Advertisement JPO Nutrition Officer, P-2, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

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Nutrition Officer, P-2, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Vacancy No: I-VN-2015-003126
Duty Station: Ouagadougou
Country: Burkina Faso
Region: WCARO / Job Level: P-2
Position#: 00015411
Application Close: 03-Jan-16
Contract Type: Long-term Staff (FT)

Purpose of the Position

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does - in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children's rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life - in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions - her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society's most disadvantaged citizens - addressing inequity - not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.
Job organizational context :
The JPO will be under the supervision and the guidance of the Nutrition Specialist (direct supervisor), accountable for technical contribution to the formulation, design, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of the Nutrition Programme, particularly project activities, data analysis, progress reporting and commitment for enhancement of teamwork and capacity building actions, in support to the Nutrition work plan, aligned with country programme goals and strategies.
The Nutrition Specialist will provide day-to-day technical and programmatic guidance as well as on-the-job training and supervision through frequent interactions and meetings. When the JPO will arrive, he or she will receive a detailed briefing on tasks to be performed and expected outputs as well as his (her) role within the nutrition team. He or she will receive a briefing on National Policies and Programmes and UNICEF's role in supporting the government and collaborating with partners.
The Chief of Health and Nutrition will provide overall support and guidance as well as a rapid overview on the Health and Nutrition section.
The Chief of Health and Nutrition and the direct supervisor can be consulted at any time and regular meetings will be held between the JPO and the Nutrition Specialist to ensure that sufficient orientation and learning is taking place.
The JPO will also participate in regular section meetings where the members discuss progress in work plan implementation. The supervision will be done within the framework of the UNICEF performance appraisal system under which staff members meet with the direct supervisor at least three times a year to review overall performance. Moreover, annual and periodic performance evaluation review (PER) discussions will include attention to learning/training needs and field travel for monitoring purposes, specifically.
Efforts will be carried out to expose the JPO to a wide range of learning experiences, including inter-agency forums, inter-sectorial work within the office, learning or participation in training, workshops, seminars, review meetings etc.
Purpose for the job:
The overall purpose of the post is to contribute to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Nutrition interventions aimed at achieving the goals and targets set in the Government of Burkina Faso/UNICEF programme of cooperation.

Key Expected Results

The incumbent (Nutrition Officer, Level 2) will generally contribute to support:
1. Program development and planning
2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to program implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
1. Support to program development and planning:
- Conduct/update situation analysis for the program sector/s for development, design and management of nutrition related programs/projects. Research and report on development trends (e.g. political social, economic, nutrition, health) for higher management use to enhance program management, efficiency and delivery of results.
- Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through analysis of nutrition needs and areas for intervention and submission of recommendations for priority and goal setting.
- Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical program transactions, preparing materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results.
- Prepare required documentations/materials to facilitate the program review and approval process.
2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results:
- Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
- Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programs/projects and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of program management.
- Monitor and report on the use of sectoral program resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
- Prepare regular/mandated sectoral program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of program progress.
3. Technical and operational support to program implementation:
- Conduct regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders 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, 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 and related issues to support program implementation, operations and delivery of results.
4. 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 program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve program goals and social justice, equity and rights of mothers, newborn and children.
- Draft communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for nutrition programs.
- Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of nutrition programs/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.
- Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.
5. 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 practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program results.
- Research, benchmark and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
- Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.
Impact of Results:
The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the JPO (Nutrition Officer) to program preparation and planning and implementation of nutrition programs/projects sector contribute to and accelerate the national development efforts to improve the nutritional status of mothers, infants and children in the country and this in turn contribute to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to continue to provide program services to mothers, newborn and children that promotes greater social equity in the country.
More specifically, the Nutrition unit of Burkina Faso UNICEF country office is supporting both national scaling-up plans for promoting optimal IYCF practices and Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition. The Nutrition unit needs to increase and better monitor its partnership with NGOs for implementing the community-based component of these both scaling-up plans. The incumbent will play this critical role under the guidance of the Nutrition specialist in charge of the Nutrition unit.
By increasing partnership in charge of program implementation and monitoring consolidated result, the incumbent will contribute to improve nutrition situation indicators (stunting prevalence, wasting prevalence, IYCF indicators) and nutrition program indicators.
Moreover, the incumbent will have a critical role in operationalize research in nutrition to produce evidence-based recommendations for better programming. UNICEF has clear accountability to produce scientific evidences in nutrition programming and it will successfully impact the nutrition unit programming and leadership.
The incumbent will need to focus on how we can operationalize the multi-sectoral approach in nutrition (particularly through the national scaling up plan for promoting optimal IYCF practices with the component of creating an enable environment for improving IYCF practices). Improving the implementation of the multisectoral approach in nutrition will also improve UNICEF's capacity in achieving its goals in all outcomes (Health, HIV-AIDS, WASH, Education, Protection and Social Inclusion) allowing to increase credibility of UNICEF.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

- Advanced university degree (master degree or equivalent) in nutrition, public health, communication for development, anthropology, health program management or other related areas.
- Minimum two years of relevant professional work experience in nutrition (or public health) or related areas such as anthropology or communication for development related to nutrition. Overseas work in developing countries is an asset, as well as experience in project cycle management (PCM).
- Knowledge of current scientific understanding of general child and maternal nutrition, wasting, stunting, anemia, vitamin A deficiency and Iodine Deficiency Disorders and of practical application of control measures.
- Knowledge of nutrition emergency management.
- Knowledge of computer management, Microsoft applications and internet use and research. Preferably advanced knowledge of MS Excel and basic knowledge of statistical packages.
- Ability to analyse and present data.
- Ability to work in an international and multicultural environment.
- Fluency in French and English, both spoken and written, is required.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values:
- Commitment
- Diversity and inclusion
- Integrity
Core competencies:
- Communication
- Working with People
- Drive for Results
Functional Competencies:
- Formulating Strategies and Concepts
- Analyzing
- Applying Technical Expertise
- Learning and Researching
- Planning and Organizing

Remarks

UNICEF Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme allows young men and women to acquire experience in international development co-operation activities with child rights approach while contributing to the implementation of UNICEF's country programme.
Eligibility: This post, sponsored by the Kingdom of Belgium, is open to candidates with Belgian nationality only.
The deadline for applications is 3 January 2016 at 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time: Applications received after this date will not be considered. Applicants will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of their application. Thereafter only those shortlisted for interviews will be contacted.
The interviews will take place in Brussels between the 15th and 25th of February 2016 (exact date will be confirmed to the shortlisted candidates). Candidates are expected to be physically present in Belgium during the interviews. Any incurred travel expenses to attend the interviews will not be covered by Belgium.
Interviews are going to take place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Rue des Petits Carmes, 15 - 1000 BRUXELLES.

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 organisation.