Consultancy – Nutrition in Emergencies, LACRO – Panama City

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, health

 

How can you make a difference?

Background

UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children and adolescents in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work in 190 countries and territories to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide.

UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children.

Globally, every year, disasters caused by natural phenomena affect large numbers of populations, more specifically on the more vulnerable groups. Infants, young children, and pregnant and lactating women are particularly vulnerable to a deteriorating health and nutrition status during crisis times. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most disaster-prone regions of the world; after Asia, it has the second highest number of disasters caused by natural phenomena and these appear to be increasing in frequency.

Approximately 13.4 million children and adolescents in LAC live in drought-prone or extremely drought-prone areas, and 13.1 million live in areas that are at extreme risk of flooding. Political and economic shocks also have an impact on children. An estimated 5.9 million people flew Venezuela to neighboring countries as a result of the economic crisis, and 2 million children are in need of assistance, including migrant children and host communities where systems and services are overstretched due to increasing demands. The impact of COVID-19 coupled with severe economic hardship and loss in the Latin America and Caribbean region has further exacerbated the need to urgently prevent and address all forms of malnutrition, with a focus on women, children, adolescents and their caregivers.

UNICEF is a key global actor in nutrition both in development and emergency contexts. As part of development programs UNICEF supports the capacity development of national governments and other key stakeholders to achieve Nutrition outcomes for the most vulnerable groups. In emergency situations, UNICEF has identified the Nutrition sector as a key area in its “Core Commitments for Children” (CCCs) in Humanitarian Action and supports the prevention and care for malnutrition of affected populations, with a focus on children and women. Under the provisions of the Humanitarian Reform, promoted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), UNICEF has been designated as agency leader of the Nutrition Cluster with the responsibility to coordinate the humanitarian response at times of emergencies, to ensure an efficient and effective response to affected communities, and coordinate preparedness actions for capacity strengthening of all involved actors.

The UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO), based in in Panama, is looking to leverage existing Nutrition in Emergency programming across countries to strengthen country capacity to prepare and respond to emergencies with the aim to prevent the deterioration of the nutritional status of vulnerable populations. UNICEF LACRO operates in 36 territories, through 24 country offices.

For more information about UNICEF and its work, see www.unicef.org/lac.

 

Purpose of the Assignment

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Regional Adviser Survive and Thrive and in coordination with the Regional Nutrition Specialist, the consultant will support UNICEF for specific tasks related to Nutrition in Emergencies.

Specific Tasks

More specifically the consultant will support the regional office in the following tasks:

1. Support to information management on nutrition related to the Regional Nutrition Group, REDLAC and R4V platforms establishment of contact list and system for maintaining it, updates of the webpages, technical inputs to communication material and reports.
2. Collect relevant information from COs and relevant background information to guide the development of the RMRP 2022 and other regional/sub-regional, and country response plans.
3. Support to organization of capacity development webinars regarding key nutrition topics in emergencies and specifically in the context of the CCC roll out.
4. Documentation of lessons learnt and practices from the nutrition responses to COVID-19 disease outbreak and migration in selected LAC countries.

Expected Results 

The consultant is expected to develop the following results:

• Information management products related to nutrition regarding the Regional Nutrition Group, REDLAC and R4V platforms: Meeting agenda and minutes, Nutrition sector contact list set up, Nutrition sector webpages updated, communication materials and reports prepared and disseminated.
• Relevant country information available for the development of the RMRP 2022 and other regional/sub-regional, and country response plans.
• At least 4 capacity development webinars organized in key nutrition topics.
• Provision of technical inputs to the training materials on the new CCCs directed to LAC COs.
• Report on lessons learnt and best practices from the nutrition responses to COVID-19 and migration, and other relevant experiences.
• Power Point presentation and support activities to disseminate the results.
• Final report on the achievements, lessons learned and recommendations.

 

Deliverables

Description	Estimated duration [in working days]	Expected deadline
Regional Nutrition Group, REDLAC and R4V information management: contact lists set up, Nutrition sector webpage updated, communication materials and reports prepared and disseminated.	35	Monthly/Bi-weekly
At least 4 capacity development webinars in key nutrition in emergency topics	35	TBD based on countries availability and needs
Training material of the new CCCs (developed by the Emergency Unit) reviewed and technical input provided.	15	According to timeline set by the Emergency Unit
Reports documenting lessons learnt and best practices from the nutrition responses to COVID-19 disease outbreak, migration and other relevant experiences in selected LAC countries	30	October 15th
Power Point presentation and support activities to disseminate the results.	5	October 30th
Brief final report highlighting key achievements, lessons learned and recommendations	2	A week before the end of the assignment
Total estimated # working days	122

 

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

• Advanced university degree in Nutrition, Public Health, or another related field
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in implementing and/or managing nutrition interventions at international/regional and/or country level.
• Knowledge and/or experience with nutrition interventions in emergency situations.
• Work experience in the Latin America and Caribbean Region will be considered a strong asset.
• Experience in knowledge management will be considered a strong asset.
• Experience in managing websites will be considered an asset
• Experience in nutrition coordination will be an asset
• Fluency in Spanish and English is required. Knowledge of French or Portuguese will be considered an asset.
• Professional technical knowledge and expertise in nutrition in emergencies and key emergency nutrition preparedness and response activities, including infant and young child feeding, the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies and the detection and treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
• Basics of Nutrition Coordination
• Good understanding of the humanitarian architecture.
• Proven to have excellent writing skills
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure and tight deadlines.

Supervision

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Nutrition Specialist.

Duration

This consultancy has a duration of 7 months. The estimated start date is 15 August 2021.

Workplace

This consultancy is remote.

How to Apply

Application should be submitted online and should include: Resume, Cover Letter, writing sample (min 2500 words) and Financial proposal. Qualified candidates are requested to submit daily and monthly fees in their financial proposal.

Travel

No travel is involved.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.