Nutrition Officer

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, advocacy and 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 favouritism. 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, nutrition, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — will allow all children to fulfil their potential and lead to sustained growth and stability in 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 supporting nations’ equitable development.

UNICEF Nigeria Country is one of the largest operations of UNICEF and the largest in West and Central African Region. The country programming is complex as it has development programming, with major disparities between the North and the South, North being relatively deprived and poor, while the majority of the population is concentrated in the North.

This position contributes to evidence-based planning, improved program monitoring and analytics for enhanced quality assurance and accountability, and enhanced monitoring of changes in bottlenecks affecting the supply, demand, coverage, and quality of key integrated nutrition programmes.

How can you make a difference?

• The Nutrition Officer (Data, Analytics and Evidence) will be based in Sokoto under the overall supervision of the Nutrition Specialist based in the Sokoto Field Office, will work in close collaboration with Abuja’s Nutrition Section Information Management Officer (Data, Analytics and Evidence), and will ensure close collaboration with Government counterparts and Partners at State and Local Government Area (LGA) levels to strengthen data systems across the data value chain.
• The staff member will support programmes across the three focus States—Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara—to achieve the outputs and activities underlined in the current 2023-2027 Country Programme. As an expert s/he will collaborate with State Governments to strengthen Nutrition Information System, provide support to State Partners for monitoring, evaluation, and supportive supervision, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in nutrition programme.
• The Officer will be required to generate appropriate analytics to strengthen policies, guidelines/ protocols, and programmes for use within UNICEF, the UN, Implementing and Development Partners. The current position is for a duration of 12 months.
• The incumbent will be responsible for designing quality nutrition data collection methodologies, surveys, polling, KAPs, and Peer Data Quality Reviews, including both qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• S/he will initiate, update and or maintain nutrition databases, while using a range of data platforms such as UNICEF internal databases, ENA for SMART, Excel, ODK platform, RapidPro, other monitoring tools and smart phone inventory for programme monitoring and supportive supervision. Further, the incumbent will be responsible for knowledge generation and development of the programme-appropriate products.

Main Responsibilities and Tasks

Data Systems Strengthening & Information Management

• Provide leadership on strengthening nutrition data systems (routine, surveys, and surveillance) at sub-national levels and in close collaboration with national partners, including enabling interoperability and digitization of data platforms
• Strengthen existing in-country data approaches and platforms for collecting, analysing, and reporting high quality nutrition data at national and sub-national levels, particularly coverage data.
• Maintain information databases and general Programme tools and consolidate, analyse and report/disseminate data collected throughout various assessments
• Manage relevant nutrition data sets, including humanitarian and development data sets.
• Maintain a well-prioritized plan of information management activities.
• Coordinate with other Programme Sections to ensure data coherence.
• Prepare SitReps, identify information gaps geographically and programmatically whilst also ensuring regular programme pipeline analysis.
• Regularly update and maintain contact list of all Nutrition Partners and working groups.
• Provide support in planning and executing data collection activities, including reviewing documents, preparing survey protocols, and adopting standardized approaches and tools for Nutrition/Cash Based Transfer (CBT) programming.
• Provide analytics, assess trends, and measure outcomes relating to achievement of programme targets to support evidence-based programming.
• As and when needed, coordinate and plan for meetings, develop agendas, document minutes, and share action points with all relevant persons.
• Compile, clean and analyse nutrition/CBT data including Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding Nutrition, Micronutrients etc.

Programme Performance Monitoring & Reporting 

• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentation, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based management (RBM), and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Support complete, quality, and timely reporting based on agreed monitoring frameworks.
• Generate high quality reports and knowledge products including presentations, publications, newsletters, etc.
• Support the preparation of quarterly, annual, and ad hoc reports and newsletters and share findings with stakeholders for informed decision making
• Consolidate data and draft relevant inputs for the progress and final reports for all nutrition reports and other UNICEF reports (mid-year and end-year activity monitoring, strategic monitoring questionnaires etc.).
• Conduct field visits to programme target areas to monitor the quality of data collection and reporting and provide supportive supervision as and when needed.
• Provide support for evaluation and documentation.
• Support resource mobilization activities for the Nutrition Programming.
• Present information in understandable, effective and visually appealing tables, charts, graphs, maps, visuals and reports (such as snapshots, dashboards, gap analysis, etc.).
• Provide any other relevant support as requested by the Nutrition Specialist.

Evidence Generation & Use

• Plan, Coordinate and conduct Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) surveys and Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Acute Malnutrition (IPC AMN) in collaboration with IPC GNC, Nutrition partners and Government.
• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with State Governments, Partners, and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme response implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to achieve programme goals on nutrition in relation to IPC AMN results.
• Support the coordination and conduct Cadre Harmonise (CH) analysis in collaboration with Food Security and Nutrition partners and the Government.
• In collaboration with FAO, State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and relevant Partners, build and sustain effective close working partnerships with nutrition partners, government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate response implementation and develop the capacity of stakeholders to achieve programme goals on Food Security and Nutrition in relation to CH analysis results.

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 research approaches and promote good practices to support implementing and delivering concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research, benchmark, and report on best and cutting-edge practices for planning knowledge products and systems development.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

Education:

• Advanced University degree in in one of the following fields is required: Nutrition, Public Health, Statistics, Monitoring, Nutritional Epidemiology.
• Additional technical qualifications (supported with certificates) in SMART survey methodology, IPC Acute Malnutrition Analysis, geographic information systems, District Health Information Systems, Information Systems, Computer Science, data management or related field may be an added advantage.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience including field work. Experience in nutrition data management, monitoring and evaluation, and workplan development.
• Proven statistical, analytic and technical skills including designing and administrating databases, database management and data analysis using statistical packages ((ENA, SPSS, STATA, etc.), high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), ability to maintain basic websites, ability to produce data summaries and visualizations, GIS knowledge an advantage.
• Experience with digital data platforms and District Health Information Systems-2 (DHIS-2) platforms, SMART surveys, Multi-Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and nutrition analysis including IPC AMN, and CH Analysis
• Experience of working in emergency and humanitarian contexts is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of local languages and any other official UN language is considered as an asset.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/job/571204/readvertised-vacancy-announcement-nutrition-officer-data-analytics-and-evidence-nob-ta-sokoto-nigeria-00127129