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.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Graduate/post-graduate degree in agriculture engineering, food science/technology, food processing/engineering, public health, or other related field, or first university degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses

Experience:

• At least 6 years of experience in conducting similar assignments including relevant technical knowledge, skills, and extensive work experience in conducting qualitative studies, designing behavior change communication strategy, messages, tools, and materials, plans as well as in capacity building. • Strong communication and information gathering skills; ability to engage with various stakeholders. • Experience with donor-funded projects; and project implementation work. • Qualified and experienced key professional staffs with technical expertise on social and behavior change communication, public health nutrition and fortification

Language: Fluency in both oral and written English. And ability to speak and understand Portuguese/Bahasa (Indonesia) is desirable.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Micronutrient malnutrition or Deficiency (MNM) is widespread in the industrialized nations, but even more so in the developing regions of the world. It can affect all age groups, but young children and Women of Reproductive Age (15-49 years) tend to be among those most at risk of developing micronutrient deficiencies. Micronutrient malnutrition has many adverse effects on human health, not all of which are clinically evident. Worldwide, the three most common forms of Micronutrient malnutrition are iron, vitamin A and iodine deficiency. The estimated impact of MNM on the global economy could be as high as US$3.5 trillion per year, or US$500 per individual. In Timor-Leste, the prevalence of anemia is higher amongst the most vulnerable groups especially children (62.7%). As per recent Timo-Leste Food and Nutrition Survey 2020 (TLFNS 2020), only one-third (35.4%) of children (6-23 months) were found to achieve minimum dietary diversity. Further, other indicators of child malnutrition are observed to be significantly high with 47.1%, 8.6% and 32.1% of children under 5 years of age are stunted, wasted and overweight, respectively. Globally advocated strategies to address malnutrition are food-based interventions such as Dietary Diversification and Food Fortification. Food fortification is the addition of vitamins and minerals to staple foods like rice and wheat to address micronutrient deficiencies in the population. Fortification of staple foods is ranked by the Copenhagen Consensus 2012 as one of the highest return interventions in global development and is also endorsed by the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition (2008 and 2013). Because of the high consumption of rice amongst the Timorese population, delivering micronutrients through rice serves as a strategy to address micronutrient deficiencies. School Meal Programme (SMP) serves as a well-established platform to improve health and nutritional status of children through inclusion of fortified foods (rice, wheat flour, oil, and salt) in the preparation of hot cooked meal. WFP, with the support of KOICA, under the joint program of SN5S (Say No to 5S) project, will focus on introducing fortified rice through the School Meal Programme (SMP) in three municipalities of Baucau, Bobonaro and Manufahi. Through this project, WFP intends to reach 100,000 school going children in 400 schools across all three municipalities. In order understand the root causes of the growing incidence of anemia in the country WFP will conduct a formative research to understand the knowledge, attitude and practices on, dietary practices (including cooking practices) among specific target audience. It will further seek to understand the knowledge, attitude, and practices of fortified foods among the specific audiences and key stakeholders/influencers towards advocating and enhancing the uptake of such foods.

JOB PURPOSE

To inform the design of the Social Behaviour Change Communication Strategy to improve the knowledge and uptake of fortified foods and encourage the consumption of balanced diet. To advocate and promote the consumption of fortified foods thus promoting the importance of micronutrient intake among key stakeholders and influencers.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of Deputy Country Director overseen by the Country Director. He/she will work closely with the manager of Activity 2 - the Nutrition Unit on rice fortification program in the Country Office. The key activities proposed during the assignment are as follows. Objective The formative research is expected to identify potential barriers, enablers, and influencers towards improving the understanding on fortified foods and promotion of fortified foods among the key audiences. It will also further explore the understanding of micronutrient intake among the specific audience groups.

Audience: Primary Audience: School children, school teachers, caregivers Secondary Audience: Key stakeholders (policy level), key influencers (community level) Tertiary Audience: NGOs, Media etc.

A)The specific objectives of this assignment would be as follows. i)Understand the knowledge, attitude and practices on overall dietary practices, cooking practices among school age children, caregivers, and school staff ii)Understand the knowledge, attitude, and practices on the anemia and its consequences iii)Understand the knowledge, attitude and practices of school age children, caregivers, school staff, community on fortification iv)Understand the knowledge, attitude, and practices as well as perception around consumption of fortified food among key stakeholders v)Undertake a media landscape to understand the media usage and identify the communication channels most suited for the audience

B) The formative research should include desk review which will seek to document any available materials, interventions and communication utilized to promote diets, fortified foods, and address anemia.

Key Research Questions The following questions lay down the broad areas of information required, which will need to further be detailed out by the selected consultant/agency: Dietary practices: a.What is knowledge, attitude and practices on overall dietary and cooking practices b.What is the knowledge, attitude and practices around healthy and balanced diet? c.What is the usual food choice/dietary practices found among school age children? d.Is there a gender disparity in terms of access to foods? e.What is the influence of school food environment on the child’s dietary choices? Anemia: a.What is the knowledge, attitude, and practices around anemia – causes and its consequences? b.What is the understanding of MNM preventive strategies and role of micronutrient intake among key target population? Fortified Foods: a.What is the knowledge, attitude, and practice around food fortification and fortified foods? b.What are the commonly consumed fortified foods? c.What is the general perception of fortified foods ‘healthy, unhealthy, harmful/dangerous? d.Who makes the decision to consume fortified foods/ specialized foods within the household? Media Landscaping: a.Understand current sources of media to assess health information? b.What are the media habits among the key target population? c.What are the materials available to understand anemia, fortified foods and diets? d.What are the current media interventions underway? Specific to key stakeholders: a.What is the knowledge, attitude, and practices around consumer behaviors for rice – purchasing criteria, commodity knowledge, perception of quality, concern on price and other factors.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

PURPOSE: Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work. Be a force for positive change Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area. Make the mission inspiring to our team Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities. Make our mission visible in everyday actions Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

PEOPLE: Look for ways to strengthen people's skills Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP. Create an inclusive culture Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries. Be a coach & provide constructive feedback Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement. Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios). PERFORMANCE: Encourage innovation & creative solutions Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries. Focus on getting results Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks. Make commitments and make good on commitments Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders. Be Decisive Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

PARTNERSHIP: Connect and share across WFP units Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning. Build strong external partnerships Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships. Be politically agile & adaptable Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations. Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT-PART 1

1.Part I – Desk research 2.Part 2 – Formative research design: methodology (Qualitative/ Quantitative), sample, tools 3.Part 3 – Formative research: Analysis, recommendations

Scope of Work i.Formative Research steps –based on WFP, 2017-SBCC Interim Guidance(01) : 1.Desk review (use to contextualize findings – compare, contrast, and corroborate –nested approach to be developed with the team) a.Nutrition situational analysis and food consumption patterns b.Policy environment and alignment with national policies and priorities, related to School Meal Programme and Large-Scale Food Fortification i.National policies and their implementation, political will and related structures, key actors ii.Stakeholder mapping c.Peer-reviewed and grey literature (Timor-focused) i.Topics: demographics, socio-cultural aspects of nutrition, health systems, epidemiological data, behavioral insights, previous SBCC work –including relevant case studies and lessons learnt, etc. 1.Ex. DHS, UNFPA, UNICEF, MSI, WHO School Health Survey d.Synthesis of findings –identify gaps

# Source Type Behaviour Audience Barriers Facilitating Factors Implications for SBCC materials 1 2 3

2.Stakeholder engagement a.MoH, MoE, MSA, RF-TAG and KONSSANTIL b.Municipal and village administration – Administrative Chief, Focal points of education and health departments, and finance. c.UN Agencies, and Youth Group d.Development Partners – through DP School health and Nutrition Group and others ex. CARE e.CSO: JDN, OSM, CRN, , Rede Feto, Ba Futuro f.Socialize during SBCC Symposium and capture input from participants i.How to: engaging stakeholders by doing broad consultation in participatory manner, and through validation workshop. More sustainable to do things as a group, identify and engage with local groups

3.Primary data collection through Formative Research a.Framework: i.Aim: to fill in the gaps identified during desk review ii.Core components: 1.Socio-cultural context: understanding core cultural values, generating language considerations, mapping existing health and nutrition services 2.Behavioral content: identifying barriers and facilitating factors to behaviors, describing current knowledge, attitudes, and dietary practices, outlining audience profiles 3.Community involvement: building rapport and gaining community buy-in, identifying preferred communication channels, soliciting feedback on SBCC materials prior to implementation b.Ethics considerations – INS approval to be obtained. c.Findings report

4.Application of findings for choice of channels, identification of audience segments and message development a.Complete behavioral matrices and identify behaviors with potential for change 5.Findings validation and knowledge sharing with stakeholders a.Member checking should be incorporated, by engaging with young researchers and including in validation workshop (while ensuring they feel comfortable to provide feedback – create adequate space) i.Participatory approaches: ex. Silent brainstorming, then vote to build consensus

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT-PART2

6.Final report a.A comprehensive report of all the findings from the research b.Recommendations to SBCC Strategy need to be reflected in the report c.A factsheet on study – methodology, findings, and recommendations

ii.Design and methodology a.Design overview: The selected agency/consultant will be expected to undertake a desk review of existing recent evidence/data to identify potential information gaps for primary data collection. This will also include an analysis of policies and interventions in the areas corresponding to child health and nutrition, School Meal Program, Food Fortification, and hygiene and sanitation. The data collection will be qualitative and cross-sectional. It will include an optimal mix of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) with identified respondent groups. Key informant interviews will also be conducted with identified stakeholders. b.Target Respondents: i.Primary target respondents – School-going children, their Parents, and teachers ii.Secondary target respondents – Head of Schools, Village leaders and Municipal government officials. retail trader c.Sample Size – To be determined d.Data Analysis – To be detailed out.

01-HC3, 2016. Social and Behaviour Change Communication for Emergency Preparedness Implementation Kit. Baltimore: Health Communication Capacity Collaborative. Consulted 26 February 2018. https://sbccimplementationkits.org/sbcc-in-emergencies.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

24 May 2022, midnigth Timor Leste Time

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: wfp.org