UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Food

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.

Over the past two years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women

How can you make a difference?

Purpose for the job:

The objective of the consultancy is to develop the Africa Regional Nutrition Strategy 2026-2035 to guide AU Member States in the implementation of nutrition policies and programs over the next 10 years.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of work and the responsibilities of the lead consultant are to:

• Coordinate, oversee and guide the process of developing the ARNS 2026-2035
• Facilitate discussions of the intersectoral group that oversee the preparation of the Strategy and support the recruitment of a team of Consultants to support the multisystem approach to development the ARNS 2026-2035
• Conduct desk review of the major socio-economic policies and other relevant national, regional and global documents, guidance and experiences related to multisector nutrition and food security programming;
• Prepare and present an Inception Report covering interpretation of TORs, proposed methodology, tools and work plan to the AUC.
• Conduct participatory landscape analyses and reviews at regional and Member State levels (in the five AU recognized regions) of the implementation of the current 2016-2025 ARNS with its theory of change, to identify best practices, lessons learned, ans approaches/strategies that are demonstrably sustainable and at different levels (regional, national, sub-national), within the four priority intervention areas of the current 2016-2025 ARNS.
• Conduct a multisystem Bottle Neck Analysis (BNA) of the Institutional framework and the ARNS 2015-2025 monitoring, evaluation and accountability frameworks with key stakeholders in the five regions (Africa Regional Institutions, RECs and AU Member States) and synthesize findings on the institutional, technical and financial capacities proposing institutional setup and roles at all levels.
• Develop and present a situation analysis report with recommendations for the proposed ARNS 2026-2035 and on future funding options for the strategy, (including national funding and avenues for securing donor and other sources of funding such as development banks / multilateral agreements).
• Support the team of consultants to prepare present a continental nutrition report that incompases, the food system, the Health system, the social protection system, the education and Water, sanitation and Hygiene systems. This report should show progress of eath member state, sub region and the continent on the Malabo declaration, the Abijan declaration, Agenda 2063 and the SDGs for Nutrition.
• Lead the team of consultant to prepare a Policy Brief that dentifies a preliminary set of priorities, strategies and activities for inclusion in the the ARNS2026-2035 for submission to the Technical Advisoryt comittee.
• Develop and present the ARNS 2026-2035 and theory of change including a comprehensive result-based monitoring and evaluation framework to support the implementation of the strategy.
• Facilitate three one-day consultative meetings with Member States, RECs and partners, to give feedback on the draft ARNS 2026-2035.
• Present the ARNS 2026-2035 during various platforms, including the (ATFFND and the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Health, Nutrition, Population and Drug Control for review and feedback

Duty Station: Seconded to African Union Commission (AUC), Headquarters, Addis Ababa

Notice for consultancy advert:-

Please note that applications submitted without a fee rate will not be considered.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in  Public Health or a related field from an accredited academic institution.
• A minimum of 10 [Ten] years of relevant professional experience in conducting review and evaluations of nutrition programs, nutrition program design, action plan and developing national strategies at national and international levels preferably in Africa.
• Strong analytical skills and experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods in Nutrition and food security including demonstrated technical knowledge on Primary Health Care and Nutrition programs and work exposure at various multisector levels through the public, private and civil society sector.
• Demonstrate technical Capacity in the development of national adaptation plans / mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues including gender, climate change, conflict-sensitivity into government processes and policies.
• Experience in working with Continental organizations, and broad engagement with a range of government clients and donor agencies.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Core Values:

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability
• Sustainability

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

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. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates and persons with disability are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.