Yemen Nutrition Cluster Co-Coordinator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC Yemen began its programs in October 2012. Since establishing its presence in the South of Yemen, in the Red Sea Coastal city of Aden, the organization has grown from just an implementing small project to handling large scale emergency and relief operations. Following the war which broke out in Yemen in March of 2015 and the humanitarian disaster, which was crafted by the same, IRC launched one an emergency response program in the southern governorates of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Shabwah and Al Dhale, and expanded later in Sana’a and Hodeidah in the North. Currently IRC Yemen is operating in eight governorates in the south and north of Yemen through direct programming and through local partnerships, in Health, WASH, Nutrition, Economic Recovery Development, Education, Child Protection, Gender and Women Protection and Empowerment.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) have been working in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for more than forty years. Today, the IRC has more than 2,200 staff working across the region, including in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen to support those affected by some of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises.

Scope of work:

Malnutrition among mothers and children remains a major public health humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Approximately 5 million children under five and 2.7 million pregnant and lactating women (PLW) are in need of life-saving humanitarian integrated nutrition interventions during 2024. Further, an estimated 0.54 million children under five are in need of quality lifesaving treatment for severe wasting including 54,000 children with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications. Furthermore approximately 1.8 million children are in urgent need of life saving treatment for moderate wasting.

As part of its response, the IRC implements integrated preventative and curative nutrition across ten governorates in Yemen linked with its health, WASH, protection and food security programming. In coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government (IRG) and the Ministry of Health and Environment (MoHE) in areas controlled by de-facto authorities (DFA), IRC implements its nutrition program directly and through three large-scale national partners. IRC’s direct services cover 21 districts in 7 governorates (Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Dhale’e, Lahj, Abyan, Aden and Shabwah) and are delivered via 37 static health facilities, 13 mobile health teams and three therapeutic feeding centers (TFCs).

Position overview:

The nutrition cluster approach was adopted and initiated in Yemen in August 2009, immediately after the break-out of the sixth war between government forces and the Houthis in Sa’ada governorate in northern Yemen. Since then, Yemen has continued to face complex emergencies that are largely conflict-generated and in part aggravated by civil unrest and political instability. These complex emergencies have come on the top of an already fragile situation with widespread poverty, food insecurity and underdeveloped infrastructure. Since mid-March 2015, conflict has spread to 20 of Yemen’s 22 governorates, prompting a large-scale protection crisis and aggravating an already dire humanitarian crisis brought on by years of poverty, poor governance, and ongoing instability. This escalation of the conflict has affected the provision of the nutrition services and increased the children vulnerability to malnutrition due to the deteriorated access to the safe water supply, food, and basic health services, which is further complicated by the increased cost of living.

The Nutrition cluster is currently well established at national level, with five sub national clusters at the zonal level in Hodeidah, Ibb/Taiz, Aden, West Coast, Sa’ada and Sanaa. The National Nutrition Cluster Team, led by the National Nutrition Cluster Coordinator, are the impartial representatives of the cluster as a whole and are responsible for the day-to-day coordination and facilitation of the work of the cluster. The National Nutrition Co-Lead from IRC will work alongside the National Cluster Coordinator from UNICEF and the Co-Chair from the MoPHP and MoHE to ensure a harmonized, coherent and complementary nutrition approach across Yemen. They will act in accordance with principles laid out in by the Global Nutrition Cluster, the IASC guidance for Cluster Coordination and the Transformative Agenda protocols. In particular, they will have close engagement with local actors through established coordination structures across the country to bridge the gap between senior level UN/INGO decision making and the needs and priorities of actors implementing programs in Yemen.

While the position will be based in Sana’a and report directly to the IRC Deputy Director for Programs, as per their responsibilities, the Nutrition Cluster Co-Lead will work directly with the Nutrition Cluster Coordinator. The main role of the Nutrition Cluster Co-Lead falls within the six core Cluster Functions: (1) Effective service delivery; (2) Inform strategic decision making; (3) Plan and develop strategy; (4) Advocacy; (5) Monitor and evaluate performance; (6) Capacity strengthening of local authorities and civil society; and (7) Accountability to affected populations.

Both parties (Coordinator and Co-Lead) are accountable to the affected populations they commit to serve. The Cluster Coordinator and Co-Lead commit to promoting and strengthening accountability to affected populations among cluster partners. Both the Cluster Coordinator and the Co-Lead, having committed to neutrally representing the views of the Cluster as a whole, are accountable to the Cluster partners for ensuring that the Cluster is functioning to its highest standards.

The Cluster Coordinator and Cluster Co-Lead commits to joint decision-making in all aspects of cluster management, strategy, and activities. In specific cases the Cluster Lead Agency (UNICEF) maintains the right to take a final decision given that it is directly accountable to the Humanitarian Coordinator.

Main responsibilities:

Support Service Delivery

• Explore and identify appropriate new partners to engage in nutrition in emergencies (NiE) in Yemen and facilitate the active engagement of these agencies in the cluster at national and/or at sub national level, focusing on partners with capacity to conduct rapid assessments, nutrition surveys, analysis, etc.

• Regularly liaise with the Roving Cluster Coordinator and/or Sub National cluster coordinators to identify progress, gaps, bottlenecks, and challenges in implementation of nutrition surveys/assessments/analysis, communicate/feedback to the National Cluster and propose corrective actions (if needed)

• Act as focal point for inquiries on the Nutrition Cluster’s response plans implementation of nutrition surveys and assessments;

• Support the Cluster Coordination team in organizing of and participating in regular cluster coordination meetings and information sharing in all crisis-affected states to ensure appropriate coordination between all nutrition humanitarian partners, including provision of inputs for the agenda and information and evidence to inform cluster partners discussions and facilitation of sessions related to surveys/assessments;

• Identify and liaise with FSL and other cluster’s partners to advocate for integration of nutrition rapid assessments/screening and nutrition indicators into their respective RAs, if feasible; propose corrective actions, if needed;

• Provide regular inputs from cluster partners for Nutrition cluster information management products, cluster bulletins, etc., including needs, gaps, supply pipeline updates, etc.;

• Act as an OIC for the CLA National Nutrition Cluster Coordinator in his/her absence.

Informing Strategic Decision-Making of the HC/HCT for the Humanitarian Response

• Participate and support cluster partners in inter-cluster initial rapid needs assessments (IRNA), multi-cluster initial rapid assessments (MIRA), humanitarian needs overview (HNRP), IPC analysis, etc., by identifying the appropriate partner for the assessments/surveys, ensuring that all partners using agreed cluster tools and provide relevant inputs (survey plans, tools, identification of needs, gaps, etc.) to the National Nutrition Cluster Coordination team.

• Serve as a member of the IPC technical working group and lead discussion related to analysis of nutrition information and provide feedback to the cluster coordination team.

• Support State Nutrition Cluster Focal points (MoPHP, UNICEF & NGO’s) and nutrition partners in the states to participate in nutrition need assessments and response planning.

• Coordinate all planned nutrition assessment through the chair of NIWG by maintaining the database of all planned assessments and surveys.

• Coordinate with the RRM in identifying locations for intervention based on cluster priorities, mobilizing partners to participate in the Missions and analyzing all data generated by RRM teams.

• Coordinate and collaborate with other sectors to ensure nutrition assessments are conducted using standardized tools and methods.

• Coordinate with Nutrition Cluster IMO to ensure that cluster IM products related to surveys/assessments are up-to-date;

• Coordinate with cluster partners’ IMO to ensure that partners’ survey/assessment plans, methodologies are in line with cluster priorities and standards, identify existing gaps and propose corrective actions;

• Strengthen inter-cluster coordination at national and sub national level, particularly with Food Security & Livelihoods, WASH, Health, and Education Clusters to facilitate a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue of nutrition in Yemen by regularly liaising with IM focal points on the clusters and ensuring information collected by them is used to inform nutrition situation analysis.

• Ensure representation of nutrition cluster in the Food Security & Livelihoods, WASH, Health and Education Clusters by regularly attending meeting

Prioritization, grounded in response analysis.

• As a member of the cluster coordination team provide relevant inputs to the development and revision of the Crisis/Strategic Response Plans by providing relevant inputs on nutrition assessments/surveys/analysis. As a part of this process, ensure that gaps and duplications are identified and appropriately addressed.

• Develop and update nutrition cluster TWG’s working group strategy and contingency planning and preparedness for new emergencies and ensure this is adequately reflected in the overall humanitarian country strategy and response plan.

• Ensure that OCHA identified priority crosscutting issues, including gender, protection, and environment; are fully integrated into the nutrition cluster strategy and nutrition cluster partner projects, in line with ISAC guidance and international best practices with specific focus on ensuring cross-cutting issues are addressed in nutrition survey plans, methodologies, etc.

Advocacy

• Identify core nutrition advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and contribute key messages to broader advocacy initiatives of the HC and other actors.

• Advocate for donors to fund humanitarian actors to carry out priority activities in the sector concerned, while at the same time encouraging sectoral group participants to mobilize resources for their activities through their usual channels.

• Be committed to putting aside their organizational interest and work on behalf of all cluster members equally.

Monitoring and Reporting the Implementation of the Cluster Strategy and Results.

• In collaboration with the Cluster Coordinator, guide the work of the Information Management Officer to maintain a functional Nutrition Cluster Information Management system; which includes Monthly and Weekly Partner Reporting, Nutrition Partner database and 4W Matrixes; Capacity Mapping database, Repository of Nutrition Surveys and Cluster Website.

• Ensure regular monitoring of nutrition surveys/assessments activities and coordination against cluster indicators, including activity at operational level (quality, coverage, continuity and cost); and sub national and national level cluster coordination activities. Conduct analysis of best available information in order to benchmark progress of the emergency response over time.

• Liaise with cluster partners and provide technical support to the cluster IMO in identification of quality gaps in regular reporting to the cluster. Take corrective actions, if needed;

• Ensure predictable action within the sectoral group for the following: Identification of gaps, drawing lessons learned from past activities and developing an exit, or transition, strategy for the sectoral group.

Training and Capacity Development of National/Local Authorities and Civil Society

• Promote and support training of Nutrition humanitarian personnel and capacity building of humanitarian partners, based on the mapping and understanding of available capacity. Support efforts to strengthen the WASH capacity of the Government/local authorities and civil society.

• Developing/updating agreed Nutrition response strategies and action plans and ensuring that these are adequately reflected in the overall country strategies (Humanitarian Response Plan – HRP).

• Ensure that Nutrition cluster partners are aware of relevant policy guidelines, technical standards, and relevant commitments that the Government/concerned authorities have undertaken under international human rights law. Ensure that nutrition responses are in line with existing policy guidance, technical standards, and relevant Government human rights legal obligations.

• Support in all guideline development and update and roll out of new approaches to wasting including simplified approaches.

Accountability to Affected Populations:

• Be accountable to the affected population through effective and inclusive consultative and feedback mechanisms by ensuring that the target populations are aware how the needs for CMAM programmes are identified, how the programme is targeted and how the population views around satisfaction and feedback could be collected.

GEDI and Client Responsiveness:

• Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion, and cohesion in IRC

• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue, and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies.

• Educate/raise awareness among the community and clients about the existing feedback mechanisms and response processes

Requirements

Education

• Post-graduate university degree in Public Health, Nutrition or a related technical field

Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience working on emergency nutrition response and coordination in complex humanitarian operating environments, including provision of technical advice to field teams

• Excellent understanding of nutrition issues in emergency situations and detailed knowledge of humanitarian principles, guidelines and the cluster system

• Experience leading or co-leading nutrition cluster/sector meetings

• Knowledge of Nutrition in Emergencies (NiE) interventions and their linkages with other FSL, WASH and Health interventions

• Knowledge of cluster partners (their mandates, capacities, attitudes, limitations) and how to integrate them into the cluster approach

• Ability to use and adapt cluster coordination tools (e.g. stakeholder mapping, CERF/CHF Applications, OPS, FTS, HNO, SRP, IM tools, Need-Capacity-Resource Mapping, 3W/4W, Contingency planning etc.

• Solid understanding of the humanitarian system and roles/responsibilities of key external actors.

• Demonstrated experience in stakeholder coordination and the ability to communicate with and balance the priorities of a range of stakeholders.

• Fluency in English required with excellent report writing skills, proficiency in Arabic an advantage.

Competencies

• Strong cross-cultural communication skills and comfortable working as part of a diverse team. Sensitive to interpersonal differences and a range of viewpoints.

• Ability to mitigate and mediate conflict and disagreements among cluster partners

• Highly diplomatic with excellent political awareness and advanced negotiation skills.

• Demonstrated advance planning and organizational skills. Able to effectively prioritize and follow multiple activities and deadlines simultaneously.

• Flexible and innovative. Able to adapt plans and pivot approaches in response to changes in context.

• Proactive, reliable, and able to work independently in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong people management skills.

**Standard of Professional Conduct:**The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.