New Consultancy -Maternal Nutrition Counseling Tool Development, Beijing China

UNICEF is looking for a consultant to provide technical support to implement the nutrition-related knowledge, attitude and practice survey (KAP) and for the development of the maternal nutrition counseling tool, using global technical guidance as well as the results of the KAP survey to customize it for the Chinese circumstances.

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.

For every child, care

The importance of good maternal nutrition during preconception, pregnancy and postpartum is critical for the health of the newborn. Poor maternal nutritional conditions at the earliest stages of the life-course, can induce both short-term and longer lasting effects. There is no doubt that a mother’s nutritional status affects her child as an infant; it also affects that child’s risk of obesity and related chronic disease as an adult throughout the life-course.

Better maternal nutrition requires a combination of food and health systems interventions. Antenatal and postnatal care is an important platform to promote healthy dietary pattern, appropriate weight gain during pregnancy, and identify women with nutrition-related complications during pregnancy for early intervention, which including assessment, management and support to women. In 2021-2025, in collaboration with China National Health Commission, UNICEF is piloting in selected provinces of the country a project focused on strengthening maternal nutrition within the health system. This project has the purpose of improving the nutrition and health status of pregnant women and newborns, by integrating a package of comprehensive maternal nutrition services into antenatal and postnatal care delivered by health facilities.

A well-developed counseling toolkit on maternal nutrition will be a key component of the comprehensive maternal nutrition service package to be introduced to project sites. The counselling tool will be used in antenatal and postnatal care clinics in health facilities, as well as the group health education sessions organized for women and their family members throughout their pregnancy. The counseling and support for healthy diet, weight management and breastfeeding preparation are recommended key components of the tool. To support the development of tool, an assessment of nutrition-related knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) will be conducted in selected project sites in 2021-2022. The findings of the survey will be referenced while finalization of the counseling tool.

How can you make a difference?

To ensure high-quality maternal nutrition counselling and support are received by pregnant women and their family members during health care visits in health facilities, through working closely with UNICEF China Office (CO) and its counterparts, the consultant is expected to:

• Provide technical support for the design and results interpretation of KAP survey on maternal nutrition.
• Develop counseling tool on maternal nutrition targeting all healthy pregnant women, as well as women with pregnancy complications (especially anemia).
• Develop and test the training package for frontline health workers based on the tool developed.

 Major Tasks, Deliverables & Timeframe:

Methodology & Expected Output:

The following methodologies are needed to complete the tasks mentioned above: desk review, group discussion and in-depth interview.

Expected key outputs are:

• Maternal nutrition counseling tool to be used in health facilities (drafted version) in China.
• Maternal nutrition counseling training package to facilitate the adoption of counseling tools (drafted version).
• Monitoring tool on maternal nutrition counseling service provision in health facilities (drafted version).

Start Date:   15 August 2021   

End Date:     31 July 2022

Total Working Days:   90 days within 11.5 months

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

• Minimum Academic Qualifications required and disciplines:
  • Advanced degree in public health, nutrition, maternal and child health, or behavior change communication.
• Knowledge/Experience/Expertise/Skills required:
  • At least ten years’ professional experiences in maternal nutrition or social & behaviour change communication.
  • Experiences in designing counseling materials or providing counseling services.
  • Experiences in developing training package, educational materials and program monitoring tools.
  • Experiences in facilitating trainings.
  • Understanding of Chinese context or working experiences in China would be an asset.
  • Knowledge and skills in Chinese would be an asset.
  • Experiences of working with UN agencies or other international organizations would be an asset. 
  • Good command in English.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.