Nutrition Emergency Specialist, P3, TA (364 days), Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 74,649 USD and 97,747 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, hope

Diseases (malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea) as well as epidemics such as measles and cholera constitute major contributing factors to acute malnutrition and lead to very high prevalences which vary between 10 and 89%. However, morbidity, generally linked to malaria, diarrhea, measles, dysentery, cholera and acute respiratory infections (ARI), is considered a major nutrition problem. Acute malnutrition is often made worse by insufficient access to health care and nutritional support. Furthermore, nutrition interventions are most often less coupled with health interventions. In addition, the latest nutrition survey in the DRC in November 2023 showed that 8.2% of children aged 6 to 59 months suffer from global acute malnutrition (GAM) and 2.6% of cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Seventeen of the country's 26 provinces reported SAM prevalence above the emergency threshold of 2%. Among these, six provinces reported a SAM prevalence above the extreme emergency threshold of 5% (Bas-Uele, Haut-Lomami, Mai-Ndombé, Kwango, Kwilu and Sankuru). In 2024, an estimated 4.6 million people will suffer from SAM, including 1.2 million children under the age of five affected by SAM (HRP, 2024).

These conflicts have caused unprecedented humanitarian needs, with more than 6.3 million internally displaced people (IDPs) living in the DRC, including 6.1 million (97%) in the region alone from the east. These factors, in addition to the half a million refugees in the country, have further aggravated protection needs and increased the risks of gender-based violence (GBV), as well as the risks of abuse and exploitation for women and children, while limiting humanitarian access to the most vulnerable populations.

Furthermore, health emergencies, conflicts and resulting population displacements have strained the health system, while weaknesses in health governance, financing and delivery, compounded by socio-cultural barriers, hinder access to quality health care. To that ; he adds, the shortage of human resources and its unequal distribution, the insufficiency of medical supplies, the low performance of health information systems and the existence of a weak health system at the community level (including the non- operationalization of the community health strategy) constitute other key gaps in the health system that urgently need to be addressed to ensure the health and well-being of the most vulnerable children in the DRC. One opportunity is to work on an HDP (Humanitarian-Development-Peace) approach; Nexus approach to strengthen links between different interventions and help build more resilient health systems and communities while contributing to risk reduction.

How can you make a difference?

Under the direct supervision of the chief nutrition in Kinshasa, the Nutrition Specialist in Emergency is an operational role supporting the preparation and response to nutritional emergencies following humanitarian crises within the UNCEF rapid response team based in Goma. You may be deployed across the country to support and provide technical expertise to health colleagues in field offices in UNICEF's preparedness and nutritional response to humanitarian emergencies, in order to achieve sustainable and concrete results in improving rights, survival and well-being. -the being of children and women in the country. Here are the key functions/accountabilities, but not limited to:

1. Emergency Preparedness: Support the POs in the development of preparation and response plans for epidemic and humanitarian health emergencies of the various field offices and contribute to the national plan
2. Emergency response: conduct a rapid assessment, liaise with staff and partners, propose an action plan, coordinate with emergencies and UNICEF sections, develop partnerships for the emergency health response UNICEF in case of emergency.
3. Advocate and build partnerships: Support resource mobilization in coordination with other parties.
4. Accountability to Affected Population: Build, implement, follow up and disseminate community feedback for real-time response information and action.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: ToR - Nutrition Emergency specialist ERT - P3 - TA - 4VA.docx

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s) in Public Health or Nutrition (preferably with specialized training in public health and nutrition planning, health and nutrition education, health care system management, or epidemiology):
• Background/familiarity and specific work experience on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (including micronutrients) programmes

• Familiarity with humanitarian principles, policies and response actions

• Work Experience: At least five (5) years of relevant work professional experience in planning, managing and implementing health emergency programs with either the UN, International Organizations, and/or NGO at national and international level including field experience and demonstrated professional achievements in Africa; Knowledge and experience with operational and action research findings to meet the needs of programs in low- and middle-income countries.

• Experience in emergency contexts required.

• Language Requirements: Fluency in French and working proficiency in English.

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization.
• Knowledge of a local language.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.