Nutrition Specialist (Food Systems for Children), P-3, TA, (4 months) # 00138331, Nairobi – Kenya

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For every child, the right to advocacy.

How can you make a difference?

The UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020–2030 outlines UNICEF’s commitment to assisting national governments and partners in safeguarding children's right to nutrition and eradicating child malnutrition globally. The strategy aims to be inclusive, encompassing all children, adolescents, and women worldwide. It stresses the importance of tailored programs that prioritize prevention across all contexts, with treatment as a crucial fallback if prevention falls short.

In pursuit of this objective, the strategy advocates for a comprehensive approach to enhancing nutrition outcomes. UNICEF recognizes the pivotal role of the food system in creating an environment for nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets for children, collaborating with health, water and sanitation, education, and social protection systems. UNICEF's primary aim in this realm is to facilitate the establishment and realization of effective, responsible systems capable of addressing all forms of child malnutrition. Success in achieving nutrition goals hinges on the collective functioning of these five systems to deliver indispensable nutrition services and promote positive nutrition practices and diets throughout the life course, in all contexts: development, fragile and humanitarian; urban and rural. At the heart of Kenya's country programs for reducing all forms of child malnutrition is a commitment to food system transformation and the document "UNICEF Food Systems for Children", which delineates the role of a food-systems approach in supporting the overarching Nutrition Strategy and specifies the necessary actions for its execution. Guided by the document, UNICEF Kenya developed a KCO Food Systems for Children Roadmap which sets the focus on four action areas:

1. Improving children’s food through actions in public policy, guidelines and standards, and food supply chains, including fortified foods, food supplements, and therapeutic foods.

2. Improving children’s food environments where children live, learn, and meet through actions in public sector policies and programmes and in private sector products and practices.

3. Improving children’s food practices through policies, strategies, and programmes that promote positive individual behaviors, caregiver practices, and social norms related to both consumption and production of nutrient dense foods.

4. Advocacy and leadership for the unique needs of children in the food system through capacity building, thought leadership and multi-sectoral engagement.

Under the overall supervision of UNICEF Kenya Chief of Nutrition, the Nutrition Specialist TA will be responsible for technical support in the development and implementation of policies, programmes, advocacy and knowledge generation for food systems transformation for children, addressing all forms of malnutrition and covering young children, school age children and adolescents, and mothers.

The Nutrition Specialist provides support to the Chief of Nutrition for the work of the Nutrition Section, in terms of technical assistance, advocacy, oversight on implementation of grants and quality assurance to the food systems aspects of nutrition programs in Kenya, including development of tools and guidance, innovation, evidence generation, analysis and knowledge products, dissemination and thought leadership.

The position contributes to partnerships with stakeholders including UN agencies (e.g. WHO, FAO and WFP), NGOs, donors, academia, technical institutions and others on food systems for children. The Specialist provides authoritative technical guidance and management support throughout country programming processes to facilitate the achievement of concrete and sustainable results in FOOD SYSTEMS programs/projects according to plans, allocation, results based-management (RBM) approaches and methodology and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support evidence generation and strategy development to operationalize UNICEF's global work on Food System in the Kenyan context 

• Contribute to the development and results-based planning of sectoral program goals and objectives by identifying data gaps; generating evidence on food systems as they relate to all forms of malnutrition, the landscape of existing policies, strategies and stakeholders; identifying entry points for UNICEF and developing corresponding strategies.
• Contribute to the development and/or introduction of new, innovative approaches within UNICEF and other UN agencies by keeping abreast on research and cutting-edge practices in nutrition and food systems.
• Manage the implementation of the First Foods Africa initiative in Kenya which includes complex multi-sectoral engagement, innovative market based approaches to improve children’s diets, and private sector partnership.
• Lead the continued development of the climate responsive nutrition agenda including resource mobilization, engagement with academia and partners, and serving as a focal point for the CoE and the KCO Climate Change Taskforce.

2. Support UNICEF Kenya's work to improve children’s food environments where children live, learn, and meet through actions in public sector policies and programmes and in private sector products and practices.

• Participate in technical committees/working groups and provide high quality and timely technical guidance in support of on-going regulatory and legislative policy initiatives, including food and beverage marketing restrictions, front of pack labeling system, and fiscal measures such as unhealthy food tax and healthy food subsidies.
• Contribute to and support the assessment of existing policies and guidance on procurement of foods, identification of gaps and development of guidance on procurement of healthy foods in public institutions including schools in Kenya.
• Together with UNICEF health colleagues, lead the establishment and implementation of overweight and obesity prevention programming, with a focus on leveraging the food system to regulate the environments where children and adolescents live, learn and play.

3. Lead UNICEF Kenya's work to improve children's foods and positive food practices through actions in public policy, guidelines and standards, and food supply chain including in emergencies

• Lead UNICEF Kenya’s work on developing national standards for commercially produced complementary foods (CPCFs) through consolidating and coordinating exchange of evidence resulting from UNICEF’s and partners’ research activities (including marketing and advertising of CPCFs, nutrient content and healthiness, purchasing and consumption dynamics, informal market data), in coordination with ESARO’s efforts to develop regional standards.
• Work together with UNICEF SBC colleagues and other partners to review and identify opportunities to integrate effective SBC on diets through the life course (addressing all forms of malnutrition), including innovative approaches, into existing platforms and channels, including MIYCN and community engagement.

4. Support thought leadership, advocacy, stakeholder engagement and capacity building related to food systems for children

• Support preparation of regular and mandated sectoral program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.
• Ensure the effective communication and networking developed and maintained through partnership and collaboration within the nutrition sector, and other relevant sectors including WASH, education, agriculture, and social protection by engagement of government counterparts, UN agencies, appropriate private sector and national stakeholders.
• Produce quality thought leadership/knowledge products of various types on food systems for children for internal and external use – peer reviewed articles, UNICEF reports, policy briefs, case studies, advocacy pieces, multi-media materials, presentations (including on the findings from the landscape analyses and other assessments and documented experiences from various countries on introducing and implementing legislative measures, policies and programmes).
• Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of partners and stakeholders to promote healthy food systems and environments, improved nutrition practices and diets for children and adolescents.
• Support the dissemination of UNICEF’s global guidance on engagement with and on the food and beverage industry, and ongoing monitoring and dialogue to safeguard against conflicts of interest.
• Support the preparation of communication and information materials for and participate in multi-agency discussions to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for UNICEF’s nutrition and food systems programming for children.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  ToR Nutrition Specialist P3.pdf

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

Minimum requirements

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Public Health or Nutrition, Food Science or any other related field, is required.
• Work Experience: At least 5 years of relevant work experience in Nutrition and Food Systems Agenda. Experience in designing and implementing food and nutrition policies/programs in liaison with government.

• Skills: Proven experience in training, support supervision, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, strong attention to details, ability to work independently, take initiative, participate as an effective team member and follow tasks through to completion. Capacity to analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources to gain understanding and set realistic strategies for nutrition and food systems agenda. Proficiency in computer skills including basic analysis skills such MS Office.

• Language Requirements: Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Desirables

• Experience in health/nutrition programme in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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

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 promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

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