SENS Consultant

Overview

Lead and oversee the UNHCR SENS process from planning to report writing.

You have:

• Have a university degree or the equivalent, with advanced education in nutrition/public health with a specific competency in humanitarian emergencies.
• Have significant experience in undertaking nutrition surveys including design, methodologies, and data analysis.
• Be familiar with SMART survey methodology and Epi Info software.
• Be fluent in English with excellent writing and presentation skills. Knowledge of local language is an asset.
• Prior experience with conducting SENS surveys in refugee contexts is an asset.
• Prior experience with mobile technology for surveys is an asset.

Deadline for Applications

October 3, 2025Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

DFamily Type (not applicable for home-based)

Non Family with Residential LocationStaff Member / Affiliate Type

CONS LocalTarget Start Date

2025-09-16Terms of Reference

BACKGROUND

Ethiopia is one of the largest refugee hosting countries in the region. As of 30th June 2025, 1.08 million refugees have been residing in various camps and sites under different UNHCR Field operations. In collaboration with the Government’s Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), UNHCR coordinates efforts to protect and assist refugees and asylum-seekers in Ethiopia, while promoting sustainable solutions. The UN Refugee Agency enhances refugee protection by expanding community-based and multi-sectoral approaches across various sectors.

The Public Health section within UNHCR focuses on safeguarding, supporting, and promoting the health, nutrition, and food security needs of refugees. Although resources are limited, UNHCR and its partners work diligently to deliver vital services that serve both the refugee populations and the surrounding host communities.

The Nutrition and Food Security section under Public Health collaborates with various partners to finance and provide quality services for refugees, asylum seekers, and surrounding host communities. Ensuring good nutritional outcomes in refugee populations is a priority for UNHCR. Our programs rely on accurate data from these challenging and unique environments, with regular household-level nutrition surveys (Standard Expanded Nutrition Survey - SENS) playing a key role in delivering effective and timely interventions to improve outcomes.

The current nutrition situation in the whole operation is dire with high global acute malnutrition (GAM) which rises to 25% in some locations. Micronutrient deficiencies especially iron deficiency anaemia have been rampant in the camps in which 1 out of 2 children have been reported to be in some of form of anaemia. The food security situation in the operation have shown that it reduces every year to only covers half of the energy requirement.

The Standardized Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS) is a multisectoral assessment tool developed by UNHCR to evaluate the overall nutritional status of refugee populations. It helps identify critical gaps and formulate actionable recommendations to improve nutrition-related outcomes. The SENS 2025 initiative was designed to encompass all operational areas. However, challenges such as a shortage of expert staff have caused delays in early initiation of the survey at certain operations, which will affect compliance with donor commitments. Therefore, it is essential to hire a SENS Manager – Consultant to conduct surveys across various locations and UNHCR operations. The survey is time sensitive due to seasonality changes and delaying it will affect results and programming decisions.

Objective The Consultant will lead and oversee the UNHCR SENS process from planning to training, implementation of data collection, data quality checks, data analysis and report writing.

S/he will produce updated Anthropometry, Health, Anaemia, IYCF, Food Security, WASH and mosquito net coverage indicators on Afar and Amhara operation areas as per the following objectives

Primary objectives

1. To determine the demographic profile of the population.
2. To determine the age dependency ratio.
3. To measure the prevalence of acute malnutrition in children aged 6-59.
4. To measure the prevalence of stunting in children aged 6-59 months.
5. To determine the coverage of measles vaccination among children aged 9-59 months (or context-specific target group e.g. 9-23 months).
6. To determine the coverage of vitamin A supplementation in the last 6 months among children aged 6-59 months.
7. To determine the two-week period prevalence of diarrhoea among children aged 6-59 months.
8. To measure the prevalence of anaemia in children aged 6-59 months and in women of reproductive age between 15-49 years (non-pregnant).
9. To investigate IYCF practices among children aged 0-23 months.
10. To determine the population’s overall ability to meet their food needs with assistance.
11. To determine the extent to which negative coping strategies are used by households.
12. To assess household food consumption (quantity and quality).
13. To determine the ownership of mosquito nets (all types and LLINs) in households.
14. To determine the utilisation of mosquito nets (all types and LLINs) by the total population, children 0-59 months and pregnant women.
15. To determine the population’s access to, and use of, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.
16. To determine the population’s access to soap.
17. Include other additional objectives negotiated for the survey
18. To establish recommendations on actions to be taken to address the situation in [insert refugee setting]

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

The successful candidate will: • Have a university degree or the equivalent, with advanced education in nutrition/public health with a specific competency in humanitarian emergencies. • Have significant experience in undertaking nutrition surveys (design and methodologies, staff recruitment and training, sample size calculation, sampling, field supervision and data analysis/write up). • Be familiar with the SMART survey methodology and ENA for SMART, Epi Info software. • Be familiar with analysing nutrition surveys with multiple indicators, beyond the basic anthropometric (SMART) indicators. • Be fluent in English with excellent writing and presentation skills. Knowledge of local language is an asset. • Prior experience with conducting SENS surveys in refugee contexts is an asset.

• Prior experience with conducting surveys using Open Data Kit Collect / KOBO application and mobile technology is an asset.Standard Job Description

Required Languages

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Desired Languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

FO-Operational activities in hardship duty stations, IT-Computer Literacy, MG-Partnership Development, NU-Food Supplements,Smart Methodology, CMAM, IYCF Voucher Cash Transfer, NU- Nutrition, PG-Programme Management (programme cycles and reporting standards), TR-Training - Virtual and face to faceEducation

Bachelor of Arts: Child Care, Bachelor of Arts: Food Security, Bachelor of Arts: Health, Bachelor of Arts: Public HealthCertifications

Food Assistance - Other, Food Security - Other, Infant and Young Child Feeding - Other, Public Health - Other, Reproductive Health - OtherWork Experience

Other information

Position is opened to ONLY Ethiopian nationals Women are strongly encouraged to apply in order to promote gender-balance within UNHCR. Applicants may be subjected to an assessment (written or oral interview).This position doesn't require a functional clearance Remote

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Potential interview questions

Added 10 months ago - Updated 10 months ago - Source: unhcr.org