Nutritionist (Consultant - Corporate Nutrition Priorities, with focus on Wasting)

POSITION TITLE: Nutritionist (Consultant - Corporate Nutrition Priorities, with focus on Wasting)

ORG UNIT: RBD Nutrition Unit

DUTY STATION: Dakar, Senegal, with frequent travel in the region.

DURATION: Until end of December 2021

CONTEXT:

In 2015 the world committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including the elimination of malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. To do so, the SDGs incorporated the World Health Assembly targets to reduce the proportion of children suffering from wasting1 to <5% by 2025 and <3% by 20302. Yet, since these targets were adopted, the proportion of wasted children has remained largely unchanged. Today, an estimated 7.3% (50 million) of all children under five suffer from wasting at any given time.

In West and Central Africa, several factors threaten the food security and nutritional status of the population, but especially of women and children under five. These include household food insecurity, conflicts and armed violence, population displacement, high levels of childhood illnesses and water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, fragile health systems, poor access to clean water and sanitation, and chronic poverty.

In this region, a combination of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding interventions are being implemented and complement each other. This nexus of short-term (emergency response) and medium-to long term programming (development approach) is essential to ensure the appropriate balance between emergency response to acute shocks and strengthening of systems so resilience of nations, systems, communities and populations to new future shocks is improved.

The nutrition unit within the Regional Bureau in Dakar (RBD) is engaged in the provision of strategic and technical assistance for the implementation of large nutrition interventions in response to national and regional nutrition crisis and in the development of national nutrition capacities. The main objective is to increase coverage and efficiency of nutrition programmes, especially prevention and treatment of wasting through nutrition specific and sensitive programming.

Given the burden of malnutrition/food insecurity in West Africa and particularly in the Sahel, the purpose of the assignment is to provide technical assistance to WFP RBD countries on wasting management and prevention including the global action plan on child wasting process and the enhanced partnership with UNICEF.

This consultancy will be the continuation of initial analysis done and will focus on implementation of clear recommendations and actions points gathered in different fora (such as regional discussions, the RBD-RBN wasting stock-taking meeting, specific actions points agreed upon with Nutrition Division, etc.)

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of the Regional Nutrition Advisor (RNA), the nutritionist will be responsible to facilitate implementation of specific action points in support to nutrition programming in the region. This includes, under technical guidance by the regional nutritionist (deputy RNA), and in close coordination with other relevant technical colleagues in RBD and CO’s:

1. Support selected country offices to finalize, implement and monitor GAP on child wasting
2. Country Roadmaps and ensure coordination across the 5 agencies, including through field
3. missions.
4. Support the implementation and monitoring of joint UNICEF-WFP actions in Mali, Chad
5. and Niger, including through field missions.
6. Support all country offices in the region to implement enhanced partnership between
7. UNICEF and WFP, with a focus on Sahel countries.
8. Participate in coordination mechanisms related to GAP on child wasting and partnership.
9. Liaise with Nutrition Division in Headquarter to ensure up-to-date guidance is shared with
10. country offices.
11. Contribute to technical discussions, exchange experiences, advocate for integrated
12. approach and partnership.
13. 7. Provide technical support and guidance to country offices for wasting interventions
14. including nutrition integration
15. 8. Support country offices to improve the supply chain of specialized nutritious foods (SNF)
16. as well as in the identification of substitution options when needed.
17. 9. Support the design, implementation, monitoring and documentation of innovative
18. solutions for addressing wasting.
19. 10. Contribute to the investment cases on wasting and last mile
20. 11. Support the research agenda around the GAP on child wasting and the partnership, as
21. required.
22. 12. Inform WFP future direction in wasting through field learnings, participation in regional
23. platforms and coordination work with partners, as relevant.
24. 13. Support capacity strengthening in country offices for nutrition programming for WFP staff
25. and partners, including government counterparts.
26. 14. Support the organization of bi-monthly nutrition update meetings with the country offices
27. in the region
28. 15. Collaborate with the RBD school feeding unit for the development, implementation and
29. monitoring of a regional joint action plan related to school health and nutrition
30. 16. Perform other tasks as required.

SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education - Advanced degree in the field of international nutrition, public health, social sciences or other relevant areas.

Experience

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in one or more developing countries.
• Experience in the design, implementation, and management of
• nutrition programs in developing countries.
• Experience working in partnership and with government, UN agencies
• or cooperating partners in the field
• Experience with UN, preferably WFP, including at Country Office[1]level, is an asset.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Ability to engage effectively at working level with a wide range of
• actors including international community and governments
• Good communication, writing and facilitation skills.
• Flexibility and adaptability.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Interpersonal and cross-cultural sensitivity.
• Able to work under pressures and meet deadlines
• Able to work in a sometimes fluid and insecure environment.
• Good computer skills.

Languages: Fluency in English and French is required (Level C - reading, writing, speaking)

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