Nutrition Specialist

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 fulfil 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 works in over 190 countries and territories to promote and protect the rights of every child. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), UNICEF supports governments and partners to address all forms of malnutrition, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity, through food systems approaches that promote equitable access to healthy diets across the life cycle.

The Child Nutrition and Development Practice of the Panama Center of Excellence (CoE) contribute to strengthening food systems programming across countries in LAC, integrating youth-led nutrition advocacy, social and behaviour change (SBC) strategies across the life cycle, and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) programming. The Practice also supports evidence generation, dissemination, and collaboration with public and private stakeholders to advance accountable and sustainable food systems transformation.

This UN Volunteer assignment will support the implementation and documentation of food systems priorities across LAC, with a particular focus on youth-led nutrition advocacy initiatives such as Fix My Food. The role includes preparing technical inputs and background materials to support countries and the CoE, consolidating multi-country information, contributing to the dissemination of evidence and results, supporting SBC and IYCF-related knowledge products, and preparing analytical and reporting inputs for multi-country and country-level donor grants, including documentation related to food systems and partnership initiatives.

• Contribute to the advancement of youth-led nutrition advocacy initiatives across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), including platforms such as Fix My Food, by supporting planning processes, preparing technical and advocacy materials, providing support to country offices and youth networks (including CSOs), documenting results and lessons learned, and facilitating follow-up and dissemination activities.
• Contribute to the advancement of UNICEF’s food systems priorities across LAC, including activities related to Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) strategies across the life cycle, Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) programming, and the prevention of overweight and obesity, particularly among school-age children and adolescents.
• Coordinate and plan the preparation and consolidation of donor reporting processes for global, multi-country and country-level grants, including organizing reporting timelines, consolidating country inputs, and preparing technical content.
• Prepare and adapt technical inputs, background materials and guidance notes to support global and country-level programming and implementation
• Plan and organize technical meetings, workshops, dissemination events and capacity-strengthening processes, including preparation of agendas, technical materials and documentation of key outcomes.
• Support collaboration and information exchange with Country Offices, youth networks, civil society, academia, UN agencies and development partners, contributing to coordination, monitoring and documentation of key activities and outcomes.
• Contribute to knowledge management and dissemination processes related to food systems priorities across LAC by consolidating multi-country inputs, systematizing results and good practices, and developing technical and communication materials — including briefs, presentations and background documents — translating evidence into clear and policy-relevant messages to inform advocacy and programme development.