Nutrition Officer at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Nutrition Officer

Job ID: 210003ZV
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Employee Status: Fixed Term

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3: The responsibilities of this post may require the post holder to have regular contact with children and young people.
• As part of these responsibilities, the post holder will support the establishment of child safeguarding systems, promote a culture of keeping children safe, and ensure that potential harm to children (by our own staff and/or as a result of how we do our work) is identified and addressed on an ongoing basis. 
• The post holder should report and respond to interventions as determined by position related responsibilities identified in the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Role

• To support the breastfeeding counsellors of the Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergency and Community management of malnutrition Programme.
• On a day to day basis, assist the Nutrition Coordinator in ensuring that all components of the programme are functioning properly, providing care of quality to all the beneficiaries.
• In addition to this, he/she will ensure that the CMAM program is functioning properly, providing quality care to all the beneficiaries, respecting protocols and principles of good practice.

Main Responsibilities
The post holder will receive a context specific ToR for each deployment, which will draw upon the responsibilities outlined below.

Programme Support (typically will be at field level):

• Plan and organise OTP/SFP at designated distribution sites in liaison with Nutrition Coordinator and Specialist
• Complete order forms for the logistics team of material, medicine and food requirements for each site for the week in advance
• Support field level technical assessments in coordination with the Nutrition response lead and other SC thematic areas and/or other external sector agencies, ensuring assessment findings are documented and that all assessments include a specific analysis of children’s needs.
• With support from the Nutrition Coordinator and/or other senior programme staff, support with inputs in the development of high-quality concept notes and proposals.
• With the support of the Nutrition Coordinator, support project implementation to ensure timely delivery of project activities (for example, monitoring against log frames, individual performance management work plans).
• Working closely with the Nutrition Coordinator and/or other senior programme staff, support timely programme and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal SC requirements and any relevant external donor requirements.
• Working closely with the Nutrition Specialist and the Nutrition Coordinator and/or other senior programme staff, help in the identification and recruitment and training of community mobilisers and/or project volunteers
• With support from the Nutrition Coordinator and/or other senior programme staff, identify programme supplies needs and coordinate with the team to put in place a sensible phased procurement plan.
• Responsibility for the day to day management of project site activities and staff (IYCF, CMAM, deworming and micronutrient supplementation)
• Provide technical support to Save the Children staff (IYCF-E, CMAM, health, Child Protection and others as necessary), MoH, partners and other humanitarian actors as necessary to promote consistent good practice
• Ensure all staff understand and implement programme guidelines used for assessing the mother-child pair, advising the best feeding option and following up as appropriate.
• Ensure appropriate and consistent education messaging to mothers and other carers at Child-Friendly Shelters and in the community.
• Facilitate the development and scheduling of volunteer outreach activities
• With the Breastfeeding Counsellors and Child Protection staff, develop monthly work plans for the Child-Friendly Shelters.
• Prepare field visit plans and supervision checklist in advance of trips.
• Compile monthly activity reports and assist with stock consumption/distribution plans for each of the OTPs as required.
• At field sites, liaise with other humanitarian actors, local authorities, ministries and the military as appropriate, to maximize collaboration and ensure proper coordination of activities.
• With support from the Monitoring & Evaluation team support the M & E plan implementation within the Nutrition projects, ensuring this links to reporting requirements.
• With support from the Accountability Lead ensure accountability is enforced in all project activities as well as ensuring that feedback from children and their families is considered in project design/implementation
• To ensure that the minimum standards of humanitarian relief are maintained in accordance with the Sphere Charter and Red Cross Code of Conduct.

Capacity Building:

• Conduct training to build the capacity of Nutrition Assistants and volunteers in the community.

Representation & Advocacy & Organisational Learning:

• Ensure that Save the Children's work is coordinated with efforts of other agencies and Government, and support Interagency Coordination forums, advocating for the specific needs of children.
• Attend regular nutrition meetings and LGA meeting. Liaise with other sectors for up to date information on SCI work in the LGA

General:

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.

Qualifications and Experience
Essential:

• Health / Nurse / Public Health / Nutrition / BSc or equivalent
• Minimum of 2 years progressive experience post NYSC
• Demonstrable management experience
• Experience in nutrition work (preferably CMAM) and implementation of feeding programs, including monitoring and evaluation
• Experience in conducting nutrition assessments and an understanding of nutritional surveillance and information systems
• The proven capacity of management, leadership and teamwork
• Excellent communication skills and a willingness to be respectful, kind, sensitive and empathise with all beneficiaries and their carers
• Willingness and capacity to be flexible and accommodating when faced with difficult and frustrating working conditions
• Demonstrable ability at report writing
• Prepared to live and work in an uncertain security environment
• Ability and willingness to frequently travel and stay at the field
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles
• Demonstrable ability at report writing and excellent communication skills
• Fluency in written
• Knowledge of the local languages (Hausa & Kanuri)
• Computer literacy.

Desirable:

• Registered nurse/midwife with community health care experience
• Emergency programming experience.

The Organisation

• We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better health care, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. 
• We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
  • No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
  • All children learn from quality basic education and that,
  • Violence against children is no longer tolerated
• We know that great people make a great organization and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
• Save the Children is committed to ensuring that all our personnel and programmes are absolutely safe for children.
• We undertake rigorous procedures to ensure that only people suitable to work with children are allowed to join our organization and all candidates will, therefore, be subject to this scrutiny.
• We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Application Closing Date
18th June, 2021.

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

Note

• Applicants are advised that Save the Children International does not require any payment or expense during the entire recruitment process. Any request in this direction should be immediately reported as it is contrary to the values and practices of our organization.
• Due to the volume of applications received, Save the Children may not provide feedback to all applicants. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as applications will be reviewed as received. Save the Children reserves the right to change the closing date, if considered necessary.