Consultant – Technical Support for School Nutrition and Marketing, UNICEF EAPRO, Bangkok

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 fulfilling 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, a better future

UNICEF works to ensure the rights of all children in the East Asia and Pacific Region.  This means the rights of every child living in this country, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion or ethnicity, to:

• survival – to basic healthcare, peace and security;
• development – to a good education, a loving home and adequate nutrition;
• protection – from abuse, neglect, trafficking, child labour and other forms of exploitation; and
• participation – to express opinions, be listened to and take part in making any decisions that affect them

 

How can you make a difference?

The Nutrition Section, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) is seeking an individual consultant to develop a tool to assess school nutrition policies, interventions and programmes suitable for East Asia and Pacific region and test the tool in two countries. Also, the consultant will work on providing technical support to the Ministry of Health in Thailand for the drafting of legislation to control marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic drink to children.

 

Work Assignment:

PART 1: ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL NUTRITION POLICIES, INTERVENTIONS AND PROGRAMMES IN EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

1. Literature review

There is a significant body of literature and several initiatives underway to assess aspects of the school nutrition policies, interventions and programmes. Most of these are global and few have focused on countries in East Asia and Pacific. A thorough review of this literature will be undertaken to identify monitoring and assessment frameworks that have been developed and which may be modified for use for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the region. Key documents from the region should be included such as the ASEAN Guidance on a School Health and Nutrition package which is currently being produced. The review will include a brief narrative summary of the literature describing the broader influences on school aged children’s diets in the East Asia Pacific region, highlighting the rationale for why an initial focus on schools is important to galvanise action.

2. Development of school nutrition assessment tool

The assessment tool will outline clear objectives (why and how it can be used and by whom) and draw on existing frameworks, be comprehensive (covering all five programming areas), practical (not too complicated or long) and include clear instructions on methods and sources of information. The tool may include a variety of methods such as questionnaires, interviews, direct observation and involve a range of stakeholders (government staff, UN and civil society staff working in relevant areas, teachers, school children etc.). The data collected will describe the school nutrition environment highlighting the gaps and opportunities for policy and programming actions. This step will include consultation with end-users to gain feedback on the tool, which will inform iterative refinement before testing the tool.

3. Testing of school nutrition assessment tool

The tool will be tested in two country in the region to establish its feasibility and usefulness. The testing will be carried out by an in-country representative identified with UNICEF. This step will involve the development of a methodological approach to validate the tool and key informant interviews to assess the usability of the tool and feasibility of implementing the tool at scale.

4. Technical support for documentation related to school nutrition

A short description of the tool will be included in a joint WFP/UNICEF evidence paper on “existing tools, gaps and proposed way forward for assessing school environments” focusing on ASEAN countries. This will require written input and technical support for providing relevant documentation and materials. In addition, some technical support will be required on production of case studies.

PART 2: THAILAND LEGISLATION TO CONTROL MARKETING OF UNHEALTHY FOOD TO CHILDREN

1. International experience of controls on the marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic drink to children

1. Identification of the potential impact and proxy indicators that can be used to measure the impact of a marketing ban on unhealthy food and drink. Potential impact includes reduced marketing exposure, food purchases, and food consumption. This task will address the questions:

• What is the evidence for the impact of different forms of marketing restrictions in terms of influencing the power and exposure of marketing (e.g. advertising, promotion, limitation of place for sale, labeling controls, etc.)?
• Since comprehensive legislation needs to be introduced in stages in Thailand, what is the evidence and experience from other countries on adopting a phased approach to implementation?
• In the context of Thailand, what is the expert opinion on which elements of the comprehensive legislation are feasible to implement first?

2. Documentation of experience with the implementation of marketing bans on unhealthy food and drink based on three country case studies: UK, Chile, South Korea. Each case study will cover:

• Governance structures, monitoring and enforcement procedures, including examples of flow charts for reporting systems of complaints.
• Timeline for introduction of policy (sample of timeline is below).
• Interventions and measures implemented.
• Experience with consideration for brand (logo) marketing and advertising of corporate social responsibility.
• Experience with consideration of a ‘child-directed’ marketing approach vs all marketing that children are exposed to.

3. Guidance on design, monitoring, and enforcement of laws to regulate digital media. This will include a literature review, key informant interviews and case examples from around the world from related disciplines (e.g. Australia regulation of digital marketing of tobacco products, Vietnam reporting of violations of the International Code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes, UK proposed total ban on online unhealthy food marketing and Finland Alcohol Act).
4. Identification of potential legal challenges linked to international trade and investment law including CODEX. This work will draw on lessons from other governments who have regulated nutrition or diet interventions, including marketing restrictions but also lessons learned from tobacco and alcohol regulation.

2. Legal advice

1. Review the draft legislation for controls on the marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic drinks to children in Thailand to identify major gaps and/or pitfalls. The draft legislation will be translated into English by UNICEF.

Work Schedule:

Start date: 1 August 2021                                                                          End date: 31 March 2022

Deliverables	Type of consultancy support	Duration (Estimated # of Days)	Deadline depends on start date of consultancy
PART 1: ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL NUTRITION POLICIES, INTERVENTIONS AND PROGRAMMES
Report of the literature review on school nutrition in the East Asia and Pacific region including main findings, evidence gaps, conclusions and recommendations.	Home-based	12	31 October 2021
Toolkit for assessment of school policy, interventions and programmes with clear instructions on methods.	Home-based	15	December 2021
Report describing testing of the school nutrition assessment tool including methods and results with summary of tool usefulness and feasibility of implementation at scale.	Home-based	13	31 March 2022
Short description of the school nutrition assessment tool.	Home-based	5	31 March 2022
PART 2: THAILAND LEGISLATION TO CONTROL MARKETING OF UNHEALTHY FOOD TO CHILDREN
Report on international experience of controls on the marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic drink to children.	Home-based	45	31 December 2021
Written legal review of draft legislation on controls on the marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic drink to children.	Home-based	5	31 March 2022
TOTAL DAYS		95

End Product(s):

The consultancy support will result in the following deliverables:

• Report of literature review on school nutrition in the East Asia and Pacific region. 
• Toolkit for assessment of school nutrition policy, interventions and programmes.
• Report describing the testing of the school nutrition assessment tool.
• Written summary describing school nutrition assessment toolkit.
• Report of international experience of controls on the marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic drink to children.
• Written comments on review of draft legislation.

Duration of Contract:  95 working days during the period of 1 August 2021 – 31 March 2022.

Working Location: The consultant will work remotely in his/her own premises (home-based) but will regularly report to the supervisor. All office supplies and materials will be provided by the Consultant.

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

• • Advanced university degree to PhD level in nutrition, nutrition policy and/or public health.
  • At least 10 years work experience working at an advanced level in public health/nutrition policy including research and policy development.
  • Proven track record with drafting of marketing legislation and regulation for government or local authorities with a minimum of 5 years direct experience working on food marketing and fiscal policy development related to obesity and non-communicable disease prevention.
  • Extensive knowledge of international experience of controls on marketing of unhealthy food to children.
  • Extensive knowledge of school nutrition environments.
  • Knowledge of the nutrition challenges and nutrition policy environment in East Asia and Pacific region.
  • Proven solid skills and high level of experience in critical examination of information, capturing of key themes, and identification of policy gaps.
  • Fluent in English and excellent writing skills. Thai language skills an advantage.

Interested candidates are requested to submit CV or P-11, full contact information of minimum 3 references, availability, and proposed daily professional fee in USD by 21 July 2021.

 P11 Form.doc

 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People, and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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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:

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.

UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.