Vacancy Announcement - Nutrition Manager (Systems Strengthening), P4, FT, Abuja, Nigeria

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 90,970 USD and 117,287 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.

UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/.

For every Child, access

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, leaving no one behind. In Nigeria, the nutrition situation of children under five has recorded minimal change, and currently, Nigeria is off track to achieving the World Health Assembly 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Approximately one in three children under five in Nigeria is stunted, while one of every ten children is wasted. Consequently, Nigeria has the second-highest number of malnourished children in the world and the highest in Africa.

Malnutrition, in all its forms, is a violation of a children’s right to adequate nutrition. To change the narrative, UNICEF in partnership with the government and other stakeholders aims to deliver good quality prevention and treatment services at scale to build resilience and protect the most vulnerable, particularly during the First 1000 Days of Life. The focus, in keeping with UNICEF Nigeria’s new Country Programme Strategy (2023-2027), is to (i) strengthen the enabling environment, including data, to inform policy and programming; (ii) strengthen systems, especially the health, food and social protection system to deliver high quality services; and (iii) address social and behavioral practices that influence diets and practices. This aligns with UNICEF’s Global Nutrition Strategy focus on “prevention first, and where prevention fails, access to treatment is a must”.

To deliver on these three critical output level results, UNICEF has planned to operationalize an estimated USD 250 million nutrition programme from 2023 – 2027, about 80 percent of which is spent on systems strengthening with a focus on prevention, integration and scale. Resources are mobilized from both the government as well as different donors, each of whom has varying requirements and conditionalities.

How can you make a difference?

To enable UNICEF to deliver results for children, while complying with different conditionalities, the office is seeking a Nutrition Manager (P4-FT). The candidate will report to the Chief of Nutrition Section and work closely with other members of the Nutrition Section. The Nutrition Manager will also work in close collaborate with other internal and external stakeholders to deliver key results for children in accordance with the new Country Programme Strategy. Specifically, the Nutrition Manager will be responsible for the following:

• Provide overall strategic direction to the Systems Strengthening output, working across the health, food and social protection system in both development and humanitarian contexts
• Develop and leverage strategic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including government, UN agencies, donors, international and national non-government organisations and the private sector
• Ensure efficient and effective management of the Systems Strengthening portfolio, including human, financial, operational and administrative management.
• Enable timely achievement of key performance indicators while ensuring compliance with results-based principles and standards, UNICEF guidelines as well as donor conditionalities.
• Mobilise resources (both international and domestic) through the development of high-quality proposals, reports, concept notes, etc.

Key functions/accountabilities:

Management and advisory support to the Chief

• Ensure efficient and effective management of the Systems Strengthening portfolio, including human, financial, operational and administrative management.
• Provide thought leadership in establishing the annual work plan, including developing strategies and determining priorities, targets and performance measurements.
• Coordinate work progress monitoring and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards, reported in a timely manner and documented.
• Provide technical assistance and advice to colleagues in the section and other sections on all aspects of nutrition programming and implementation to enable them to achieve results for children.
• Perform the full duties of the Chief in his/her absence

Programme development and planning

• Ensure efficient and effective management of the Systems Strengthening portfolio, including human, financial, operational and administrative management.
• Provide thought leadership on strengthening routine data systems (internal and external) and periodic surveys. Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual health reviews with the government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action and interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare regular and mandated programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.
• Enable timely achievement of key performance indicators while ensuring compliance with results-based principles and standards, UNICEF guidelines as well as donor conditionalities.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

• Enhance programme and associate staff capacities for financial monitoring and commodity flow
• Provide oversight and mentorship to Program Associates on finance, administration, payment processing, liquidations, etc.
• Enhance use of electronic shared spaces for storage and use of data and knowledge management

Advisory services and technical support

• Provide advice to key government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners, and other country office partners/donors on policies, strategies, best practices and approaches on nutrition-related issues to support programme development planning, management, implementation, and delivery of results.
• Participate in strategic programme discussions and planning to provide technical advice, contribute to policy discussions and agendas, and promote nutrition interventions, especially in the areas of gender, emergency preparedness and maternal, newborn, and child health, WASH and education.
• Prepare policy papers, advocacy briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration. Liaise closely with the Communications, Advocacy and Partnerships team.
• Participate in emergency preparedness initiatives for programme development, contingency planning and/or to respond to emergencies in country or where designated

Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Develop and leverage strategic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including government, UN agencies, donors, international and national non-government organisations and the private sector
• Build capacity, exchange knowledge and expertise, and/or promote cooperation and alliances to achieve programme goals on maternal and child rights as well as social justice and equity.
• Prepare high quality communication and information materials to highlight programme goals, achievements and/or needs to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances and support resource mobilization for nutrition programmes.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on nutrition-related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF process in development planning and agenda setting. Collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF planning and preparation of nutrition programmes/projects.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable nutrition programme/project initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best and cutting-edge practices in health management and information systems. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Organize, plan and/or implement capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders to promote sustainable results on health/nutrition-related programmes/projects.

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

Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.

Experience:

• A minimum of ten years of relevant professional work experience with at least two years in a leadership position that requires strategic guidance, management (human, operational, financial and administrative)
• Experience in development and management high value budgets and programmes implementation at scale in development and humanitarian contexts.
• Familiarity with nexus programming approaches an asset
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Knowledge of the UN rules, procedures and regulations and/or working experience for the UN or other international development organization would be an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate...

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies: Builds and maintains partnerships (II); Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (II); Drive to achieve results for impact (II); Innovates and embraces change (II); Manages ambiguity and complexity (II); Thinks and acts strategically (II) Works collaboratively with others (II) Nurtures, leads and manages people (II

The functional competencies required for this post are:

• Leading and supervising (I)
• Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Analyzing (III)
• Applying technical expertise ((III)

View our competency framework at

https://unicef.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/sites/DHR-UCF/SiteAssets/SitePages/DHR-UCF/Competency%20Framework%20Brochure.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=IPpgba

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

"UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Remarks:

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