Nutrition Specialist at Connexus Corporation

Connexus Corporation is an international development consulting firm that provides consulting services in the areas of finance, enterprise and agricultural market development. Connexus’ mission is to provide high quality global consulting services to transform international development and build local capacity. Connexus is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Nutrition Specialist

Location: Abuja (FCT) 

About the Opportunity

• Connexus is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Nutrition Specialist for the anticipated USAID/Nigeria Value Chain Activity. The Nutrition Specialist will play a critical role in integrating nutrition-sensitive approaches into the Activity’s agricultural interventions to improve the nutritional outcomes for smallholder farmers and agricultural communities. Note: this is a preliminary position description and may be clarified further after solicitation release.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Work closely with Activity staff to design and implement nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions that promote the production, consumption, and utilization of diverse and nutritious foods.
• Conduct comprehensive nutrition assessments to understand the nutritional status and needs of target communities and analyze data to identify key nutrition challenges, gaps, and opportunities for intervention.
• Provide technical guidance and support on integrating nutrition-sensitive principles into project activities, including market analyses, value chain development, and capacity building.
• Develop and delivery training programs and workshops to build the capacity of smallholder farmers and other value chain actors on nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices, such as crop diversification, food safety and preservation, and dietary diversity.
• Coordinate with other technical specialists on the Activity to ensure the integration of nutrition-sensitive indicators, concepts and techniques across all project components.
• Contribute to Activity reporting, documentation, and knowledge management activities, including capturing lessons learned, best practices, and success stories related to nutrition-sensitive agriculture programming.
• Stay abreast of latest developments, research findings, and innovations in nutrition research, and adapt approaches, as necessary, to reflect newest and most relevant nutrition-sensitive innovations and techniques.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Nutritional Sciences, Agronomy, Agriculture Economics, or another relevant field with a minimum of 9 years of professional experience, preferably for USAID or another donor-funded project; or Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences, Agronomy, Agriculture Economics, or another relevant field with a minimum 11 years of experience, preferably for USAID or another donor-funded project.
• Experience designing and implementing nutrition-sensitive international development agriculture programs.
• Strong understanding of nutrition concepts including dietary diversity, micronutrient deficiencies, and food security and approaches used to improve these concepts in international development projects.
• Demonstrated expertise conducting nutrition assessments, surveys, and research.
• Excellent written communication skills, including ability to contribute to high-quality project reports.
• Fluency in English required and other local languages desired.
• Must be authorized to work in Nigeria.

Application Closing Date
31st March, 2024.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Resume and cover letter to: [email protected] using “Nutrition Specialist – USAID/Nigeria Value Chain Activity” as the subject of the mail.

Note: No phone calls.