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: 230001M3
Location: Damaturu, Yobe
Grade: 4
Employee Status: Fixed Term
Reporting to: Nutrition Coordinator.
Reporting to Position: Nutrition Assistant

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3:  the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

Role Purpose

• To support implementation of Nutrition projects in Yobe state.

Key Areas Of Accountability
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):

• Working closely with the Nutrition Coordinator, the Nutrition Program Officer will do the following:
• Support the Nutrition in ensuring quality screening of all children under five years (6-59 months) and referral systems are in place for all children in the target location and conduct follow-up visits on children referred.
• Promote, protect and support optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding practices.
• Support Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergency (IYCF-E), identification of lead mothers, training of health workers and community volunteers.
• Daily supervision of support group meetings in communities.
• Work closely with staff at the Health facility and OTP sites to ensure that all children referred with malnutrition are treated accordingly.
• Ensure quality of OTP services
• Work closely with Field Assistants to identify MAM cases and support Tom-Brown approach.
• Facilitate the formation of Mother to Mother and Father to father support groups meetings and conduct supportive supervision/spot checks during support group meetings.
• Provide counselling to caregivers of children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition.
• Support in the referral of malnourished cases from support groups to health facilities offering Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) services.
• Collate and compile program monthly data reports.
• Prepare transport requests for field trips to the program implementing communities.
• Participate in the training of lead mothers and support group members on Food Demonstration
• Working closely with the Nutrition officer, ensure timely implementation of nutrition activities.
• Provide capacity building and trainings to community nutrition mobilizers, health workers and Community Nutrition Mobilizers on IYCF-E and referral mechanism.
• Ensure monthly and quarterly follow up with Community Mobilizers and community leaders through review/feedback meetings.
• Working closely with the project Food security and livelihood (FSL) team to promote a more robust integration of FSL-Nutrition linkages in an attempt to solving the underlying causes of malnutrition
• Ensure that identified SAM and MAM cases are registered in the FSL e-voucher food distribution.
• Work closely with the MEAL team to ensure that data are captured in a correct and accurate manner
• Assist the nutrition team in giving supportive supervision to community volunteers.
• Compile and submit reports on weekly progress report

Capacity Building:

• Identify learning and training opportunities for partner staff and communicate this to the Nutrition Program Officer or Nutrition Coordinator.  

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. This may involve supporting coordination working groups within the IDP camps and host communities or target project sites.
• Contribute to communications and media work as required through correction of data and information and sharing with the project heads.

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 & Experience
Essential:

• B.Sc or equivalent in Health / Public Health / Nutrition
• Minimum of 3 years progressive experience post NYSC
• Experience in Nutrition and community based programming
• Experience of emergency nutrition work (preferably CMAM) and implementation of feeding programs, including monitoring and evaluation
• Basic training in IYCF-E
• 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
• Experience in community based interventions in Nigeria especially in the NE
• 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
• Fluency in written and spoken English and local languages
• Computer literate

Desirable:

• Master trainer and good facilitator
• Experience in conducting nutrition assessments and an understanding of nutritional surveillance and information systems.

Skills and Behaviours (Our Values in Practice)
Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

Application Closing Date
1st April, 2023.

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