Nutrition Coordinator

Dhaka

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: Dhaka
Grade: Consultancy - SB-4 (SC8/SC9), Service Contract, Local Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- Poverty Reduction
- Nutrition
- Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction
- Managerial positions
- WOMEN, ADOLESCENT, AND CHILD NUTRITION
Closing Date: Closed

Background

The National Urban Poverty Reduction Programme (NUPRP) is a six-year programme that targets sustainable improvements in the livelihoods and living conditions of the urban poor across towns and cities of Bangladesh. Funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of the United Kingdom, it is being implemented by the Local Government Division (LGD) of the Government of Bangladesh together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). At its heart NUPRP is a governance programme. NUPRP seeks to address urban poverty issues not through the direct implementation of infrastructure improvements, or charitable giving to selected urban poor beneficiaries; rather to influence the environment in which poverty reduction policies and thinking take place, and thereby having a potentially much more widespread and lasting effect.

In order to bring about improvements in living conditions and the livelihoods of the urban poor, NUPRP’s task is to work together with national and local governments, empowering urban poor communities to understand issues and advocate for their needs, and to improve urban governance overall. Ultimately the design and implementation of pro-poor policymaking and planning will rely on key stakeholders of the programme, that include urban poor communities, civil society, the private sector, and local and national governments. They will bring about and successfully implement. This programme sees its goal to develop tools, methods, and facilitate processes that can help to build capacity, experience, and confidence to do that, at the community-, city-, and national-levels.

NUPRP will reduce urban poverty through both direct, and indirect, means, and in doing so positively improve the lives of Bangladesh’s urban poor. NUPRP will work in up to 35 cities, in twelve cities during a first phase (2016-2018), and then between twenty-three and thirty-three further cities in a second phase (2018 to 2021). These towns and cities range in size and location, from tertiary and secondary cities, to the large city corporations, and are spread all over the country. As such NUPRP will be touching the lives of people in different urban poverty contexts, all throughout Bangladesh. This programme will contribute to ensuring a sustainable improvement in the livelihoods and living conditions of poor people living in urban slums/informal settlements in the following five Outputs.

Strengthened municipal and national government capacity to deliver pro-poor, climate sensitive, urban development;
Strengthened community organization in informal settlements;
Improved livelihoods and well-being;
Piloting options to improve land tenure and developing low cost housing initiatives; and
Climate smart rehabilitation of small scale infrastructure supported.

Duties and Responsibilities

Output 3: Improved livelihoods and social well-being

Output 3 is about improved livelihoods and social well-being. The programme will incorporate several livelihood and social wellbeing activities that focus on challenges for the urban poor and women and girls in particular - (i) developing skills for productive employment and income generation and (ii) Violence Against Women and Girls (iii) Stopping early and forced marriage (iv) Improving nutrition for lactating mothers, pregnant women, children, boys and girls. NUPRP will engage a wide range of stakeholders to mobilize and sensitize the community for reducing violence against women and girls and stopping early and forced marriage are integral steps towards achieving sustainable improvements of livelihoods and living conditions of poor women and girls.

The NUPRP nutrition sub-component aims to improve the nutrition status of women (especially pregnant and lactating mothers), adolescent girls and boys, and young children (under 2 years of age) from the Primary Groups under the NUPRP. Various types of interventions will be employed, such as raising awareness on improved nutrition at the community level, facilitating and promoting nutrition governance at the city level, and encouraging collaborative action against malnutrition with relevant stakeholders. NUPRP’s nutrition strategy will be based on a community-led, city-wide approach, and will combine both direct nutrition-specific interventions and broader multi-sectoral interventions at the community level and city level. The Nutrition Coordinator will be responsible for following categories of tasks.

Manage the nutrition sub-component with the support from Socio-economic and Nutrition Expert deployed in each city;
Facilitate partnerships with different agencies/NGOs for effective implementation of the nutrition sub-component;
Lead the process of raising awareness and capacity building for pregnant and lactating mothers, adolescent girls, boys, and under 2 children within the community groups;
Facilitate the establishment of a conditional grant transfer mechanism, oversee, and ensure proper transfer at the community-level;
Provide support the Project Management Team to ensure the achievement of targeted results

The following section describes the functions under each of these categories with expected results:

1. Manage the nutrition sub-component with the support from Socio-economic and Nutrition Expert deployed at the city

Lead a baseline survey to gain better understanding of the urban nutrition context in urban poor informal settlements of each city;
Develop a set of operational guidelines, a manual, and concept notes for implementing nutrition activities;
Initiate and ensure the selection of targeted beneficiaries for specific interventions (e.g. awareness raising and grants distribution);
Lead the management of Nutrition Volunteers, Community Organizers and ensure coordination among city-level staff;
Lead the establishment of city-level engagement in each city concerning nutrition governance, and provide technical support to city authorities through town teams.

2. Facilitate and maintain partnerships with different agencies/NGOs to ensure the effective implementation of the nutrition sub-component

Lead a process of institutional stakeholder mapping process to understand the status of who is doing what in the areas of health and nutrition in NUPRP towns and cities;
Facilitate the coordination and establishment of links with all stakeholders at the national, regional and local level to create synergies among them;
Establish partnerships and linkages with different Government Agencies, development partners and UN organization to support the promotion of an advocacy agenda directed towards policy makers.

3. Lead the process of raising awareness and capacity building of pregnant and lactating mothers, adolescent girls, boys, and children under 2 within community groups

Facilitate the establishment of a conditional grant transfer mechanism, oversee it, and ensure proper transfer at community level;
Develop material (in consultation with NUPRP Communications Coordinator) (flip chart, poster, booklet) for communicating key messages on nutrition to the target groups (pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls and boys and children) from the PG & CDC members;
Provide training to NUPRP field level staff to implement the strategy;
Develop an effective strategy and campaign to raise awareness and build capacity through the creation of a specific set of guideline that orient the town teams;
Lead the organization of an awareness raising campaign at the community-level and provide technical support to the town team to implement it;
Coordinate the nutrition sub-components with other sub-components of output 3, and other outputs, particularly on girls’ early marriage, violence against, and livelihoods;
Provide leadership in the organization of a creative social campaign geared at urban poor communities, involving boys, girls and children, to raise awareness about better nutrition.

4. Facilitate the establishment of a conditional grant transfer mechanism, oversee it, and ensure proper transfer and utilization of the funds at the community-level

Develop an efficient system to establish conditional grant transfer mechanism;
Lead the transfer of conditional grant transfer at the city level and track progress;
Establish a proper monitoring mechanism to track the effectiveness of the grants at the end-user level;
Establish an overall monitoring mechanism to measure the effectiveness of the nutrition sub-component.

5. Provide support to the Project Management Team to achieve the targeted results

Develop and update monthly, quarterly and annual work plan;
Generate reports from the field and submit to the management;
Work closely with monitoring and evaluation Section to track progress and challenges;
Work closely with the communications team to develop BCC materials for different audiences;
Bring burning issues from the field and generate Policy Briefs for city authorities and national level stakeholders.

Impact of Results

The Nutrition Coordinator will implement a results-based management approach so that the key results will contribute towards the project’s ability to achieve its targets, specifically for Output 3.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Promotes UN’s values and ethical standards (tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation, impartiality);
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP’s Country Office;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Management and Leadership

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and the ability to manage complexities;
Provides leadership and guidance to staff.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Capability to engage in team-based management, experience of leading workshops and being a resource person;
Ability to lead results-based management and reporting;
Ability to oversee timely project implementation, and provide the necessary trouble shooting capacity, to keep project implementation on schedule;
Ability to formulate and manage budgets and work plans;
Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioural/ attitudinal change.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development;
Excellent communication skills (written and oral): Sensitivity to and responsiveness to all partners, Respectful and helpful relations with all UN/UNDP staff.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Development Studies or any other relevant areas.

Experience:

At least 8 years of working experience with 3 years’ relevant experience in nutrition programmes based on community-led process with urban low-income communities;
Must have experience working on similar work for either UN agencies, bilateral donor agencies, or international development organizations;
Has experience conducting training and capacity building orientation for organizations on nutrition-based programmes;

Knowledge and skills:

Knowledge on RBM, data base management and progress reporting;
Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) in English and Bengali;
Use of computer for reporting, presentation and financial control;
Strong understanding on women and children’s nutrition and health issues in context of Bangladesh;
Strong knowledge on policy and institutional architecture related to nutrition;
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively with the community groups.

Personal qualities:

A strong commitment to gender sensitive, inclusive and pro-poor development work;
A commitment to UNDPs approach and values;
Ability to work with a multi-disciplinary team;
Consultative and empowering management style and willingness to learn from others;
Willingness to travel project towns as required;
Able to do multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions.