Organization: UN Children's Fund
Country: Senegal
Closing date:
21 Dec 2018I - Background and purpose
In 2016, the prevalence of wasting in WCAR stands at 7.8%, the second highest in the world after South Asia. Only four countries (Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Benin and Gabon) have a prevalence of wasting lower than 5%, which is the objective set by the WHA. However, important sub-national disparities exist in these countries. In West and Central Africa, there has been progress in the treatment of SAM as reflected by the increase in admissions from 1,396,335 in 2013 to 1,770,497 in 2016 but overall progress is slow since the treatment coverage is still low. UNICEF and partners continue their efforts to ensure that children in need for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) treatment are identified early, referred and admitted for quality inpatient and outpatient treatment to fill the gap between those children in need of treatment and those admitted for treatment.
Severe wasting is a key contributor (12.6%) to child deaths due to nutritional disorders (Lancet 2013) and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition face a higher risk of deaths (9 fold) when compared with non-malnourished children (Lancet 2008).
Despite the increase in focus on nutrition over the last few years SAM remains an under prioritized area. Politically, many governments are unwilling to prioritize the issue either refusing to recognize it as a chronic problem or refuting the solutions as too expensive. It continues to be misunderstood as an emergency issue which is not owned by the routine health system and not recognized as a major contributor to under-5 mortality. The nutrition community’s increased focus on stunting has resulted in wasting being side-lined with no smart narrative linking the two issue.
The No Wasted Lives Coalition, which was launched in September 2016, was formed to accelerate collective actions for scaling up access to preventive and curative services for acute malnutrition and reach 6 million children affected by SAM globally by 2020. The members of the coalition are currently ACF, CIFF, ECHO, DFID, WFP and UNICEF.
UNICEF is committed to champion the work of the coalition and reflected its commitment in the new Strategic Plan (2018-2021) with a dedicated activity to support the NWL agenda (i.e. ‘’Facilitate and leverage partnerships, coordination, advocacy, innovation and evidence generation to scale-up the prevention and treatment of SAM in children globally.”).
To do this, UNICEF and the coalition need to move from a primary technical set of activities which have been focused on research and innovation, to a more strategic initiative that combines the technical work streams with and advocacy and communication efforts.
The Nutrition Specialist (No Wasted Lives) will support these efforts and report to the Regional Nutrition Advisor in the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office.
II - Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks
Under the overall supervision of the Regional Nutrition Advisor, and in collaboration with the NWL Coalition Global Coordinator, the Nutrition Specialist (No Wasted Lives) will be responsible for the development, promotion and implementation of the NWL global coalition agenda to accelerate action for children with severe acute malnutrition in WCAR and the regional office
The Nutrition Specialist (No Wasted Lives) will support the NWL and its members in maximising the support for national-level efforts to scale-up services to treat acute malnutrition in WCAR, facilitate the creation and/or strengthening of strategic partnerships with key stakeholders at regional and national level and position acute malnutrition as a public health priority, and to increase the allocation of domestic and international resources to support its treatment at scale.
The incumbent will be responsible for advocacy, building partnership and support the leveraging of financing (domestic and/or external) to accelerate the scale-up of SAM management in WCAR priority countries. This includes the development of a regional advocacy strategy for the scale-up, support to its roll-out, support to its adaptation in priority countries, analysis and strategy development to enhance resource mobilization, documenting lessons learned of the SAM scale-up advocacy and partnership developments in West and Central Africa Region (WCAR)
A - Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
Advocacy, networking and partnership buildingRegional advisory support/advice on policy and strategic planningProgram development, planning and monitoringInnovation, knowledge management and capacity building1. Advocacy, Networking and Partnership
Support the development, and coordinate the implementation of a regional advocacy and communication strategy to support NWL coalition goals and advance the care of children with SAM that is tailored to the context of the West and Central Africa regionConceptualize, design and produce a range of advocacy and communication tools and materials.Build and strengthen influential alliances and partnerships with relevant regional and national partners and influential individuals to promote cooperation to achieve goals of the NWL coalition.Coordinate engagement and support advocacy at regional and national level with leading policy makers, political faces/influencers, development partners, media and others to support NWL coalition goals.Participate and/or represent UNICEF and NWL coalition in appropriate regional and global fora to ensure that organizational and coalition positions, interests and priorities are considered in development planning and agenda setting.Ensure secretariat role of the Regional Nutrition Working Group (RNWG).2. Regional advisory support/advice on policy and strategic planning/discussion
Advise key regional health sector/nutrition partners, national government officials, development partners and other partners on policies, strategies, approaches and best practices to accelerate the care of children with SAM and to achieve sustainability of these measures.Contribute to the development of regional policy analysis/papers/briefs, strategies and approaches to influence regional institutions / development partners and countries to ensure policy coherence, accelerated and sustainable action for children with SAM in West and Central Africa.Lead and/or organize/participate in key regional events and strategic discussions to influence policy discussions and agenda setting on prevention and treatment of SAM programmesFollow up on the roll out activities after launch of SAM joint statement (meetings, webinars, conference calls, etc.).3. Programme development, planning and monitoring
Provide technical support/guidance to the preparation/design and conduct/update of programmatic and financing gap analysis at the regional level and in priority countries to guide advocacy, policy and development, design of programmes of action and leveraging of resources to accelerate and sustain action for children with acute malnutrition in the WCAR.Support the formulation, design and preparation of investment cases and costed scale up plans for accelerated action for children with acute malnutrition in the region, ensuring alignment with UNICEF Strategic Plan and NWL coalition strategic plans.Support resource mobilization of country scale-up plans by exploring and advocating for innovative financing mechanisms.4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
Support NWL coalition work in monitoring developments in the area of SAM treatment and scale-up, and the analysis and dissemination of best practices within regional networks, and contribute to thematic policy development and global/regional reports.Disseminate key lessons, findings and information associated with NWL initiative in the region through events, workshops, meetings and other forms of knowledge exchange among countries and other partners in the region.Keep abreast, research, benchmark, promote critical thinking and implement best and cutting edge innovative practices in advocacy, policy influencing in nutrition.Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.Organize, plan and/or implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to effectively advocate, position, promote sustainable results in accelerating action for children with acute malnutrition in WCARProduce and disseminate synthesis of research resultsB - Impact of Results
The Nutrition Specialist (No Wasted Lives) will contribute to the UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018- 2021) and NWL Coalition goal to double the number of children with SAM treated annually from 3 million to 6 million by 2020 and raise the global financial commitment to at least US$ 600 million per year.
The incumbent roles will lead to the following results:
Political profile of SAM is raised and care for severe wasting becomes a political, public health and child development agenda in priority countriesPredictable domestic and external financing for scale up of prevention and treatment of severe wasting is secured in at least x priority countries.A regional coalition of influential partners/actors is established and actively supports the NWL agenda.Each WCA priority country is equipped with finalized multiyear SAM scale-up framework, aligned to the regional scale-up framework.Annual admissions for treatment of severe wasting is increased from 1.7 million in 2016 to 3.6 million by 2021 in WCARAchievements of progress made in scaling up SAM treatment is monitored and documented.III - Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Professional Competency Profiles.
Core Values:
CommitmentDiversity and inclusionIntegrityCore competencies:
Communication (II)Working with people (II)Drive for results (II)Functional Competencies:
Leading and supervising (I)Formulating strategies and concepts (II)Analyzing (II)Relating and networking (II)Deciding and Initiating action (II)Applying technical expertise (III)IV - Recruitment Qualifications
Education:
Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Policy, Political Science, Development Economics, Public Health, Health Systems, Nutrition, Public Relations, Communication, or other relevant disciplines.
Work Experience:
A minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible professional experience in Nutrition with strong understanding of and experience in nutrition policy and public advocacy. Experience in supporting high profile international or regional movements and campaign building and delivery in international health/nutrition and development.Entrepreneurial, results-driven personality, with strong coordination and influencing skills and a track record in successfully managing advocacy and influencing campaigns and mobilization of resources (domestic and/or external) for programs at the country level (desirable);Demonstrated experience and understanding of resource mobilization strategies and approaches;Experience with West and Central Africa regional and national political, development, public health, decentralized governance contexts, nutrition platforms and institutions is desirable.Experience in international health or nutrition policy and programme development is an asset.A sound understanding of the global health and nutrition architecture and the current political framework that it operates within;Civil Society, Private Sector, UN system agency or organization is an asset.Language Requirements:
Fluency inFrench (verbal and written);Good written and spoken skills and knowledge of another UN language an asset.How to apply:UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=513363