Local Consultant: Technical Consultant on Overweight and Obesity Management and Prevention Program - 11 Months

Contract

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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.

And we never give up.

For every child, a fair chance

UNICEF has been an active partner of the Government of the Philippines and civil society in realizing the rights of every Filipino child, in line with priorities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. UNICEF efforts have been focused on the most vulnerable regions identified by the Government of the Philippines Development Plan, particularly in the regions of Visayas and Mindanao. To ensure that interventions are sustainable and scaled up, UNICEF will support primarily local government units (LGUs) as the main instruments of delivering services and building systems. The level of engagement with government institutions will take into account capacities, economies of scale and sector issues.

It has a field office in Cotabato City, the second largest city in Mindanao, southern Philippines, with some 300,000 population. The city is the regional administrative centre of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and over 80 percent of the population is Muslim. Mindanao is both conflict-affected and prone to frequent earthquakes and typhoon storms.

Visit this link for more information on Philippine Country Office: https://www.unicef.org/philippines/

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF will support the government to strengthen and roll-out interventions focusing on the following areas:

• Creating demand and improving the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices of pregnant women, parents and caregivers of children 0- 5 years old; school children and adolescents on risks of obesity and overweight, importance of healthy lifestyle, and making healthy choices for overall health and nutrition.
• Improving service delivery systems through capacity development of frontline workers such as health workers and day care workers in promoting healthy food environments and delivering relevant and quality services.
• Creating a supportive environment, through policies, legislation and influencing investments that promote healthy food environments and lifestyle in various settings such as community and schools.
• Adoption of policies and legislations at the local level of implementation through the passage of local ordinance and inclusion in the Local Nutrition Action Plan.
• Generating evidence for action and to expand the knowledge base for overweight and obesity programming in the country.

The program will be implemented at the national level and in selected Local Government Units (LGUs) in the three UNICEF Country Program focus provinces and cities of Samar, Northern Samar, Zamboanga Del Norte, Zamboanga City, Angeles City and Valenzuela City. The Overweight and Obesity Prevention and Management Program will build on existing work that UNICEF is supporting on the First 1000 Days through the early moments matters campaign.

Work Assignments/Tasks

1. Engagement with Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and Department of Interior and Local Government on strengthening programs and interventions for prevention and management of overweight and obesity.

2. Develop modules on nutrition literacy and healthy lifestyle for inclusion in the school curriculum. 3. Support the department of health with development of tools to facilitate routine nutrition assessment and counselling of adolescent. 4. Development of Philippine Nutrient Profile Model following the Western Pacific Nutrient Profile Model as a guide for identifying food and beverages that will be subject to marketing regulation.

5. Develop policies or legislation that promote healthy food environment and lifestyle. 6. Support the review of the policy and regulation and develop guidance on front of pack labelling of foods, in particular – sugar, salt and fat.

7. Policy on regulation of marketing of unhealthy foods in coordination with Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration. 8. Support the development of national guidelines on healthy food environment and lifestyle. 9. Dissemination of national policies and guidelines at the local level, where applicable facilitate adoption of the policies at the local level. 10. Organization/activation of community and peer support groups through which counselling, formal and informal education activities are delivered. This may include assessing the capacity of communities to implement the community-based programs.

11. Advocacy and engagement with local chief executives with the objective of passing local ordinance to promote healthy lifestyle among children and adolescents. These will include ordnances on: a) Marketing of foods b) Awareness on front of pack labelling c) School meals (use of ping gang pinoy) d) Provision of local funds for the promotion of health food environments and lifestyle in the local nutrition action plan

12. Capacity building of community workers and other program implementers.

Deliverables

• Meeting notes and documentation of stakeholders’ agreements and commitments • Draft policy documents • Draft copy of modules ready for printing • Tools to facilitate routine nutrition assessment and counselling of adolescents. • Draft Philippine Nutrient Profile as a guide for identifying food and beverages that will be subject to marketing regulations • Draft policy to promote healthy food environment and lifestyle in various settings including communities and schools. • Draft updated policy and regulation and develop guidance on front of pack labelling of foods, in particular – sugar, salt and fat. • Policy on regulation of marketing of unhealthy foods. • Draft policy on healthy food environment and lifestyle. • Dissemination forum conducted • Documentation report • Power point presentations • Forum design • Plan to organize/activate community and peer support groups through which counselling • Advocacy strategies/plan • Report • Draft advocacy materials • Capacity building plan ready for implementation • Final narrative report

Qualifications and Competencies of Successful Consultant

• Master’s degree in any of the following areas: nutrition, public health, economics, business development, development planning, public policy or health policy, development studies, or other development-related field.

• Work Experience: At least five years professional experience in strategic development; planning; policy development and management. Have demonstrated experience in working with government partners and other stakeholders in public sector especially in the areas of policy analysis and development; development planning and programming both at the national and local levels. Demonstrated experience in overweight and obesity prevention and management programs will be an added advantage. Ability to meet deadlines and work with minimal day to day supervision. Excellent skills and experience in designing/reviewing plans.

  Languages: Fluency in English and local language is desirable.

  Critical Competencies:

  Technical

  • Familiarity to health and nutrition programming both national and local. • High coordination and communication skills. • Experienced working with local government units, in particularly working on health and nutrition programs. • Experienced working with national government agencies: DOH, NNC and other NGOs • Work experience on Non-Communicable Diseases, overweight and obesity management and prevention program an advantage. • Working with UN agencies and other development partners an advantage. • Good communication skills both English and local dialect. Excellent writing and analytical skills. • Knowledge on Microsoft excel and other related computer concerns.

HOW TO APPLY

Qualified candidates are requested to complete an online candidate profile in http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ by 18 September 2020. Only applications sent through the e-recruitment portal under Job Number: 534234 will be considered.

All candidates are requested to submit a COVER LETTER, and the duly filled P 11 form which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc indicating three (3) previous supervisors. Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted.

By applying through our Talent Management System (TMS) you agree to our privacy statement which is in line with the Philippines Data Privacy Act. You are strongly advised to read carefully through the privacy statement before submitting your application.

"UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles."