Nutrition Specialist - Child overweight and obesity prevention (P-4), Nutrition Section, PG, NYHQ

Overview

Provide technical guidance on child obesity prevention programs.

You have:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, public health, global/international health and nutrition, development, health/nutrition research, or other health related social science field is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience at the national and international levels in nutrition and public health is required, with demonstrated experience working on the prevention of overweight and obesity.
• At least 5 years relevant experience in low- and middle-income countries is desired.
• Prior knowledge and experience working on food environment policies and regulations is an asset.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

Contract

This is a P-4 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 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 159,743 USD and 205,956 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 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, hope

UNICEF’s overarching vision is to prevent all forms of malnutrition and ensure treatment when prevention efforts fail, and that this be available in all contexts. UNICEF’s goal is also to reach at least 6 million children suffering from SAM with early and quality care annually by 2021. UNICEF’s ambition is to increase engagement in system strengthening, prevention programming, and leverage an increasing number of platforms to ensure that fewer and fewer children suffer from SAM, and that early care is provided to those who still do require life saving treatment and support.

How can you make a difference?

The incumbent will provide technical guidance and support to UNICEF Regional and Country Offices for the implementation of programmes for the prevention of child overweight and obesity in line with the UNICEF programmatic guidance in this field. They will also stay abreast of scientific developments and global technical guidance, and update the programmatic guidance as required, as well as manage global financial and non-financial partnerships and represent the organization on this topic in external-facing engagements.

Technical support and guidance

• Serve as a focal point for advocacy, policy, programming and technical expertise in the prevention of child overweight and obesity using a child's rights and equity approach.
• Provide technical support to UNICEF Regional and Country Offices in developing and implementing policies and strategies for the prevention of child overweight and obesity.
• Update and develop new UNICEF guidance documents and programming tools in line with latest scientific and programmatic knowledge.
• Undertake support visits to UNICEF offices and provides continuous distance support for improvement of programming to address child overweight and obesity.

Knowledge management and sharing

• Organize, collect and disseminate results of UNICEF's research, lessons learned and best practices on the prevention of child overweight and obesity in low- and middle-income countries.
• Support UNICEF Regional and Country Offices on knowledge management on the prevention of child overweight and obesity.
• Help address knowledge gaps on the burdens and drivers of child overweight and obesity and translate this in implementation strategies.

Networking and partnership

• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in global, regional, and national fora related to the prevention of child overweight and obesity.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF on global expert groups and (UN) networks.
• Lead UNICEF’s engagement in global coalition(s) related to the prevention of child overweight and obesity

Advocacy and resource mobilization

• Works with colleagues in the Section, the Private Fundraising and Partnership Division and others where relevant, to mobilise resources for the prevention of child obesity including the development of funding proposals.
• Works with relevant colleagues to strengthen global advocacy for the prevention of child overweight and obesity with equity.

Monitoring and reporting

• Contributes to meeting organizational reporting requirements at UNICEF HeadquartersHow can you make a difference?

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, public health, global/international health and nutrition, development, health/nutrition research, or other health related social science field is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience at the national and international levels in nutrition and public health is required, with demonstrated experience working on the prevention of overweight and obesity.
• At least 5 years relevant experience in low- and middle income countries is desired.
• Prior knowledge and experience working on food environment policies and regulations is an asset.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

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: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

Potential interview questions