Nutrition Specialist, NO-3, Temporary Appointment, Post #129066, Windhoek, Namibia (For Namibian Nationals only)

UNICEF Namibia Country Office is looking for a committed, strategic and resourceful professional to join the Health Team. Supporting the development and preparation of the nutrition programme and reporting to the Chief Child Survival & Development, the Nutrition Specialist will be responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting the programme progress of a sector of the nutrition programme within the country programme. The Nutrition Specialist will also provide technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition programmes/projects.
If you believe that you have the experience and skills for this role, we would like to hear from you.

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For every child, hope!

The 2024 El Niño event is the worst to hit Southern Africa in the last 40 years, with severe consequences to the communities already facing challenges due to failed crops and other microeconomic conditions. The impact is characterized by drought, severe food shortages, limited access to clean water, disease outbreaks and loss of livestock. Recent analysis indicates that staple food prices have increased significantly and are higher than last year’s five-year average. The effect of El Niño is uneven across the country and varies across countries, with drought being the main feature and the driver of the humanitarian consequences. Over 56,000 children, pregnant and breastfeeding women need prevention and treatment services. This includes over 35,347 children who are anticipated to suffer from acute malnutrition, including over 10,848 children with severe acute malnutrition (severe wasting) in Namibia. In some regions, the estimated proportion of children suffering from wasting in 2023 ranges from 7 to 15%, with an average national wasting prevalence of 7.1% (2022 JME). This is compounded by the already existing chronic malnutrition expressed through high levels of stunting, with over 83,200 children (16.8%) affected in Namibia. Based on the trends seen at the last comparable El Niño event of 2015-2016, the effects on child nutrition status will be prolonged and more evident during the next lean season (April – September) with a peak in the increase in admissions for wasting expected in Q1 of 2025. There remains a short window of opportunity to intervene now to prevent any increase in excess mortality due to wasting.

Namibia’s deteriorating food security situation is driven by climatic shocks like drought/dry spells/erratic rainfall, prices shocks, economic decline, and unemployment. In the first projected period, from October 2023 to March 2024, 695,000 people (26 percent of the population) are expected to be in IPC Acute Food Insecurity (AFI) Phase 3 (Crisis) or above. Ekongo and Hardap regions are expected to be in IPC AFI Phase 2 (Stressed) and the remaining regions are expected to be in IPC AFI Phase 3 (Crisis). Ekongo region is anticipated to remain in IPC AFI Phase 2 (Stressed) due to government interventions and employment opportunities from the mining sector, while Khomas region is expected to fall in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). An improvement is anticipated for Hardap region, with a shift from IPC AFI Phase 3 (Crisis) to IPC AFI Phase 2 due to the government planned drought relief and food support interventions to the region.

During the second projection period from April to June 2024, it is projected that the situation will improve as households start consuming food from their own production, which marks the beginning of the 2023–2024 consumption period. During this period, it is estimated that 491,000 people (19% of the population) will experience high food insecurity, IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). This proportion is expected to worsen by 4 percent (increasing from 19% to 23%) since this period represents the first half of Namibia’s lean season, prices start to rise, and most households would have used up their own production stock and some households will not have harvested during the previous harvest seasons, especially the northeastern crop growing regions.  

How can you make a difference? 

In response to these overlapping emergences, and to support rapid expansion of quality malnutrition prevention and treatment services in affected districts, and to strengthen the capacity of the Nutrition Technical Working Group, UNICEF seeks the services of a Nutrition Specialist experienced in public health emergency (preferably drought) and food insecurity responses to support the team. Reporting to the Chief Child Survival & Development, the Nutrition Specialist will be responsible for the following key functions and accountabilities.

1. Support to programme development and planning
2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD – TA Nutrition Specialist NO3.pdf

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

Education:

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in a developing country in one or more of the following areas is required: nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care.
• Experience in health/nutrition programme/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge a local language is an asset.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• 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)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

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’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, all eligible and suitable professionals are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.