UNICEF Nutrition in Emergency Surge Response in Latin America and the Caribbean

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NUTRITION IN EMERGENCY SURGE RESPONSE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

THE UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN´S FUNDS (UNICEF) 

Call for expression of interest for potential candidates to be part of the Nutrition Rapid Response Roster

Purpose of the job
UNICEF is developing a Nutrition Rapid Response Roster (RRR), a pool of qualified readily available candidates able to be deployed to respond to sudden or slow-onset emergencies to provide technical and operational support in nutrition in emergencies. UNICEF is calling for potential candidates with experience in nutrition in emergencies and suitable qualifications, and interest and availability to support nutrition in emergency response actions in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to be part of the Nutrition RRR. Candidates of the RRR will be contacted when there is a need for immediate deployment upon request by the UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Background and justification 
Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most disaster–prone regions in the world. Increasingly vulnerable to the effects of a range of natural hazards, climate change and armed conflict and violence, imminent threats to human lives and individual wellbeing are of increasing concern. The most vulnerable population groups to malnutrition, as well as to the impact of disasters and emergency situations, are the rural and urban poor, those who belong to indigenous and afro-descendants’ groups, have low educational levels and limited access to health services and inadequate water and sanitation.

UNICEF is a key global actor in Nutrition both in development and emergency contexts. As part of development programs UNICEF supports the capacity development of national governments and other key stakeholders to achieve Nutrition security for the most vulnerable groups. In emergency situations, UNICEF has identified the Nutrition sector as a key priority in its “Core Commitments for Children” (CCCs) in Humanitarian Action, and is committed to support the prevention and care for malnutrition of affected and displaced populations, with focus on children and women. Under the provisions of the Humanitarian Reform, promoted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), UNICEF has been designated as agency leader of the Nutrition Cluster with the responsibility to coordinate the humanitarian response at times of emergencies, to deliver a more efficient and effective response to the affected communities, as well as coordinate preparedness actions for capacity strengthening of all involved actors.

Main task related to the job 
The following tasks are general activities to be undertaken to respond to emergency situations. These will be aligned with priorities of the UNICEF Country Office and needs of the specific emergency, for which specific TORs will be prepared.

General tasks may include:
- Support UNICEF country office to plan and implement emergency nutrition response activities in coordination with UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and UNICEF-HQ
- Support UNICEF country office to coordinate the nutrition response by engaging with government, UN agencies, NGOs and other key nutrition partners from the nutrition coordination mechanism/nutrition cluster
- Support collaboration with Food Security, Health and WASH Sectors
- Support nutrition assessment in collaboration with key nutrition partners
- Provide inputs to funding proposals to support nutrition emergency actions
- Develop or adapt technical guidance or training materials as needed
- Support any other activity of the UNICEF country office as needed: communication, procurement of supplies, planning of operations etc.

Deliverables
- Specific deliverables will be discussed ad hoc.

Qualifications and specialized knowledge/experience requiered
- University degree in public health nutrition or related field
- Experience in nutrition programming/international nutrition in humanitarian contexts
- Qualifications/technical skills in nutrition in emergencies and/or operational field experience in supporting nutrition emergency response
- Understanding of UNICEF mandate and role
- Ability to work under pressure and under minimum supervision
- Ability to engage with government and partners
- Fluency in oral and written English and/or Spanish; French and/or Portuguese is an added advantage.
- Preferably residing in the region

Estimated duration of the contract and proposal
The RRR will be revised every year. Candidates who make themselves available for an emergency response will be given priority for the following calls. If over a period of 2 years the candidate is called twice and is not available, she/he will be taken out from the RRR. She/he may reapply at a later stage.

Reporting responsabilities/supervision
The consultant will be supervised by the Regional Nutrition Specialist in UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and/or UNICEF country office.

Selection procedures

Please indicate the following information in your application:
- Resume
- Nationality
- Country of residence
- Language skills
- Availability
- Time notice required before deployment
- Geographic preference for deployment (within their country or in any other country in the region)

Eligible candidates will be contacted for an interview for an evaluation of their background, qualifications and experience to subsequently be included in the RRR.