Infant and young Children feeding Counsellor (Assistant)
Job Description
The IRC launched an emergency response in oPt in 2023, responding to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. Prior to October 7th, in June 2023, we conducted a scoping mission to oPt, in the West Bank, and subsequently developed a strategic plan to initiate programming in the West Bank. Since then, and in the context of catastrophic fighting and renewed violence, the IRC has initiated an emergency response in Gaza and developed a response plan with partners which includes Gaza and the West Bank. Implementing a diverse, integrated program of health, protection, cash, and scaling up in WASH and nutrition, these programs prioritize local partnerships with both public institutions and civil society, and span emergency, humanitarian, recovery, and development modalities, while serving vulnerable Palestinians in oPt.
Scope of work
Working under the guidance and supervision of the Nutrition Officer, and in close collaboration with the NutritionO, the Infant and young Children feeding Counsellor (Assistant) shall be responsible for the day to day implementation of the IYCF-E component of the integrated nutrition programs that encompass nutrition screening and assessments; promotion of infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E); management of at risk mothers and infants (MAMI); addressing micronutrient deficiencies; Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), and blanket supplementary feeding in all IRC supported sites/health facilities. The IYCF-E Assistant shall ensure that all components of the program are functioning properly, providing quality of care to all the clients through respecting protocols and principles of good practice, e.g. the Operational Guidance on IYCF-E, the IYCF-E standard operating procedures (SOP) for Gaza, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and other relevant protocols and guidelines in use in the state of Palestine. The IYCF-E officer is expected to work well with partners, identifying capacity gaps for training and ensuring reports are compiled accurately and submitted on time.
Key Responsibilities
• Manage project site activities and staff (such as IYCF-E activities in Child Friendly Spaces, baby tents, etc., the IYCF-E staff, Breastfeeding Counsellors and volunteers);
• Provide IYCF-E technical support to staff (CMAM, Health, Child Protection and others as necessary), Ministry of Health (MoH) and other humanitarian actors, as necessary, to promote consistent good practice;
• Ensure that all staff understand and implement program guidelines when assessing the mother child pair and advise the best feeding options and follow-up as appropriate.
• Ensure appropriate and consistent education messaging to mothers and other carers at all programming contact points (e.g. Child Friendly Centers, clinics, distributions) and in the community (Note: the key messages should be agreed by all stakeholders in an emergency to ensure consistency).
• Facilitate the development and scheduling of outreach activities (e.g. for IYCF-E Outreach Workers, volunteers).
• Develop monthly work plans for the mother-baby areas (e.g. Child Friendly Spaces, corners at health centers, Baby Tents, etc.) with the IYCF-E Counsellors and appropriate staff.
• Prepare field visit plans and supervision checklists in advance of trips.
• Compile monthly activity reports and assist with stock consumption/distribution plans for outreach and each mother-baby area as required.
• Facilitate cross-sectoral programming, particularly to promote excellent communication and referral between IYCF-E, CMAM, WASH and protection programming.
Training and Capacity Building:
• Conduct evaluation and appraisal of staff as required;
• Conduct orientations and trainings to build the capacity of staff/volunteers, MoH staff and the
• community at large
Supervision Responsibilities
• Directly supervise IYCF counsellors, nutrition assistants and community assistants.
• Supervise and work in collaboration with the health, protection and WASH teams or others in the screening activities of severely and moderately malnourished children and pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW).
• Identify training gaps for the staff and clients and communicate the same to the nutrition manager.
• Conduct routine supervision and monitoring of activities as per supervision plan.
Networking and Coordination
• At field sites, liaise with other humanitarian actors, and local authorities as appropriate, to maximize collaboration and ensure proper coordination of activities (Note: a key group is the logistics cluster).
• Under the guidance of the nutrition Manager undertake local level networking and coordination on assessment and appropriate response to support infant and young child feeding.
Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics, Public health, or related health field from a recognized university.
• Demonstrable commitment to promoting and supporting optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
• Demonstrable management experience.
• Experience of implementation programs (ideally nutrition related), including monitoring and evaluation.
• Experience in conducting assessments and an understanding of nutritional data.
• Proven capacity to supervise, train and coach staff.
• Willingness and capacity to be flexible and accommodating when faced with difficult and frustrating working conditions.
• Ability and willingness to frequently travel and stay at the field.
• Demonstrable ability at report writing and excellent communication skills.
• Computer literate.
Desirable:
• Qualified nurse or midwife with primary health care/community health care experience.
• Emergency programming experience.
Qualifications
Added 2 days ago
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Updated 1 hour ago
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Source:
rescue.org
