Nutrition Coordinator Consultant

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

Underlying nutritional vulnerabilities remain high in Angola, with the 2015-2016 National Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) reporting nearly 38% of children under-5 in Angola as stunted, 4.9% wasted and 19% underweight, with the age group of 6 to 23 months being the most vulnerable to malnutrition. Against this backdrop and based on agreements established at the highest levels, as well as technical consultations dating back to 2015 between the Government of Angola (GoA) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), was signed between WFP and the GoA on 23 May 2019. The purpose of the MoU is to establish a framework for cooperation between the Parties, in areas of common interest namely nutrition, school feeding and vulnerability assessment and mapping (VAM), in support of the national efforts to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 2.

In this context, a WFP nutrition technical mission was undertaken in Luanda from 10 – 28 June 2019. The main objective of the mission was to support a long-term and more sustainable nutrition-specific and sensitive approach for WFP support to the GoA, to achieve Zero Hunger. The technical team, led by a Senior Nutritionist and members of the Regional Bureau (RB), had several bilateral and multilateral consultations across sectors which, together with a desk review, culminated in the most important output of the mission, a draft WFP – GoA Nutrition Technical Assistance (TA) Work Plan (2019 – 2022) prepared jointly with the Ministry of Health. WFP was also represented during the GoA’s draft Strategic Multisectoral Nutrition Plan (2019-2022) review exercise which also took place in June 2019.

The 4-year joint Work Plan is fully aligned with the nutrition needs and priorities of Angola´s population as reflected in the National Nutrition Policy and the Strategic Multisectoral Nutrition Plan which are currently being finalised by the GoA under the leadership of the Ministry of Health. The joint Work Plan identifies and outlines a clear niche and comparative advantage for WFP technical assistance in three major preventive interventions linked to fortification namely, staple food fortification, home fortification and local production of specialised nutritious foods, thus will directly contribute to stunting reduction. This will be implemented through a life cycle approach and in so doing, benefit the Angolan population at large with specific focus on the 1st 1,000 days (children under two and pregnant and lactating women). Given the interest expressed by the GoA to work with partners to address stunting as well as promising prospects in terms of donor funding, herein lies a window of opportunity for WFP to concretely build on the milestones achieved to date and position itself as a key nutrition partner in Angola. To this end, WFP is looking for a Nutrition Coordinator to support this important initiative.

The Nutrition Coordinator will be responsible for advancing the planning phase activities of the first-year of the joint Work Plan. She/he will also be responsible for overall WFP nutrition representation and coordination in Angola. Specific tasks include:

• In close consultation with the MoH and other Ministries, take the lead in fine-tuning the details for the joint (WFP and GoA) Nutrition Programme to address stunting in Angola;
• Facilitate high-level and technical participation of the GoA in South-South exchange opportunities regarding food fortification of staple foods for example, a mission to Mozambique, and relevant global nutrition platforms such as the upcoming 2020 Global Food Fortification Forum in Bangkok, as part of experience sharing and learning;
• Draft the National Food Fortification Strategy in direct consultation with the MoH and other key partners, doing so within the framework of the Multisectoral Nutrition Platform;
• Draft a concept note for the Micronutrient Powders (MNP) related intervention in direct consultation with the MoH and in coordination with UNICEF;
• Kickstart advanced engagement and consultation with other Ministries involved in food fortification in Angola; these include Industry, Commerce and the Bureau of Standards;
• Support in establishing the technical team for the Nutrition Programme including preparing terms of reference for two local Nutritionists (one to be seconded to the MoH) and a Food Technologist, in coordination with RB Human Resources (HR) team;

Key accountabilities (cont.)

• Strengthen partnerships with the sister UN agencies, national and international NGOs, donors and relevant stakeholders;
• Support the Head of Office in nutrition fundraising strategies including preparing funding proposals, concept notes and reports to be submitted to donors; maintaining relationships with relevant donors; and preparing nutrition-related communication and advocacy materials;
• Represent WFP in various technical working groups, thematic working groups, forums and meetings related to nutrition and, specifically, WFP’s nutrition operations in Angola;
• Regularly liaise with the RB Nutrition team to share and discuss technical matters and, where required, receive guidance.

• Advanced degree in Nutrition, Public Health or other related field;
• At least six years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in Nutrition and/or Public Health programme formulation/planning and programme management;
• Proven ability to conceptualise, develop, plan and manage programmes;
• Leadership and teamwork abilities;
• Ability to network and engage effectively with a wide range of actors including those in government, the international humanitarian community and donors;
• Excellent communication and advocacy skills including negotiation;
• Excellent analytical skills and resourcefulness;
• Ability to simultaneously manage multiple tasks in an autonomous manner;
• Ability and flexibility to handle any other additional nutrition-related tasks as requested by the Head of Office;
• Fluency (level C) in both Portuguese and English.

• Experience in providing technical assistance and/or managing preventive programmes and interventions to address stunting (nutrition-specific as well as nutrition-sensitive interventions) such as micronutrient supplementation, fortification, maternal and child health and nutrition programmes or other multisectoral responses addressing the underlying causes of malnutrition (highly desirable);
• UN experience, especially with WFP or UNICEF;
• Experience working with donors;
• Previous experience working in a development context and/or emerging middle-income countries.

Validade: 01/12/2019