Nutrition Specialist, NO-3 at the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Nutrition Specialist, NO-3

Job No: 545649
Location: Abuja
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Level: NO-3
Categories: Nutrition

How can you make a difference?

• The Nutrition Specialist will support the development and preparation of the SBCC strategy and will be responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting the progress of key deliverables of the nutrition programme within the country programme.
• The Nutrition Specialist will provide technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition programmes/projects.
• This will be carried out according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities
Support to programme development and planning:

• Contribute to and support the preparation, design and development of a robust gender transformative behavior change communication strategy to improve maternal, infant and young child nutrition.
• Participate in strategic programme discussions on the planning of gender sensitive nutrition programmes/projects, on behavior change communication, with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Formulate, design and contribute to development of high-quality nutrition programme proposals, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, Country Programme, and coherence/integration with the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), regional strategies, as well as national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies, and implementation plans based on results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare high quality documentations for programme review and approval.
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss gender and nutrition transformative strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results:

• Plan and/or collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to establish gender transformative monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators, and UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurements, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for the assigned sector in nutrition programmes.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other stakeholders to assess progress and to determine required action and interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths and/or weaknesses in programme management. Identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Actively monitor programmes and projects through field visits, surveys and/or exchange of information with partners and stakeholders to assess progress. Identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
• Monitor and verify the optimum and appropriate use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets) confirming compliance with organizational rules, regulations, procedures, donor commitments, and standards of accountability. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
• Prepare regular high quality programme/project reports and data bases for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

Technical and operational support to programme implementation:

• Lead the development of high-quality user-centered formative research to inform programme strategies across the country.
• Oversee implementation of gender transformative behavior change communication strategies for nutrition, working in partnership with government, development partners and private sector.
• Work with nutrition stakeholders to build consensus on a harmonized national behavior change communication strategy.
• Provide technical guidance and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the interpretation, application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, best practices, and behavior change communication approaches on nutrition and related issues to support programme development planning, management, implementation, and delivery of results.
• Participate in discussions with national and sub-national stakeholders to promote nutrition and development issues especially in the areas of behavior change communication.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration.

Networking and partnership building:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with nutrition sector government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge.
• Represent UNICEF in external meetings as appropriate.
• Facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve programme goals on maternal and child rights as well as social justice and equity.
• Prepare high quality communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for nutrition programmes (maternal, newborn and child survival and development).
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency discussions, ensuring that UNICEF’s position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF development planning and agenda setting.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Apply and introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders, and to support the implementation and delivery of normative change.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best and cutting-edge practices in nutrition management and information systems. Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders to promote sustainable results on nutrition related programmes and projects.

Requirements
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
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 Sciences, Nutritional Epidemiology, or another Health-related Science field.

Experience:

• A minimum of 8 to 10 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.
• Demonstrated experience in leading/managing user centered behavior change communication approaches to achieve normative change.
• 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 or local language(s) of the duty station is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
• The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core competencies:

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (3)
• Works Collaboratively with others (3)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (3)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (3)
• Deciding and Initiating action (2)
• Applying technical expertise (3)

Application Closing Date
8th November, 2021; W. Central Africa Standard Time.