National Consultant at the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: National Consultant to Develop National Strategy for Nutrition in Emergency

Job no: 561479
Location: Abuja, Nigeria.
Contract type: Consultant
Level: Consultancy

Organizational Context and Purpose for the Job

• Nigeria has continued to experience emergencies/crisis situations of various forms and dimensions, which has resulted to increase in the incidence and prevalence of malnutrition and in some cases high mortality rates. While the main form of emergency is related to the insurgency in the Northern part of Nigeria particularly the Northeast and Northwest, Nigeria is also prone to other forms of emergencies, among them being flooding, community clashes, Herdsmen farmers clashes, Banditry and disease outbreaks including cholera, measles, COVID-19, meningitis, and Lassa Fever among others.
• The 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) reported that the conflict stemming from the insurgency of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) has displaced more than two million Nigerians across the Northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY states), of whom 82% are women or children. Consequently, nearly 8.4 million people across the BAY states needed humanitarian assistance in 2022 because of the conflict and other concurrent shocks.
• It is estimated that nearly 2.0 million children are likely suffering from acute malnutrition across the BAY states. In the same vein, three States (Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina) in the Northwest are the worst affected states with insecurity due to herder-farmer tension. Since April 2020, over 500 people have been killed and over 180,000 displaced from Rural communities across the 3 states.
• Furthermore, Northcentral is not left without crisis, Farmers- Herder’s crisis has caused a lot of homes to be destroyed, and houses burnt and over 3 million displaced living in the IDP Camps. The Southern part of the country are also facing one form of crisis or the other (Flooding, Erosion, Kidnapping, un-know Gunmen etc.).
• Consequently, the prevalence for malnutrition varies significantly across the six geopolitical zones, the percentage of stunting in Northwest and North East is 30.7 percent and 26.3 percent respectively, compared to 10.5 percent in North Central, 4.8 percent in South-South, 8.6 percent in South West and 5.7 percent in South East, these also follow the same progression for Wasting and Underweight (NDHS, 2018). These percentages when translated into figures is unacceptably high and demand emergency response. It has been observed that humanitarian crisis has contributed largely to these poor indices in some of the states.
• It can be recalled that Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) in collaboration with UNICEF in 2018 held a Training of Trainers (ToT) for staff of FMoH and other Partners on Nutrition in Emergency, which was subsequently stepped down to four states namely Bayelsa, Delta, Borno, Akwa-Ibom, also within this period, FMoH carried out special intervention on the NE crisis tagged Health Intervention Programs with Food and Nutrition as a component. UNICEF procured RUTF and MNP among other medical commodities and distributed to IDP Camps in Borno State, while FMoH staff rendered supportive supervision in a holistic health intervention program.
• Though there may be in existence documents by Partners that guide their various implementations in nutrition in an emergency, the nation does not have a uniform document that will speak to all Partners involved in nutrition in an emergency in the country.
• Consequently, there is need for Nigeria to harmonize existing Strategies for nutrition interventions during humanitarian crises and public health emergencies and come up with one national document that will guide and direct every player in emergency situations. It is therefore important to develop a National Strategy on Nutrition in an emergency to give strategic direction and guidance on efficient delivery of Nutrition services and key interventions during emergencies and humanitarian crisis.

Key Responsibilities

• The main purpose of the assignment is to provide technical support for the development of the National Strategy for Nutrition in an emergency in collaboration with relevant Nutrition partners and Stakeholders.
• The consultant will be work closely with the funding organization, UNICEF (the Nutrition specialist) and also with the client, the Nutrition Division Federal Ministry of Health. In addition, the consultant will be guided by the Director and Head of Nutrition FMOH.

The consultant’s deliverables are as follows:

• Desk review of relevant published and gray literature on Nutrition in Emergencies, Strategies, Guidelines, Protocols, Plans, Curriculum, and other materials.
• Consult with relevant Stakeholders on Nutrition in Emergencies at National and Global levels.
• Develop a National Strategy for the implementation of high-impact nutrition in emergency interventions.
• The Strategy should cover key nutrition interventions across the life course/cycle from the unborn child to the aged, in the context of an emergency.
• The Strategy should be user-friendly and explicit for all cadre of Healthcare Workers.
• Facilitate Stakeholders’ technical review and validation meetings.
• Collate inputs/comments from the stakeholders’ review meetings to produce a clean copy.
• Submit the final edited draft of the National Strategy on Nutrition in Emergency to the FMOH for approval.
• Launch and disseminate National Guideline on Nutrition in Emergency (NiE) to 6 Geopolitical Zones
• Other tasks may be deemed necessary.

Expected results:

• A User-friendly National Strategy on Nutrition in Emergency, explicit for all cadre of Healthcare Workers.
• End of assignment report.

Educational Qualification
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

• Master's Degree in Public Health Nutrition preferred or other relevant fields, such as Public Health, Epidemiology and Pediatrician/Physician.

Experience:

• Experience in the management of comprehensive Nutrition response in emergencies.
• Minimum five years of relevant work experience in nutrition programming including Nutrition in emergencies etc.
• Previous experience with multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder program planning, development, review, and evaluation.
• Demonstrate analytical and research skills, review and synthesis of data, information, and planning experience.
• Demonstrated experience in undertaking such work, including the development of Strategies, Policies, Guidelines, etc (examples to be submitted with application).

Core competencies:

• Communication
• Working with people
• Drive for results

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English language 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA). 

• The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:
  • Builds and maintains partnerships (II)
  • Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (II)
  • Drive to achieve results (II)
  • Innovates and embraces change (II)
  • Manages ambiguity and complexity (II)
  • Thinks and acts strategically (II)
  • Works collaboratively with others (II)
  • Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (II)
• To view our competency framework, please visit here

Application Closing Date
11th May, 2023. (West Central Africa Standard Time)