National Nutrition Consultant – Mothers@Work programme

Background

Mothers@Work programme is a national programme, developed to address the challenges faced by working mothers to be able to continue breastfeeding in the workplace. It is currently implemented in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector.  About 2.1 million of RMG sector employees are female. Many of these females are of reproductive age, and many are mothers who are responsible for nurturing the next generation of Bangladeshi citizens. Guided by the national and global policy framework and regulations on maternity protection and breastfeeding support in the workplace, Mothers@Work programme was developed through a national consultation in 2016. UNICEF has a joint workplan with Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) to continue strengthening capacity of DIFE, MoLE to implement and monitoring Mothers@Work programme. Unfortunately, the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, has affected the operations of RMG factory significantly and they were closed in Apr-May 2020. However, the government and development partners has taken steps to respond to the situation, including development the Bangladesh Preparedness and Response Plan and the Socio-Economic Response Framework (SERF), 2020-2021. More specific national guidance for the continuity of nutrition services to protect maternal, infant and young child nutrition during Covid-19 has also been established by the National Nutrition Services of Institute Public Health Nutrition (NNS, IPHN), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Additionally, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has developed “An Occupational Safety and Health Guide for Prevention and Mitigation of Covid-19 at Workplace”. The World Health Organization also released a guidance on how the workplace get ready for Covid-19.

Purpose of the Assignment

Support Nutrition Section of UNICEF Bangladesh to strengthen and sustain Mothers@Work programme.

Objectives:

1. To facilitate implementation of Joint Workplan between Nutrition Section of UNICEF Bangladesh with Ministry of Labour and Employment on Mothers@Work;
2. To facilitate the establishment partnership with BKMEA and BGMEA toward scaling up and sustained Mothers@Work programme in the RMG sector;
3. To support the development of strategy and action plan to expand Mothers@Work programme in Tea Garden setting;
4. To facilitate and coordinate with Urban Nutrition Field Operation Facilitator (UNFOF)[1] for advocacy and actions on the linking factory-based intervention with health facility and community-based support;
5. To document of learning and knowledge management on the process and results from Objective 1-4.

Expected Results:

1. Capacity of MoLE strengthened to monitor Mothers@Work programme.
2. Partnership and Joint Workplan with BGMEA and BKMEA established.
3. Strategy and action plan for implementation of Mothers@Work in Tea Garden developed.
4. Framework document on the linkage of nutrition interventions between RMG factory supports and health facility and community-based supports for working women.
5. Learning and knowledge management from the process and result 1-4 above documented.

Work Assignment Overview:

Minimum Qualifications/Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Masters in Management, global/international health, public health, development studies, social science or related fields;
• At least 8 years of experience in social development/public health/nutrition programme;
• Understanding of Labour Laws and maternity rights is an asset;
• Experience in working with RMG sectors is preferable;
• Proven excellent writing skills;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Experience working with multi stakeholders, particularly government partners;

Duration:             165 days over ten months

Work modality:     Office based with field visits

Travel & DSA:       If applicable will be paid at actual basis according to UNICEF Policy

Payment Method:   Payment will be made upon successful completion of each deliverable and on certification from Supervisor