowerPoint and familiarity/experience with SPSS, EPI-INFO, ENA and standard software packages and systems.

Experience:

• At least three years of postgraduate professional experience in (emergency) health and nutrition, and programme management.
• Strong experience in health/nutrition information and data management and analysis.
• Experience of carrying out health and nutrition surveys and/or other relevant surveillance activities.
• Experience with implementation of national/international development programmes.
• Experience identifying and defining nutrition issues/problems within a country.
• Working experience in Northeast Nigeria and within the U.N. system are assets.

Other Specific Job Requirements:

• Support the nutrition capacity building of WFP Nigeria staff, partners and national government to prepare for and respond to nutrition needs for example the production and review of training materials.
• Guide junior WFP Nigeria staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with more complex analyses and queries, and ensure compliance with WFP policies, criteria and procedures
• Act in an assigned WFP emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food and nutrition assistance needs.
• Other as required.

Terms and Conditions

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.
• Only Nigerian national are eligible to apply for this position.
• Applications to be made online and in English only.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year.

Remuneration
WFP offers an attractive compensation package.

Application Closing Date
29th July, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Important Additional Information

• WFP will apply a rigorous and transparent selection process including thorough assessment of technical skills to ensure the best candidates are selected for the job. Please ensure that your application contains accurate and complete information on academic qualifications, employment record and language skills. WFP will only consider academic credentials and degrees obtained from an accredited educational institution. Only successful candidates will be invited for an interview.
• WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply to become a part of our organization. WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.