Nutrition specialist (emergency), P4

Vacancy No: E-VN-2012-001603

Purpose of the position

Under the general guidance of the Regional Nutrition Advisor, the incumbent is responsible for supporting the development of policy and strategies governing action on nutrition, in particular for the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Nutrition in Emergencies, including in the context of HIV/AIDS. The incumbent will also be responsible for overall support to country offices on programme development for the Core Commitment for Children in the Nutrition sector, the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition, and Nutrition in Emergencies, the development of tools and guidelines for implementing strategies in these areas and generating evidence on effectiveness of nutrition responses during crisis, particularly in the identified areas of nutrition programming, in order to advocate for better programming and increased resources to this area.

As the Regional Office Focal Point for Nutrition in Emergencies and DRR, the incumbent will support Country Offices in achieving an operational and sustained level of preparedness and response capacity to potential crisis situations (emergency preparedness and response plan - EPRP); establishing coordination mechanisms between UNICEF and key humanitarian partners at regional and country levels; in ensuring that key staff and key humanitarian partners have the appropriate knowledge and skills to assume an effective leadership role on the Cluster Approach and are adequately prepared to effectively respond to emergencies; in establishing effective monitoring system and real time evaluation (RTE) mechanism and in sharing lessons learned and good practices with and from other countries and regions.

Key expected results

1. Technical assistance support

• Provide technical support to the Regional and Country Offices to mainstream actions related to the integrated management of acute malnutrition (IMAM), Disaster Risk reduction and Nutrition in Emergencies (NiE)
• Assist key emergency Country Offices in undertaking effective Nutrition Cluster Leadership and coordination role through enhancing existing coordination mechanisms among partners involved in Nutrition in Emergency sector to increase coverage and effectiveness of humanitarian response in Nutrition
• Translate global policy into regional specific strategies for accelerated action and develop operational guidelines and monitoring tools for IMAM, , DRR and NiE
• Act as a rapid response support for Nutrition emergencies for initial rapid assessment and initial response plan if requested to support Nutrition cluster or UNICEF programme response
• Provide technical assistance to the COs in terms of Nutrition supply planning and utilization and make recommendations on effectiveness and appropriateness of Nutrition supply inputs. Assess the situation and make recommendations for more coordinated regional supply and logistic planning and implementation

2. Quality assurance

• Work closely with other sectors (health, nutrition, protection and education) to ensure more integrated response within the context of ACSD.
• Support Regional emergency officers and HR in the development of regional Nutrition rosters (internal, external candidates) for UNICEF’s IMAM, NIS and NIE responses.
• Support Country Offices and the Nutrition sector in developing or reviewing the sector emergency preparedness and response plan for emergencies and provide appropriate assistance to update the strategic planning to respond to Nutrition related emergencies.

3. Leveraging resources

• Develop active links, and networking opportunities with other UN agencies, regional bodies, NGO’s, Donors and coordination mechanisms related to IMAM, NIS and NiE to ensure appropriate attention, and resources are given to IMAM, DRR and NiE in the region.

4. Knowledge management

• Keep up to date with changing knowledge environment, synthesise new research findings on IMAM, and NiE and guide countries based on the findings.
• Provide technical support to UNICEF supported studies and projects, assessments, and evaluations to generate evidence

5. Strategic partnership and representation

• Represent ESARO in regional meetings on IMAM, DRR and NiE

Qualifications of successful candidate

• Advanced university degree in Public Health Nutrition, with orientation to nutrition in developing countries.*
• Eight years of field experience in management and technical assistance to Nutrition programmes in developing countries, including in emergency
• Solid technical background, leadership, coordination and managerial skills to ensure Cluster Leadership
• Fluency in English and another UN language. French and/ or Portuguese preferred.

*A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Competencies of successful candidate

• Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking.
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
• Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear.
• Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives.
• Analyzes and integrates diverse and complex quantitative and qualitative data from a wide range of sources.
• Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of individuals across organizational departments.
• Identifies urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly; initiates and generates team- and department-wide activities.
• Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge across the organization.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.