Nutrition Officer, NOB, Temporary Assignment, Kenya Country Office, Garissa#128361 (364 days)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, a fair chance

UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020-2030.pdf

How can you make a difference?

The Nutrition Officer will provide professional technical, operational, and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the nutrition programmes/projects within the Country Programme, from development planning to delivery of results. Specific focus will be on strengthening nutritional interventions in maternal infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN) and micronutrient deficiency control (MNDC) efforts at a zonal level.

1. Programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results. 

• Ensure the availability of accurate, complete, and up-to-date information required for an effective nutrition programme and project design, addressing gender inequalities and determinants of gender equality where relevant implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation. Additional technical support to focus on the integration of High Impact Nutrition Interventions into zonal office efforts (particularly MIYCN and MNDC). Draft sound Nutrition programme budgets for review by the supervisor.
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners at National and County levels to discuss operational and implementation issues. Provide solutions, and recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision-making. Keep a record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews, and annual reviews with the government (National and County) and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects and to report on required action and interventions at the higher level of programme management.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative, and other assets), verifying compliance with approved allocation, goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures, donor commitments, standards of accountability, and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors, and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

2. Technical and operational support to programme implementation 

• Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys, and exchange information with partners and stakeholders in counties supported by the Garissa Field office 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 at the national and county level, 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-related issues to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

3. 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 programme implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to achieve programme goals on maternal and child rights as well as social justice and equity.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances and support fundraising for nutrition programmes.
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings and events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners and colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of nutrition programmes/projects, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fundraising and partnership development purposes.

4. 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 practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research, benchmark, and report on best and cutting-edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

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

• A university degree in one of the following fields is required:  nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, or another health-related science field.
• A minimum of two years of professional experience in a developing country in one or more of the following areas is required: nutrition, public health, nutrition planning, and management, or maternal, infant, and child health/nutrition care. Experience in health/nutrition programme/project development in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Fluency in English.  Knowledge of another official UN language or the local language of the duty station is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. 

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.