New Consultancy – Nutrition Forecast and Supply Planning Toolbox Consultant, UNICEF Supply Division, Home based, 9 months

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, Love… 

UNICEF plays an essential role in ensuring the availability of nutrition supplies, especially ready-to-use-therapeutic-food (RUTF), in many countries. As part of UNICEF’s role, we support countries strengthen their nutrition supply chain, including the forecasting and supply planning process. These are important supply chain functions because correctly estimating required product quantities and shipment timing helps ensure uninterrupted product availability and service delivery in countries.

The Monitoring, Strategic Data and Evidence Center (MSDEC) in UNICEF Supply Division is implementing the Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Information (NFSI) Project to strengthen country-level forecast and supply planning processes and improve visibility of the nutrition product situation at country level with the overall goal of increasing the number of children treated for malnutrition. The project has three workstreams: 1) pilot the Quantification Analytics Tool (QAT) to assess the appropriateness of the electronic solution for forecasting and supply planning of nutrition products, 2) create visualizations of the nutrition supply and programme situation in country including with data generated in QAT, and 3) publish forecast and supply planning guidance materials in an online toolbox for use by governments and partners to strengthen these country processes for nutrition products.

UNICEF is looking for a consultant to support the conceptualization and development of the Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning Toolbox.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of Work:
Under the supervision of the Supply Chain Monitoring Specialist in MSDEC, the selected consultant will undertake the following activities:

Phase 1: Conceptualize the Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning (NFSP) Toolbox
The consultant will conduct a review of existing health commodity forecasting and supply planning guidance sets, including materials in the Immunization Forecasting and Supply Planning Toolbox published by UNICEF in 2023, to identify relevant materials that might already exist or that will be relevant to create, and to gain inspiration for the NFSP Toolbox. Additionally, the consultant will conduct focus group discussions or key informant interviews with relevant colleagues and government representatives and travel to at least one country to validate the findings. Based on this, the consultant will conceptualize the toolbox, which will be system-agnostic, and, as part of the toolbox concept, will identify relevant toolbox materials. The output is a concept note describing the objective and content of the toolbox and based on discussions with potential users and colleagues, and a plan for development of the key materials included in this assignment.

Phase 2: Design and develop toolbox materials. 
The specific toolbox components will be determined through the first phase of the consultancy, but here is an overview of what we envision with the specific content informed by the Phase 1 findings.

• Tool 1: Nutrition forecast and supply planning strengthening strategy (~10 pages)
  The document highlights the strategies for improving the forecasting and supply planning processes in country that are identified based on evidence and discussions during Phase 1.
• Tool 2: Assessment tool for forecasting and supply planning
  The consultant will develop a diagnostic tool using a relevant software (MS Word, Excel, Forms, or similar) that will help assess in a standard manner any country gaps in forecasting capacity, skill, knowledge, and other related systemic barriers and help document these. The assessment will be used when considering the type of support a country may require or the type of actions needed to improve processes. Thus, the diagnostic tool should help identify nutrition forecasting and supply planning areas of improvement. An introduction or guide to use the assessment tool is required to be provided as well.
• Tool 3: Guidance/manual on forecasting and supply planning processes, including description of relevant forecasting methodologies (~50 pages)
  The central component of the nutrition forecasting and supply planning toolbox is a forecasting and supply planning guidance manual. The specific content, including chapter outline, will be determined in Phase 1. We envision the manual will provide its readers with a clear definition and understanding of key nutrition forecasting and supply planning concepts, approaches and methodologies, including guidance on the steps of the relevant processes (data preparation, considerations, forecasting including an overview of forecasting methods, and supply planning).

Other materials to support strengthening of forecast and supply planning for nutrition might be identified during Phase 1, which might result in changes to the above. Changes to the above will only happen upon agreement between UNICEF and the consultant.

Phase 3: Identification of hosting platform for the Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning (NFSP) Toolbox and development of advocacy strategy
The consultant will work with the UNICEF team to identify the most appropriate location for publishing the toolbox. She/he will also develop a plan for the advocacy of the NFSP Toolbox and at least a MS PowerPoint presentation with the key points from the strategies and guidance manual to support the advocacy implementation.

Work Assignment Overview. 

1. Conceptualization and planning for development of the NFSP toolbox. Output: Concept note for Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning (NFSP) Toolbox (MS Word). Timeline: 2 months after contract start.
2. NFSP Strategies. Output: Strategies for Strengthening Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning (MS Word). Timeline: 4 months after contract start.
3. NFSP Guidance. Output: Manual Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning Guidance Manual (MS Word). Timeline: 7 months after contract start.
4. NFSP Toolbox. Output: Dissemination plan Nutrition Forecasting and Supply Planning Dissemination plan (MS Word) and Strategy and Approach Summary (MS PowerPoint). Timeline: 8 months after contract start.

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

Minimum Qualifications required:

• An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Public Administration, Business Administration or Management, Public Health, Nutrition, Supply Chain Management, or related field.
  *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

Work Experience

• Minimum 5 years of progressive work experience at national and/or international levels, preferably in public sector, in supply chain and/or nutrition.
• Experience with forecasting of nutrition products and, as possible in the context of developing countries.
• Experience in the conceptualization, design, and development of user- and learner-oriented technical guidance and training materials.
• Experience working in a multi-cultural environment with many stakeholders and in developing country is an asset.
  Work experience within the UN or a similar organization / NGO is preferred.

Technical knowledge

• Expert-level knowledge of forecasting of nutrition commodities including demand forecasting principles, methods, and tools.
• Knowledge of end-to-end public health supply chain processes in developing countries.

Language

• Proficiency in English is required. Fluency in French is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 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.

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.