TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANT
Post Title
:
Nutrition Specialist / Capacity Development
Contract type
:
Consultant
Duration
:
6 Months
Starting date
:
1st October 2011
Duty Station
:
New York
Background
The international community is faced with increasingly complex humanitarian crisis which place
women and children at significant risk. In line with the CCCs, which provides the framework for
its operational and sector specific commitments and benchmarks in humanitarian actions,
UNICEF aims to provide effective, predictable, and timely programmatic and operational support
to humanitarian action. UNICEF’s programmatic response in nutrition focuses on the prevention
and treatment of acute malnutrition for the most affected and deprived populations. Key result
areas aim to (a) increase coverage of integrated packages of high impact nutrition interventions,
including life-saving interventions; (b) improve practices and; (c) enhance policy environment.
UNICEF’s strategic actions focus on preparedness, response and risk reduction through the
provision of technical leadership and guidance to support national capacities and systems to (a)
increase and sustain access to essential and quality nutrition services; (b) develop and/or
manage efficient information systems, including data analysis; (c) support the development of
evidence-based and context-specific policies and strategies in emergencies and; (d) strengthen
linkages with other sectors. UNICEF is also the designated global level and usually the country
level nutrition cluster lead agency to ensure that emergency response and preparedness
actions are implemented in a timely and coordinated manner with all stakeholders.
Increasingly, nutrition is raising on the global agenda which is supported by two important efforts
i.e. the Scaling Up Nutrition movement and the 1,000 Days partnerships. Countries will more and
more seek support with moving their nutrition agenda forward. As a result, UNICEF needs to
continue strengthening its capacities to ensure adequate technical and leadership skills in
supporting governments and partners to develop/review policies and strategies as well as scale-up
coverage of high impact nutrition interventions, including in emergencies.
Learning from previous capacity building initiatives and building from other key documents (joint
statements, guidelines, program guidance, training package), a draft capacity development
strategy was developed by the unit. The strategy focus was to increase the capacity and quality
of UNICEF’s emergency nutrition response (including ensuring timely deployment of qualified
emergency nutrition staff where required) through the development of existing capacities; the
integration of best practices into organizational process, systems and guidelines; and active
participation in key forum. However, in light of the recent developments with nutrition rising on
the global and national agendas, the current strategy needs to be reviewed and the scope
needs to be broadened to ensure that all key components of UNICEF/nutrition approach in
humanitarian situations are included (from risk reductions to response and recovery). It is
important that the strategy ensure that UNICEF successfully bridges, through a strong capacity
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development strategy and action plan, the gaps between what is needed to achieve results and
what is currently available.
Objective
The objective of this consultancy is to review and finalize the draft Capacity Development
Strategy and action plan for Nutrition in Emergencies that will reflect current developments and
ensure a more systematic, comprehensive and integrated approach to capacity development.
Activities and Deliverables
Activities
Under the supervision of the Nutrition Specialist/Emergency and in coordination with the
Regional Advisors, the IYCF and Micronutrient Units as well as the nutrition cluster:
1. Define core skills and competencies that are necessary to implement strategic actions (e.g.
development of policies, strategies, guidelines; advocacy efforts, facilitations of training and
events) to achieve strategic results (e.g. increased and sustained coverage and qualities of
essential services and positive behaviors) in humanitarian contexts.
2. Analyze current capacities and gaps of countries and regions to ensure that UNICEF has
the required competencies and skills to achieve results and deliver on key actions. This
analysis will be based on a desk review of current evaluation and mapping results and
should take into consideration the existing capacity development initiatives.
3. Based on the above analysis, review the current capacity development strategies which
should reflect context-specific needs and which should ensure linkages with other sectors.
This review should also take into consideration latest developments in nutrition at global and
institutional levels.
4. Develop a comprehensive capacity development action plan for regions and countries which
will be adapted to different needs and contexts. This should take into consideration regional
and country offices and other sectors/unit plans to ensure coordination and harmonization.
5. Draft initial fund rising proposals to support the implementation of the capacity development
action plan.
6. Continue engaging with DHR to follow-up on initiatives to identify new talents (e.g. revision
of roster, engaging with universities) to improve Unicef expertise.
Deliverables
1. Detailed report summarizing the overall approach to capacity development, based on
the activity 1 & 2 (by end of November)
2. Final draft of the revised capacity development strategy, including action plans (by midFebruary)
3. Draft fund rising proposals (by end-March)
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Accountability and Responsibilities
The Consultant will be responsible for ensuring the timely completion of all deliverables meeting
defined and agreed quality standards
Qualifications
 Advanced university degree in nutrition, agriculture, food security, social sciences
and/or public health with expertise in food policy or nutrition issues.
 At least 8 years of progressive experience in program implementation, management or
advisory support at national and international level. Proven experience in managing
emergencies is an asset.
 Experience of UNICEF programming and training in Nutrition in Emergencies
 Demonstrated ability to work in an efficient and timely manner with minimal supervision
and under pressure
 Strong communication, coordination and interpersonal skills.
 Fluency in English and a second UN language.
 Good writing and computer (database) skills.
 University degree in health, nutrition, agriculture, or social sciences
Competencies
 Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking.
 Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
 Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
 Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives.
 Analyzes and integrates diverse and complex quantitative and qualitative data from a
wide range of sources.
 Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups;
 Identifies urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly;
 Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge;
 Work independently with minimum supervision
Conditions
 Preferably, the consultant will be based at UNICEF HQ with access to all working
materials and equipment provided by the institution.
 If the consultant is not based in New York, two trips to New York are planned, one for
the initial briefing and a final trip to present the work to the Emergency Unit and obtain
feedback.
 All other consultations will be done over the telephone and via email.
Application
Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV and P 11 form (which
can be downloaded from our website at
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html) to pdconsultants@unicef.org with
subject line “Consultant, Nutrition Specialist/Capacity Development” by September
30th, 2011. Please indicate your ability, and daily/monthly rate and availability to
undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily rate will
not be considered.
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