National Nutrition and Communication Specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO supports countries to adopt a food-based approach to improve maternal and child diets and to prevent all forms of malnutrition for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. FAO in partnership with other UN agencies and INGOs in Myanmar offers technical support to ensure coherence of dietary guidelines developed for people of different age groups. In 2021, an evidence review report of the Food-based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) for pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children aged 2-5 year (FAO and UNICEF, 2022, in press) indicated that Myanmar people nowadays focus more on food safety than nutritional quality of diets. Hence, attention to nutritional quality of diets need to be strengthened in the population in order to reduce the high prevalence of malnutrition in Myanmar. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview of OCHA 2022, 46% of 54 million Myanmar people are under the national poverty line, of which 14.4 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, 13.2 million are food insecure, and 2 million are in need of nutrition support. The high poverty rate is inevitably associated with increased food insecurity and malnutrition. 54% of households were unable to afford a recommended healthy diet before the political crisis in early 2021. In 2022, more than half of children are expected to live in poverty. Approximately, 290,000 children aged below 5 years are predicted to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2022, of which 49,000 children (17 %) will suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) which is the most severe form of malnutrition with a high death toll. And that over 0.7 million PLW are at risk of micronutrient deficiency. In 2022-23, under a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) titled ‘Technical assistance in development of strategic tools for planning agriculture diversification and dietary improvement’, FAOMM is committed to rolling out the FBDGs to guide people on healthy diets, and to inform decision makers and the agri-food system sector on the production and supply of adequate and quality nutrient dense foods to meet the consumer demand for healthy diets under the humanitarian context in Myanmar. The TCP would also monitor and evaluate the uptake and implementation of FBDGs at national and sub-national levels.

Reporting Lines

Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative in Myanmar, direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (programme) in Myanmar, and direct technical supervision of the Senior Nutrition & Food systems Officer (the Lead Technical Officer) of FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in close collaboration with the FAO International Nutrition Technical Expert, the FAOMM FIRST Food Security and Nutrition Policy Specialist, Senior Agronomist, in close collaboration with the UN Nutrition Secretariat of the FBDG Technical Task Force, and in consultation with the Nutrition Officer of FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division (ESN, HQ),

Technical Focus

The incumbent will support and carry out the preparation of the FBDGs rollout plan, finalize a roadmap, implementation and communication plan, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), ToT training module development, conducting the training and awareness session, Data collection, discussions and providing technical knowledge with Field offices (FOs), as well as day-to-day matters in supporting the Interim Technical Task Force (ITTF) and implementing partners to implement the FBDGs. The incumbent will perform the following tasks:

Tasks and responsibilities:

The incumbent will be responsible for the following tasks to support the implementation of the newly published FBDGs and to finalize three additional sets of FBDGs:

• Work closely with and liaise regularly with the UN Nutrition Team, and ITTF members, for the project implementation, advocacy and adaptation of the FBDGs related IEC materials’ in different states, capacity development and monitoring and evaluation, to ensure timely implementation and delivery of high-quality results and activities, including printing and timely distribution of FBDGs-related IEC materials. • With support from ESN, RAP, and International Nutrition Technical Expert, review the FBDG implementation plan (i.e. framework, roadmap, strategies, and the FBDG Implementation user manual), and adapt it to the Myanmar context and present it ITTF members, and prioritize key partners and ongoing initiatives to roll out the FBDGs for PLW and children aged 2-5-year old. • Support the International Nutrition Consultant and LTO for the finalization of the FBDG communication plan (i.e. framework, roadmap, strategies, social behaviour change communication approaches (SBCC), and the SBCC user manual, etc.), and identify and prioritize key partners and ongoing programmes to promote healthy eating behaviours among PLW and children aged 2-5-year old in Myanmar. • Compile the existing national FBDGs’ Information, and Communication (IEC) materials for use in various states and/or agro-ecological zones of Myanmar, working closely with the International Nutrition Expert, by collating information on local food composition data, commonly consumed local foods, local food culture and habits, etc. to fine-tune context specific FBDGs’ IEC materials for different population/ethnic groups, in the language(s) that local people could understand. • Develop and pilot test the FBDG training tool kit for the Training of Trainers (ToT) and conduct ToT training to develop capacity of partners especially for the frontline staff, teachers, dietitians, nutritionists, health promotion specialists, extension workers and community workers, etc., • Support day to day activities for conducting needs assessments, advocacy and implementation of the FBDGs for the target population groups, partners and stakeholders (e.g. communities, CSOs, private sector, village health centers, child care centers and schools, etc.) in the country. • Work closely with the FAO field offices, Implementing Partners and NGOs, for the M&E plan and activities of the project, including baseline and end-line data collection, analysis and report writing on quantitative dietary intake, e.g. repeated 24-hr recalls; Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and Minimum Adequate Diet (MAD) for PLW and children respectively in selected samples of women and children in the pilot implementation sites, etc. • Support data analysis of the results of the project implementation and M&E, prepare scientific publication(s), draft technical reports, and final report of the project. • Disseminate FBDG recommendations and IEC materials through incorporation into existing communication packages under community food security and nutrition-related projects coordinated by the UN agencies and/or implementing partners such as SUN Business Network, and ongoing projects administered by respective UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs and CSOs. • Facilitate multi-stakeholder workshops to share the action plans for advocacy, implementation and dissemination, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the FBDGs and its IEC materials at national and regional level. • Participate in FBDG Task Force meetings and conduct national and regional workshops to collect and share information of project progress. • In collaboration with the UNN-hired National Nutrition Consultants, ensure to develop materials for visibility and advocacy for the FBDGs by targeting and prioritizing audiences, e.g. health care professionals, school heads, key media, leaders from CSOs and private sectors, key opinion leaders and community leaders, etc. • Support nutrition-related tasks, including participation in nutrition meetings in Myanmar, as directed by the FAOR (Programme) and the Lead Technical Office of the project when required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• An advanced University Degree in Nutrition, Dietetics or Food Science, Public Health nutrition, or a closely related field. • Minimum 5 years relevant experience in nutrition, public health, or related field. • Working knowledge (level C) of English. • Myanmar National or Resident with regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Conversant with and knowledgeable of food and nutrition security situation in Myanmar • Training and demonstrated experience in public health and/or community nutrition research, project planning and implementation, and familiarity with the link between agriculture, food and nutrition. • Experience in writing technical reports for the government, international developmental agency, or international NGO. • Experience in engaging in multi-sectoral nutrition platforms such as Scaling up Nutrition Movement • Experience in using effective Behaviour Change Communication skills to communicate and promote dietary behavior change to different age groups of people • Demonstrated experience in designing and conducting capacity development programmes to different professional groups, such as agriculturists, health care workers, teachers, community workers, students, CSOs, etc. • Demonstrated experience in delivering health, food and nutrition programmes to local communities, women of reproductive age and young children in particular. • Experience in working with a UN agency or international NGO is desirable.

Selection Criteria

• Extent of knowledge and experience with the implementation of Food-based Dietary guidelines elsewhere. • Demonstrated experience working on agriculture-nutrition linkages • Experience in engaging with diverse nutrition stakeholders. • Experience in writing and publishing technical reports for the government, international developmental agency, or international NGO. • Experience in publishing scientific papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals • Excellent communication in both oral and written English as well as Myanmar language.