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Nutrition Officer - NOB level, Fixed-Term Appointment (Only for Afghan Nationals), Kabul/Afghanistan

Kabul

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Kabul
  • Grade: Junior level - NO-B, National Professional Officer - Locally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Nutrition
  • Closing Date: Closed

The Nutrition Officer reports to the Nutrition Manager. The Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the nutrition programs/projects within the Country Program from development planning to delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative program tasks to facilitate program development, implementation, and program progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting of results.

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.

Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest rates of stunting in children under the age of five: 41 per cent. Stunting is a sign of chronic under nutrition during the most critical periods of growth. It prevents children from reaching their potential. Stunted children are more likely to contract diseases, less likely to get basic health care, and do not perform well in school.

The rate of wasting in Afghanistan is also extremely high. Wasting, as its name suggests, is literally wasting away to skin and bones. The crushing result of acute malnutrition, it poses an immediate threat to a child’s survival.

Chronic nutritional deficiency in Afghanistan is largely the result of poor feeding. For example, only half of Afghan babies are exclusively breastfed in their first six months, and their exposure to contaminated liquids or foods places them at a greater risk of life-threatening illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia.

Inadequate dietary diversity and insufficient amounts of food, coupled with poor hygiene, also contribute to health risks and deaths of older children. When mothers have inadequate diets, a harmful cycle is created – malnourished infants grow up to become stunted mothers, generation after generation. 

Despite impressive improvements in the past decade, Afghanistan’s health system still faces a number of challenges. Nutrition services remain limited and healthcare providers lack training to assess and offer counselling and treatment. When nutritional issues go undetected, rates of stunting, wasting, severe acute malnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies appear lower in statistics and receive much less focus than they should.

Work for UNCIEF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43aiG4w2q_M&feature=youtu.be

 

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, nutrition, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:  

  1. Support to program development and planning
  2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results
  3. Technical and operational support to program implementation
  4. Networking and partnership building
  5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to program development and planning

  • Conduct/update situation analysis for the program sector/s for development, design and management of nutrition related programs/projects. Research and report on development trends (e.g. political social, economic, nutrition, health) for higher management use to enhance program management, efficiency and delivery of results.
  • Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through analysis of nutrition needs and areas for intervention and submission of recommendations for priority and goal setting.
  • Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical program transactions, preparing materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results.
  • Prepare required documentations/materials to facilitate the program review and approval process.

2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results.  

  • Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
  • Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programs/projects and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of program management.
  • Monitor and report on the use of sectoral program resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
  • Prepare regular/mandated sectoral program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of program progress.

3. Technical and operational support to program implementation 

  • Conduct regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support, take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
  • Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on nutrition and related issues to support program implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. Networking and partnership building 

  • Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with nutrition sector government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve program goals and social justice, equity and rights of mothers, newborn and children.
  • Draft communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for nutrition programs.
  • Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of nutrition programs/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.
  • Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

  • Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
  • Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program results.
  • Research, benchmark and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
  • Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

Impact of Results

The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the Officer to program preparation and planning and implementation of nutrition programs/projects sector contribute to and accelerate the national development efforts to improve the nutritional status of mothers, infants and children in the country and this in turn contribute to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to continue to provide program services to mothers, newborn and children that promotes greater social equity in the country.

V. Competencies and level of proficiency required

Core Values

  • Commitment
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Integrity

Core competencies

  • Communication (II)
  • Working with people (I)
  • Drive for results (I)

Functional Competencies:

  • Formulating strategies and concepts (I)
  • Analyzing (II)
  • Applying technical expertise ((II)
  • Learning and researching (II)
  • Planning and organizing (II)

VI. Recruitment Qualifications

Education: A University Degree or higher in nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology or other health related science field is required.

Experience: A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management and/or in relevant areas of maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care at the international level and/or in a developing country is required. Experience in health/nutrition program/project development in UN system agency or organization is an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English and local languages of the duty station (Dari or Pashto) is required. 

 

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.

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This vacancy is now closed.
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